The History of Computer Technology

Only once in a lifetime will a new invention come about to touch every aspect of our lives. Such devices changed the way we manage, work, and live. A machine that has done all this and more now exists in nearly every business in the United States. This incredible invention is the computer. The electronic computer has been around for over a half-century, but its ancestors have been around for 2000 years. However, only in the last 40 years has the computer changed American management to it†s greatest extent. From the first wooden abacus to the latest high-speed microprocessor, the computer has changed nearly every spect of management, and our lives for the better. The very earliest existence of the modern day computer's ancestor is the abacus. These date back to almost 2000 years ago (Dolotta, 1985). It is simply a wooden rack holding parallel wires on which beads are strung. When these beads are moved along the wire according to programming rules that the user must memorize. All ordinary arithmetic operations can be performed on the abacus. This was one of the first management tools used. The next innovation in computers took place in 1694 when Blaise Pascal invented the first digital calculating machine. It could only add numbers and they had to be entered by turning dials. It was designed to help Pascal's father, who was a tax collector, manage the town†s taxes (Beer, 1966). In the early 1800s, a mathematics professor named Charles Babbage designed an automatic calculation machine (Dolotta, 1985). It was steam powered and could store up to 1000 50-digit numbers. Built in to his machine were operations that included everything a modern general-purpose computer would need. It was programmed by and stored data on cards with holes punched in them, appropriately called punch cards. This machine was xtremely useful to managers that delt with large volumes of good. With Babbage†s machine, managers could more easily calculate the large numbers accumulated by inventories. The only problem was that there was only one of these machines built, thus making it difficult for all managers to use (Beer, After Babbage, people began to lose interest in computers. However, between 1850 and 1900 there were great advances in mathematics and physics that began to rekindle the interest. Many of these new advances involved complex calculations and formulas that were very time consuming for human calculation. The first major use for a computer in the U. S. was during the 1890 census. Two men, Herman Hollerith and James Powers, developed a new punched-card system that could automatically read information on cards without human (Dolotta, 1985). Since the population of the U. S. as increasing so fast, the computer was an essential tool for managers in tabulating the These advantages were noted by commercial industries and soon led to the development of improved punch-card business-machine systems by International Business Machines, Remington-Rand, Burroughs, and other corporations (Chposky, 1988). By modern standards the unched-card machines were slow, typically processing from 50 to 250 cards per minute, with each card holding up to 80 digits. At the time, however, punched cards were an enormous step forward; they provided a means of input, output, and memory storage on a massive scale. For more than 50 years following their first use, punched-card machines did the bulk of the world's business computing By the late 1930s punched-card machine techniques had become so well established and reliable that Howard Hathaway Aiken, in collaboration with engineers at IBM, undertook construction of a large automatic digital computer ased on standard IBM electromechanical parts (Chposky, 1988). Aiken's machine, called the Harvard Mark I, handled 23-digit numbers and could perform all four arithmetic operations (Dolotta, 1985). Also, it had special built-in programs to handled logarithms and trigonometric functions. The Mark I was controlled from prepunched paper tape. Output was by card punch and electric typewriter. It was slow, requiring 3 to 5 seconds for a multiplication, but it was fully automatic and could complete long computations The outbreak of World War II produced a desperate need for computing capability, especially for the military (Dolotta, 985). New weapons systems were produced which needed trajectory tables and other essential data. In 1942, John P. Eckert, John W. Mauchley, and their associates at the University of Pennsylvania decided to build a high-speed electronic computer to do the job. This machine became known as ENIAC, for Electrical Numerical Integrator And Calculator (Chposky, 1988). It could multiply two numbers at the rate of 300 products per second, by finding the value of each product from a multiplication table stored in its memory. ENIAC was thus about 1,000 times faster than the previous generation of computers. ENIAC used 18,000 standard vacuum tubes, occupied 1800 square feet of floor space, and used about 180,000 watts of electricity. It used punched-card input and output. The ENIAC was very difficult to program because one had to essentially re-wire it to perform whatever task he wanted the computer to do. It was efficient in handling the particular programs for which it had been designed. ENIAC is generally accepted as the first successful high-speed electronic digital computer and was used in many applications from 1946 to 1955. However, the ENIAC was not accessible to managers of businesses Mathematician John Von Neumann was very interested in the ENIAC. In 1945 he undertook a theoretical study of computation that demonstrated that a computer could have a very simple and yet be able to execute any kind of computation effectively by means of proper programmed control without the need for any changes in hardware. Von Neumann came up with incredible ideas for methods of building and organizing practical, fast computers. These ideas, which came to be referred to as the stored-program technique, became fundamental for future generations of high-speed digital computers and were universally adopted The first wave of modern programmed electronic computers to take advantage of these improvements appeared in 1947. This group included computers using random access memory, RAM, which is a memory designed to give almost constant access to any particular piece of information (Dolotta, 1985). These machines had punched-card or punched-tape input and output devices and RAMs of 1000-word capacity. Physically, they were much more compact than ENIAC: some were about the size of a grand piano and required 2500 small electron tubes. This was quite an improvement over the earlier machines. The first-generation stored-program computers required considerable maintenance, usually attained 70% to 80% reliable operation, and were used for 8 to 12 years (Hazewindus,1988). Typically, they were programmed directly in machine language, although by the mid-1950s progress had been made in several aspects of advanced programming. This group of machines included EDVAC and UNIVAC, the first commercially available computers. With this invention, managers had even more power to perform calculations for such things as statistical demographic data (Beer, 1966). Before this time, it was very rare for a anager of a larger business to have the means to process The UNIVAC was developed by John W. Mauchley and John Eckert, Jr. in the 1950s. Together they had formed the Mauchley-Eckert Computer Corporation, America's first computer company in the 1940s. During the development of the UNIVAC, they began to run short on funds and sold their company to the larger Remington-Rand Corporation. Eventually they built a working UNIVAC computer. It was delivered to the U. S. Census Bureau in 1951 where it was used to help tabulate the U. S. population Early in the 1950s two important engineering discoveries hanged the electronic computer field. The first computers were made with vacuum tubes, but by the late 1950s computers were being made out of transistors, which were smaller, less expensive, more reliable, and more efficient (Dolotta, 1985). In 1959, Robert Noyce, a physicist at the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, invented the integrated circuit, a tiny chip of silicon that contained an entire electronic circuit. Gone was the bulky, unreliable, but fast machine; now computers began to become more compact, more reliable and have more capacity. These new technical discoveries rapidly found their way into new odels of digital computers. Memory storage capacities increased 800% in commercially available machines by the early 1960s and speeds increased by an equally large margin (Jacobs, 1975). These machines were very expensive to purchase or to rent and were especially expensive to operate because of the cost of hiring programmers to perform the complex operations the computers ran. Such computers were typically found in large computer centers operated by industry, government, and private laboratories staffed with many programmers and support personnel. By 1956, 76 of IBM's large computer mainframes were in se, compared with only 46 UNIVAC's (Chposky, 1988). In the 1960s efforts to design and develop the fastest possible computers with the greatest capacity reached a turning point with the completion of the LARC machine for Livermore Radiation Laboratories by the Sperry-Rand Corporation, and the Stretch computer by IBM. The LARC had a core memory of 98,000 words and multiplied in 10 microseconds. Stretch was provided with several ranks of memory having slower access for the ranks of greater capacity, the fastest access time being less than 1 microseconds and the total capacity in the vicinity of 100 During this time the major computer manufacturers began to offer a range of computer capabilities, as well as various computer-related equipment (Jacobs, 1975). These included input means such as consoles and card feeders; output means such as page printers, cathode-ray-tube displays, and graphing devices; and optional magnetic-tape and magnetic-disk file storage. These found wide use in management for such applications as accounting, payroll, inventory control, ordering supplies, and billing. Central processing units for such purposes did not need to be very fast arithmetically and were primarily used to access arge amounts of records on file. The greatest number of computer systems were delivered for the larger applications, such as in hospitals for keeping track of patient records, medications, and treatments given. They were also used in automated library systems and in database systems such as the Chemical Abstracts system, where computer records now on file cover nearly all known chemical compounds The trend during the 1970s was, to some extent, away from extremely powerful, centralized computational centers and toward a broader range of applications for less-costly computer systems (Jacobs, 1975). Most continuous-process manufacturing, such as petroleum refining and electrical-power distribution systems, began using computers of relatively modest capability for controlling and regulating their activities. In the 1960s the programming of applications problems was an obstacle to the self-sufficiency of moderate-sized on-site computer installations, but great advances in applications programming languages removed Applications languages became available for controlling a great range of manufacturing processes, for computer operation of machine tools, and for many other tasks. In 1971 Marcian E. Hoff, Jr. , an engineer at the Intel Corporation, invented the microprocessor and another stage in the development of the computer began (Chposky, 1988). A new revolution in computer hardware was now well under way, involving miniaturization of computer-logic circuitry and of component manufacture by what are called large-scale In the 1950s it was realized that scaling down the size of electronic digital computer circuits and parts would increase speed and efficiency and improve performance (Jacobs, 1975). However, at that time the manufacturing methods were not good enough to accomplish such a task. About 1960, photoprinting of conductive circuit boards to eliminate wiring became highly developed. Then it became possible to build resistors and capacitors into the circuitry by photographic means. In the 1970s entire assemblies, such as adders, shifting registers, and counters, became available on tiny chips of silicon. In the 1980s very large scale integration, VLSI, in which hundreds of thousands of transistors are placed on a single chip, became increasingly common Many companies, some new to the computer field, introduced in the 1970s programmable minicomputers upplied with software packages (Jacobs, 1975). The size-reduction trend continued with the introduction of personal computers, which are programmable machines small enough and inexpensive enough to be purchased and used by individuals (Beer, 1966). One of the first of such machines was introduced in January 1975. Popular Electronics magazine provided plans that would allow any electronics wizard to build his own small, programmable computer for about $380. The computer was called the Altair 8800. Its programming involved pushing buttons and flipping switches on the front of the box. It didn't include a onitor or keyboard, and its applications were very limited. Even though, many orders came in for it and several famous owners of computer and software manufacturing companies got their start in computing through the Altair (Jacobs, 1975). For example, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, founders of Apple Computer, built a much cheaper, yet more productive version of the Altair and turned their hobby into a business. After the introduction of the Altair 8800, the personal computer industry became a fierce battleground of competition. IBM had been the computer industry standard for well over a half-century. They held their position as the standard when they introduced their first personal computer, the IBM Model 60 in 1975 (Chposky, 1988). However, the newly formed Apple Computer company was releasing its own personal computer, the Apple II. The Apple I was the first computer designed by Jobs and Wozniak in Wozniak's garage, which was not produced on a wide scale. Software was needed to run the computers as well. Microsoft developed a Disk Operating System, MS-DOS, for the IBM computer while Apple developed its own software (Chposky, 1988). Because Microsoft had now set the software standard for IBMs, every software anufacturer had to make their software compatible with Microsoft's. This would lead to huge profits for Microsoft. The main goal of the computer manufacturers was to make the computer as affordable as possible while increasing speed, reliability, and capacity. Nearly every computer manufacturer accomplished this and computers popped up everywhere. Computers were in businesses keeping track of even more inventories for managers. Computers were in colleges aiding students in research. Computers were in laboratories making complex calculations at high speeds for scientists and physicists. The computer had made its mark everywhere in management and built up a huge industry The future is promising for the computer industry and its technology. The speed of processors is expected to double every year and a half in the coming years (Jacobs, 1975). As manufacturing techniques are further perfected the prices of computer systems are expected to steadily fall. However, since the microprocessor technology will be increasing, it's higher costs will offset the drop in price of older processors. In other words, the price of a new computer will stay about the same from year to year, but technology will steadily Since the end of World War II, the computer industry has grown from a standing start into one of the biggest and most profitable industries in the United States (Hazewindus,1988). It now comprises thousands of companies, making everything from multi-million dollar high-speed supercomputers to printout paper and floppy disks. It employs millions of people and generates tens of billions of dollars in sales each year. Surely, the computer has impacted every aspect of people's lives (Jacobs, 1975). It has affected the way people work and play. It has made everyone's life easier by doing difficult work for people. The History of Computer Technology This report briefly explains the history of modern computers, starting from the year 1936 to present day time. There are many models of computers documented throughout the years, but they only computer models mentioned are ones that I deemed too have had the greatest effect on computer technology back then and now. This report will show how in just forty years, computers have transformed from slow, room-sized machines, to the small and fast computers of today. Computers are a part of important everyday life, but there was a time when computers did not exist. Computers are one of the few inventions that do not have one specific inventor. Many inventors have contributed to the production and technology of computers. Some of the inventions have been different types of computers, while the others were parts needed for the computer to function effectively. Many people have added their creations to the list required to make computers work, adding to the overall technology of computers today. The term â€Å"computer† originally referred to people. It was a job title for those who did repetitive work with math problems. A computer is define as a programmable machine that receives input, stores and automatically manipulates data, and provides output in a useful format. The most significant date in the history of computers is in the year of 1936. This is the year the first â€Å"computer† was developed by a German engineer named Konrad Zuse. He called it the Z1 Computer and it was the first system to be fully programmable. The Z1 Computer had computing power, setting it apart from other electronic devices. Programming early computers became somewhat of a hassle for inventors and in 1953 Grace Hooper invented the first high level computer language. Her invention helped simplify the binary code used by the computer so that its users could dictate the computer’s actions. Hooper’s invention was called Flowmatic and has evolved into modern day technology. In the same year, the International Business Machines (IBM) was introduced into the computing industry, forever altering the age of computers. Throughout computer history, this company has played a major role in the development of new systems and servers for public and private use. Inventors saw IBM as competition within the computing history, which helped to spur faster and better development of computers. Their first computer technology contribution was the IBM 701 EDPM Computer. During the three years of production, IBM sold 19 machines to research laboratories, aircraft companies, and the federal government. The first computer physically built in America was the IAS computer. It was developed for Advanced Study at Princeton under the direction of John Von Neumann between1946-1950. (History of Computer Technology, 2011). John von Neumann wrote â€Å"First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC; in which he outlined the architecture of a stored-program computer (Computer History Museum – Timeline of Computer History, 2006). Electronic storage of programming information and data eliminated the need for the more clumsy methods of programming. An example of stored-program data computer is the IAS computer. Many modern computers trace their ancestry to the IAS machine and they are referred to as von Neumann (or Princeton) architecture machines. The IAS computer embodied the concept of a stored-program computer. The main memory contained two main categories of information, instructions and data. The computer had an ability to place different sequences of instructions in the memory which made the computer very useful. This allowed inventions to build computers to complete different tasks at different times. Such a computer can be reconfigured (reprogrammed) at any time to perform a new or different task. The Hungarian-born von Neumann demonstrated prodigious expertise in hydrodynamics, ballistics, meteorology, game theory, statistics, and the use of mechanical devices for computation contributed to the production of the modern day computer (Computer History Museum – Timeline of Computer History, 2006). In 1955, Bank of America coupled with Stanford Research Institute and General Electric; saw the creation of the first computers for use in banks. Researchers at the Stanford Research Institute invented â€Å"ERMA†, the Electronic Recording Method of Accounting computer processing system. ERMA updated and posted checking accounts and manually processed checks and account management. The MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) was a part of ERMA and allowed computers to read special numbers at the bottom of the checks. This technology helped with the tracking and accounting of checks transactions. ERMA was officially demonstrated to the public in September 1955 and first tested on real banking accounts in the fall of 1956. (Blain, 2005). Today, computer technology has transformed the banking industry. One of the most important breakthroughs in computer history occurred in 1958. This was the creation of the integrated circuit, known as the chip. The integrated circuit device is one of the base requirements for the modern computer systems. On every motherboard and card inside the computer system, are many chips that contain vital information on what the boards and cards do. Without the integrated circuit, the computers known today would not be able to function. The first commercially integrated circuits became available from the Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation in 1961. All computers then started to be made using chips instead of the individual transistors and their accompanying parts. Texas Instruments first used the chips in Air Force computers and the Minuteman Missile in 1962. They later used the chips to produce the first electronic portable calculators. The original integrated chip had only one transistor, three resistors and one capacitor and was the size of an adult's pinkie finger. Today, an integrated chip is smaller than a penny and can hold 125 million transistors (Bellis). The late 1970s saw the popularization of personal computers and the progress continues from then until now. An explosion of personal computers occurred in the 1970s. The Tandy Corporation was one of the leading companies in computer technology. Their most popular invention was the TRS-80 arriving on the market in the late 1970s. It was immediately popular, selling out at Radio Shack where it was exclusively sold. The TRS-80 was sold for only $600, making it affordable for many individuals to own their own personal computer. Within its first year, over 55,000 consumers bought Tandy TRO-80 to use in their home or office and over 250,000 of them sold in the next few years. Tandy Corporation’s TRS-80 had a keyboard and motherboard all in one. This is a common trend that other companies today use for their personal computer products. TRS-80 also included office applications, including a word processor, calculator, and early spreadsheet capabilities (The People History – Computers From the 1970s). People during the late 70s embraced personal computers and used them for a variety of reasons, such as, games, office applications, home finances, storing date, and many other necessary usages. In 1975, Apple Computers was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniac. The Apple II was launched in 1977 and was an immediate success as well. Apple created the â€Å"home/personal computer† that could be used by anybody. The success of the Apple II established Apple Computers as a main competitor in the field of personal computers. Then Dan Bricklin created a spreadsheet program called VisiCalc for the Apple II. It went on sale in 1979 and within four years it sold 700,000 copies at $250 a time (Trueman, 2000). By 1980, there were one million personal computers in the world. Computers have come an enormous way since their initial establishment, as the earliest electronic computers were so large that they would take up the entire area of a room, while today some are so small that they can fit in your hands. While computers are now an important part of the everyday lives of human beings, there was a time where computers did not exist. Knowing the history of computers and how much progression has been made can help individuals understand just how complicated and innovative the creation of computers really is. The first programmable digital computers invented in the 1940s have dramatically changed in appearance and technology from today. They were as big as living rooms and were about as powerful as modern day calculators. Modern computers are billions of times more capable than early machines and occupy less space. Simple computers, such as smart phones, are small enough to fit into mobile devices, and can be powered on by a small battery. In today's world, computers play an incredibly large role in the way the world exists in general, and the majority of tasks could actually not be completed if not for the use of computers. Although there are certainly some areas and jobs that cannot yet be completed solely by computers and which thus still require actual manpower, for the most part, computers have helped to make life significantly easier, productive, and more convenient for us all. Future computer technology will help solve many medical problems by reinterpreting sensory data and modulating brain activity. Technology will be so advanced that it may allow people who have lost the use of their limbs to use robotics to regain their disabled movements. The future of computer technology is very bright and welcomed indeed. Current trends, research, and development happening at a lightning speed supports this statement. Our children today will see a whole new world of technology with computers within the next decade. Works Cited http://inventors.about.com/od/istartinventions/a/intergrated_circuit.htm http://www.computerhistory.org/timeline/?category=cmptr http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/70scomputers.html http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/personal_computer.htm

A Brief History of Courtship and Dating in America

A Brief History of Courtship and Dating in America, Part 1 [pic]by The Rev'd Skip Burzumato [pic] Whenever possible, I love to use the word â€Å"courtship† in everyday conversation with young and old alike. It's one of those words with which most people are familiar, but have vastly differing opinions of what it means. For many, courtship is an old-fashioned word. It summons visions of men wooing women with small tokens of affection and asking their hand in marriage on bended knee. For social scientists, studies of courtship usually look at the process of â€Å"mate selection. (Social scientists, among whom I number myself from time to time, will never be accused of being romantics. ) For the purpose of this article the preparation for and proposal of marriage is what makes the act qualify as courtship. As cultural historians Alan Carlson and Beth Bailey put it in the Mars Hill Audio Report, Wandering Toward the Altar: The Decline of American Courtship, prior to the early 20 th century, courtship involved one man and one woman spending intentional time together in order to get to know each other with the expressed purpose of evaluating the other as a potential husband or wife. The man and the woman usually were members of the same community, and the courting usually was done in the woman's home in the presence (and under the watchful eye) of her family, most often Mom and brothers. However, between the late 1800s and the first few decades of the 1900s the new system of â€Å"dating† added new stages to courtship. One of the most obvious changes was that it multiplied the number of partners (from serious to casual) an individual was likely to have before marriage. So, one important point to understand right up front (and about which many inside and outside the church are confused) is that we have not moved from a courtship system to a dating system, but instead, we have added a dating system into our courtship system. Since most young adults will marry, the process employed in finding a husband and wife is still considered courtship. However, an extra layer, what we call â€Å"dating,† has been added to the process of courting. If you are familiar with computer programming terminology, you can liken dating to a sub-routine that has been added to the system of courtship. Over the course of this two-part article, I would like to trace how this change occurred, especially concentrating on the origin of this dating â€Å"subroutine. † Let me begin by briefly suggesting four cultural forces that assisted in moving mate selection from, as Alan Carlson puts it, the more predictable cultural script that existed for several centuries, to the multi-layered system and (I think most would agree) the more ambiguous courtship system that includes â€Å"the date. The first, and probably most important change we find in courtship practices in the West occurred in the early 20th century when courtship moved from public acts conducted in private spaces (for instance, the family porch or parlor) to private or individual acts conducted in public spaces, located primarily in the entertainment world, as Beth Bailey argues in her book, From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth Century America. Bailey observes that by the 1930s and 40s, with the advent of the â€Å"date† (which we will look at more fully in the next installment) courtship increasingly took place in public spaces such as movie theaters and dance halls, removed by distance and by anonymity from the sheltering and controlling contexts of the home and local community. Keeping company in the family parlor was replaced by dining and dancing, movies, and â€Å"parking. † A second cultural force that influenced the older courtship system was the rise of â€Å"public advice† literature as well as the rise of an â€Å"expert† class of advisers — psychologists, sociologists, statisticians, etc. At the same time that the public entertainment culture was on the rise in the early 20th century, a proliferation of magazine articles and books began offering advice about courtship, marriage, and the relationship between the sexes. As Ken Myers says in Wandering Toward the Altar, from the late 1930s on, young people knew, down to the percentage point, what their peers throughout the country thought and did. They knew what was â€Å"normal. † Prior to the 20th century, â€Å"normal† was determined within families and local communities, but now a â€Å"higher authority,† with wide-spread circulation and readership, began to form a national consciousness. Thirdly, we see a change in sexual norms in the West. With the onset of the sexual revolution the question arose, â€Å"Why would a man court and woo a woman when he could gain a chief benefit of marriage, namely sexual gratification, for free with no commitment? † (Friendship â€Å"with benefits† is a contemporary example. ) Closely related to this is the invention of birth control. There is too much that could be said here, so I'll be brief. Simply put, with the onset of the idespread use of chemical and other means of birth control, the language of procreation — of having children — was separated from the language of marriage. As U. of Chicago ethicist Leon Kass argues in his chapter on courtship in Building a Healthy Culture: Strategies for an American Renaissance, under the old system of courtship, marriage and bringing a child into the world were inextricably linked. But no longer. With the ever decreasing risk of pregnancy, having sex and being marr ied were no longer tied together. Fourthly, we find a change in the models and metaphors used to describe the home and family. Prior to the 20th century, when we talked about courtship we used language and metaphors of home and family: â€Å"He'd be a good father,† â€Å"They could have such a happy home together,† etc. The new system of courtship that played itself out in the entertainment culture and public square largely was understood and described by the advice and â€Å"expert† class with metaphors taken from modern industrial capitalism. It's as if those who wrote and commented on male-female relationship had stopped reading the Song of Solomon and Jane Austen in favor of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes. The new courtship system gave importance to competition (and worried about how to control it); it valued consumption; it presented an economic model of scarcity and abundance of men and women as a guide to personal affairs — There aren't that many good men left, so you better get one while the gettin' is good! This new language of courtship had great symbolic importance and continues to shape the way we think, speak and act concerning relationships to this day. Have you ever known a girl who went out with a guy who was a complete dolt but who could help her get ahead socially? (And not to pick on women, it just as easily happens in reverse. Those decisions are based more on economic theory of the 19th and 20th centuries than on any sort of biblical notion of desire for the opposite sex. So, these are four important cultural forces in the early part of the 20th century that assisted in moving our culture from the older courtship system that existed prior to the late 19th centur y, to a courtship system that includes â€Å"dating,† which, I will argue in the next article, is much more ambiguous and confusing. I will also talk about dating itself (including the origination of the word â€Å"date†), and how it has changed over time. ttp://www. boundless. org/2005/articles/a0001456. cfm Filipino Custom and Tradition: Courtship Although they have dated for a while here in the United States, my brother in law has to continue to court not only his fiancee but her family as well. Courtship is one that is still being practiced among the strictest of the Filipino families. This is performed by the male (who is the suitor since it is wrong to do it the opposite way) visiting the home of the female. In the olden days, courtship doesn't start until the male suitor had obtained permission from the parents. This was done with the male suitor being accompanied by another respectable elder and approaching either the father or the mother of the female and obtaining permissions days in advanced to visit at a particular day and time. Nowadays this form of getting the parent's permission is still being practiced in the provinces, however, due to western influences, there are some variations more adaptable to the modern times. One alternative is to make a phone call, asking for the parents' or guardian's permission through an elder to schedule a visit. Another way is for the suitor to approach the parents in a public place, and informally asking for permission to visit. Either way, it is to show proper respect to ask for permission prior to the formal visit. Properly greeting the parents by placing the back of the right hand of the parents to the suitor's forehead is practiced to show respect. This is called pagmamano in Tagalog. When the permission has been granted, the suitor whether accompanied by a friend or an elder will visit the girl's home and offers gifts. Gift bags or boxes of goodies or Filipino snacks purchased from a local store and flowers are generally given. The snacks or other goods are offered to the family of the girl then the flowers and special sweets (like chocolate or candies) are given to the girl. In a strict Filipino home, during courtship, the parents are present during the first visit. This is the opportunity to get to know each other. This is sometimes called courting the parents first and winning their hearts and approval then letting the boy or suitor court the girl. Subsequent visits are then scheduled if all went well during the first visit nd, depending on how long the courtship will last, the answer is given by the girl with the parents' knowledge as well. Since my brother in law and his fiancee have already dated and gone through a bit of courtship here in the United States, what he would do in his visit is to court or meet her family. He brought some pasalubong (gifts) from America which he will give to each family member. Other culture may call this as dowry but in the Filipino culture it is just plain gift-giving. No suitor should go to a girl's home without bearing gifts at least during the first visit. Then he will be introduced formally to her mother since her dad had passed away and also meet her younger siblings. His fiancee and her family would prepare a special meal and he will partake in them whole-heartedly. http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/397501/filipino_customs_and_traditions_courtship. html The Filipino way of courtship is probably among the most romantic in the world. TRADITION Courting under Filipino tradition gives very big importance on the value of respecting the woman and her family and strictly adhering with proper rules set by society for pursuing a lady. This practice which dates back to the Spanish times prohibits men to be very aggressive or becoming even when they want the lady very much. One cannot just talk and approach a lady in the street and ask her number or address. If a young man sees a lady he likes he should seek out the help of a go-between, usually a common friend of both family, to ask the permission of the girls father whether he can visit them in their house. This is the gentlemanly thing to do so the parents will most likely approve unless of course the lady is just a child. When the approval is obtained, the suitor can then come to the house with the go-between who will initiate the introductions to the family. The parents in turn will introduce their daughter to the gentleman. In this stage, the suitor is expected to bring â€Å"pasalubong† or gifts to the family and a special one to the girl he likes. This he will have to do everytime he visits the girl’s house. In the Philippines, when you court a lady, you have to court her whole family as well. In this first visit, the couple will not be left alone on their own to get to know each other. It will just be an informal chatting and introduction and getting-to-know stage between the suitor and the family and making clear of the suitor’s intention to pursue the host’s daughter. After the initial visit, the suitor is then expected to woo  the girl by showing up in her house more often and establish rapport with the her family. This is the stage where he does the â€Å"paninilbihan† or servitude. He serves the girls family in any way that he can to show to them and to the girl of his sincere intentions and love for her, be it by chopping firewood, fetching water from the well, etc. It is a way of saying â€Å"I will do anything to prove my love for you†. At night, he will sing â€Å"harana† or love songs outside the girls house by the window with a guitar and his friends serving as back ups. They will sing and wait until the lady finally opens the window and invites them into the house. They will then be served with light snacks and they can talk in the presence of the girls parents and the man’s friends. Note that in most times, the couple will be with either friends or families. It is considered inappropriate to leave an unmarried couple unsupervised in those times no matter what their ages are. The process of courting a Filipina in the traditional sense is a long and arduous process. It is expected that a Filipina will play hard-to-get when court because that is the norm. No matter how much she likes the man, she has to show utmost restraint and disinterest. Girls are made to believe that men will value them more if they are made to work hard before letting them have what they want. So after a long period of paninilbihan and a series of haranas, the girl can finally accept the suitor’s love. At this stage, the couple can now start dating in public but always in the company of a chaperon. The man will still continue to come to the house and help out. When the time comes when he feels he is ready to get married, he and his parent’s will have to come to the girl’s house and the parents of the boy will have to formally ask the hand of the hand of the girl in marriage to their son. This stage is called â€Å"Pamamanhikan† or â€Å"Paghingi ng Kamay†. In doing this, they will have to bring with them, lots of food and presents as well as the dowry that they can present to the girls parents. In the Philippines, dowry is given by the boy’s family, not by the girl’s family. This is because we give high value to the women in our society and giving them away is not easy. When the two families have come to an agreement as to the dowry, the wedding date is set, a ring is presented to the girl and the couple is said to be betrothed. A small feast is then held with the food brought by the boy’s family. MODERN Although a lot of our traditional wedding practice is still being observed these days there are modifications and â€Å"evolutions† that has been introduced to it that gives it a more modern version. Modern Filipino courtship revolves more on the liberalism of Filipino youth. If Filipinos of opposite sex were not allowed to mingle in public in the old days, these days that is already possible. These has allowed courtship to be a little more lenient on youngsters. You can now meet a girl you like through a common friend or on a party but never on a street as the same is still regarded as inappropriate. Most parents would still want their children to be courted inside the house though some modern and liberal-minded Filipinas don’t do this anymore and prefers to meet up somewhere else instead, a clear disregard of tradition and parental respect. Modern courtship does not really have a pattern. It could start from a group date where friends would pair friends up and tease them. Friends could play cupid and set a couple up and leave them on their own to talk then before you know it they are going out on a date. With the influence of western television, modern courtship these days are going fast although it doesn’t necessarily have the emotional baggage attached with immediately going to bed. It would take a lot longer time for Filipinos to trust each other to get to that point. It stems on the virtues rooted from the olden days. Modern Filipina ladies are also decisive on their choices. Those who do not really want their suitors would not hesitate on letting them know of this fact. A refused suitor is called â€Å"basted†. These modern Filipinas are only a tip of the iceberg as most Filipinas especially the ones in the province still adheres to the traditional way of courtship. Most families still observes the rituals connected to panliligaw, pamamanhikan or paghingi ng kamay, dowry etc. Gone were the days of paninilbihan and haranas. These days, it is enough that a man shows up in a lady’s house and bonds with the woman’s family. He is not expected to chop wood or fetch water but at least show the girl’s family that he is worthy enough of her love. It is important though to note whether it be traditional or modern, to show your sincere intention of courting by introducing yourself to the family and impressing the girls family in any way that you can. ONLINE We know how hard it is to try and court a Filipina online, believe use, we’ve been there. Here are some helpful tips to go through with it: 1. Try to be as gentleman as possible. A Filipino male sets his best foot forward in courting a girl. That’s how the game is played. 2. Keep communication lines open. Filipinas love to talk on email, on skype, etc. They just want to feel and hear you love them all the time. This is their way of bridging the distance. Filipinas have a lot of insecurities, if you forget to call them they will immediately feel bad or suspicious you’re up to something. That’s true to most Pinays. Constant communication helps. 3. Filipinas love surprises 4. Make good all of your promises. When you say you are coming on a certain date make sure you come on that date. Sincerity to Filipinos is measured not by saying what is right but by doing what is right. http://www. western-asian. com/index. php/archives/30

Honey and mumford Essay

Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed their learning based on the work of Kolb. Their preferred learning styles are Activist, Pragmatist, Theorist and Reflector. These are the learning approaches that individuals naturally prefer and they recommend that in order to maximise one’s own personal learning each learner ought to: Understand their learning style Seek out opportunities to learn using that style  For people to understand their particular learning style Honey and Mumford have developed a Learning Style questionnaire. By knowing your result it means you are able to learn better because you get a better fit between learning opportunities and the way you learn best. This also makes your learning easier, more effective and more enjoyable. You can become an all-round learner, increases your versatility and helps you learn from a wide variety of different experiences. You can improve your learning skills and processes, increased awareness of how you learn and opens up the whole process to self-scrutiny and improvement. Learning styles Activists are people who learn by doing. They need to get their hands dirty, dive in with both feet first. They have an open-minded approach to learning, involving themselves fully and without bias in new experiences.The activities they tend to use for learning are: Brainstorming Problem Solving Group Discussion Puzzles Competitions Role-play Theorist learners like to understand the theory behind the actions. They need models, concepts and facts in order to engage in the learning process. They prefer to analyse and synthesise, drawing new information into a systematic and logical ‘theory’. The activities they tend to use for learning are: Models Statistics Stories Quotes Background Information Applying Theories Pragmatist learners need to be able to see how to put the learning into practice in the real world. Abstract concepts and games are of limited use unless they can see a way to put the ideas into action in their lives. They experiment, trying out new ideas, theories and techniques to see if they work. The activities they tend to use for learning are: Time to think about how to apply learning in reality Case Studies Problem Solving Discussion Reflectors learn by observing and thinking about what happened. They avoid leaping in and prefer to watch from the side-lines. They prefer to stand back and view experiences from a number of different perspectives, collecting data and taking the time to work towards an appropriate conclusion. The activities they tend to use for learning are: Paired Discussions Self-analysis Questionnaires Personality Questionnaires Time Out Observing Activities Feedback from others Coaching Interviews Learning style Honey and Mumford definition Activist â€Å"Activists involve themselves fully and without bias in new experiences. They enjoy the here and now, and are happy to be dominated by immediate experiences. They are open-minded, not sceptical, and this tends to make them enthusiastic about anything new. Their philosophy is: â€Å"I’ll try anything once†. They tend to act first and consider the consequences afterwards. Their days are filled with activity. They tackle problems by brainstorming. As soon as the excitement from one activity has died down they are busy looking for the next. They tend to thrive on the challenge of new experiences but are bored with implementation and longer term consolidation. They are gregarious people constantly involving themselves with others but, in doing so; they seek to centre all activities around themselves.† Theorist â€Å"Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex but logically sound theories. They think problems through in a vertical, step-by-step logical way. They assimilate disparate facts into coherent theories. They tend to be perfectionists who won’t rest easy until things are tidy and fit into a rational scheme. They like to analyse and synthesize. They are keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories models and systems thinking. Their philosophy prizes rationality and logic. â€Å"If it’s logical it’s good.† Questions they frequently ask are: â€Å"Does it make sense?† â€Å"How does this fit with that?† â€Å"What are the basic assumptions?† They tend to be detached, analytical and dedicated to rational objectivity rather than anything subjective or ambiguous. Their approach to problems is consistently logical. This is their ‘mental set’ and they rigidly reject anything that doesn’t fit with it. They prefer to maximise certainty and feel uncomfortable with subjective judgements, lateral thinking and anything flippant.† Pragmatist â€Å"Pragmatists are keen on trying out ideas, theories and techniques to see if they work in practice. They positively search out new ideas and take the first opportunity to experiment with applications. They are the sort of people who return from courses brimming with new ideas that they want to try out in practice. They like to get on with things and act quickly and confidently on ideas that attract them. They tend to be impatient with  ruminating and open-ended discussions. They are essentially practical, down to earth people who like making practical decisions and solving problems. They respond to problems and opportunities ‘as a challenge’. Their philosophy is â€Å"There is always a better way† and â€Å"If it works its good†.† Reflector â€Å"Reflectors like to stand back to ponder experiences and observe them from many different perspectives. They collect data, both first hand and from others, and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to a conclusion. The thorough collection and analysis of data about experiences and events is what counts so they tend to postpone reaching definitive conclusions for as long as possible. Their philosophy is to be cautious. They are thoughtful people who like to consider all possible angles and implications before making a move. They prefer to take a back seat in meetings and discussions. They enjoy observing other people in action. They listen to others and get the drift of the discussion before making their own points. They tend to adopt a low profile and have a slightly distant, tolerant unruffled air about them. When they act it is part of a wide picture which includes the past as well as the present and others’ observations as well as their own.† http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/eresources/teaching/theories/honey-mumford Kolb Kolb’s learning theory has four distinct learning styles which are based on a four stage learning cycle. The four learning styles are: Concrete Experience – A new experience of situation is encountered, or a reinterpretation of existing experience. Reflective Observation – Of the new experience. Of particular importance are any inconsistencies between experience and understanding. Abstract Conceptualization – Reflection gives rise to a new idea, or a modification of an existing abstract concept. Active Experimentation – The learner applies them to the world around them to see what results. In this respect Kolb’s theory is particularly elegant, since it offers both a way to understand individual people’s different learning styles, and also an explanation of a cycle of experiential learning that applies to us all. Kolb explains that different people prefer different learning styles. Various factors influence a person’s preferred style, in Kolb’s experiential learning theory Kolb defined three stages of someone’s development and suggests that our propensity to reconcile and successfully integrate the four different learning styles improves as we mature through our development stages. The development stages that Kolb identified are: Acquisition – birth to adolescence – development of basic abilities and ‘cognitive structures’ Specialization – schooling, early work and personal experiences of adulthood – the development of a particular ‘specialized learning style’ shaped by ‘social, educational, and organizational socialization’ Integration – mid-career through to later life – expression of non-dominant learning style in work and personal life. Kolb believes that effective learning is seen when a person progresses through a cycle of four stages: of having a concrete experience followed by observation of and reflection on that experience which leads to the formation of abstract analysis and conclusions which are then used to test hypothesis in future situations, resulting in new experiences. Kolb sees learning as an integrated process with each stage being mutually supportive of and feeding into the next. It is possible to enter the cycle at any stage and follow it through its logical sequence. The process of learning is influenced by a variety of personal factors. A thorough knowledge of these factors will help teachers and parents to understand and guide their child’s learning. Some important factors that can have an influence on a person’s learning are: Fatigue and Boredom – It is more boredom than fatigue that affects students more. The difference between the two is that fatigue is mental and physical tiredness which decrease in efficiency and competency to work. Boredom on the other hand is lack of desire to work. Age and maturation – Learning is dependent upon age and maturation. Learning doesn’t take place unless the individual is matured enough to learn. Some children can learn better at an earlier age while others take more to learn the same content. Interests – Various types of interests of the students can be exploited to facilitate their learning. Their interests during early infancy are mostly limited. As  a child grows their interests diversify and stabilize. Motivation – Motivation is the heart if the learning process. It generates the will in an individual to do something. There are two types of motivation that are commonly recognized. These are – Intrinsic; this type of motivation arises when the resolution of the tension is to be found in mastering the learning task itself. -Extrinsic; this type of motivation occurs when a student pursues a learning task for reasons that are external. For example, if a student engages in construction of a model aero planes because they think it would please their father, who is an ex-pilot, rather than because of intrinsic motivation. Intelligence – Intelligence is expressed by an IQ score on an intelligence test is positively related to learning. Generally students with a higher IQ learn rapidly however this is not always the case. Aptitude – A student who possesses appropriate aptitude for a particular subject of study or skill will learn better and retain it for longer. On the other hand they will require relatively longer time to study a subject for which they lack natural aptitude. Attitude – The learning process is also influenced considerably by the attitude of the student. If they are alert, attentive and interested in the material to be learnt. They are also bound to have a favourable attitude towards it. An attitude like that will enable them to tackle the learning situation economically, pleasantly and effectively. Environmental factors – Surroundings; students may easily get distracted and lose interest in the lesson if they are sat around friends as they are more likely to socialise instead of learn. Relationships with teachers, parents and peers; Relationships are important as bad ones can lead to stress and other problems for example if the student has a bad relationship with their teacher they might act out and may lose interest in doing work so they fall behind and don’t learn the correct stuff. Media; Media can be such a bad influence on most teenage students because of media such as social networking which can be easily accessed through their phone. This means they may be more tempted to use their phones during their lessons to use social networks such as Facebook or twitter. For example if that student is starting to lose interest in their lesson then they may be tempted to use their phones for that reason. I think that there are a few of these factors that influence my own learning process. For me these factors are Fatigue and Boredom Age and maturation Motivation Attitude Environmental factors I always find that my surroundings and social networking have a massive influence on my learning as I tend to get distracted by people around me, my phone, internet and TV. I am more likely to let these distract me if I am bored or don’t have any motivation to do the work. Because of this I often find that I am behind and sometimes struggle with the work I am doing. It’s important for people to learn the correct skills for learning so that our ability to understand and to help you gain the knowledge to increase your abilities to work to your full potential. There are different ways of learning which are: Observation Questioning Use of internet Supervisors Classroom Work experience Having these skills are important as they can make a person better because there is a range of skills that they can use to improve their overall knowledge. These skills impact my learning because of these I am able to improve on what I am taught by teachers by watching it in practice, asking questions to learn more about the subject of work, using the internet to research information about that subject of work, ask for help from teachers, learning supports and other students by asking other students it helps them as well as they get to go over what you are asking so it would tend to stick more. And by work experience so you get to learn while putting information to practice and this gives you opportunities to ask questions.

Police Brutality Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Police Brutality - Research Paper Example Roberts (2011) pointed that in youtube alone, an e-site containing video records, produced about 497,000 results when "police brutality" is subjected to the search engine. Roberts (2011) described that these videos either depict beaten women, kids and the aged or violent and bloody exaction of testimonies from unwilling suspects. Some testimonies of victims who were able to undergo sad ordeal revealed electrocution; suffocation, psychological torment or threat; emotional shocks; direct physical assault, and the like done by police with psychopathic and sociopath tendencies. Skolnick and Fyfe (1993) explicated that police brutality brought along with it such dehumanizing intent by treating the target with such concealed venality and such degrading impact of violent torture. Roberts (2011) attributed this inhuman way of managing suspects, civilians and victims to militarist treatment as abuse of power. Those who are involved in police brutality tactics are characterized with such nastiness as they were trained to view the public, the people whom they ought to secure, as their enemy. To some extent, some police officers have made policing activity leveled beyond preservation of order into cyclical patterns of injustice as commission of human rights. Often logged without witnesses to corroborate the conduct of brutalities, Bandes (1999) noted that authorities would just label this as an incident which is either isolated, systemic, or part of a larger pattern to suppress a movement. Bandes (1999) explicated that police brutality are often portrayed by court as something anecdotal, fragmented and isolated from institutional pattern (p. 1275) reinforced by causes that could be political, social, psychological and cultural (Bandes, 1999, p. 2). Experts opined that victims of police brutality would have difficulty expressing such unfair victimization because complaints about it are discouraged due to a dearth of evidence, lack of corroborative testimonies, records are expunged, and police records are purposively made inaccessible.

Switching behavior and cycling durability on TiO2 coated Mg4Ni thin Essay

Switching behavior and cycling durability on TiO2 coated Mg4Ni thin film mirror - Essay Example Transmittance of the mirrors that were coated with the TiO2 film in the transparent state is improved by interference of multiple layers. Switching responses of multilayer thin films (Pd/Ti/Mg4Ni) was not effected by the outermost coatings of the TiO2 films, that is, hydriding and dehydriding speeds almost the same compared to the uncoating mirrors. Magnesium [1-3] and magnesium-based thin films [4-9] with a cap layer of Pd that can be switched between transparent and mirror states by hydrogen gas loading have attracted attention for their potential applications as smart windows, optical switches, and hydrogen sensors. Among various switchable mirror materials, magnesium-nickel alloy thin films [5-7] are one of the most promising candidates for practical use of a switchable mirror from the point of view of material cost and optical switching performance. It shows, however, fast degradation like other switchable mirror materials; after about 150 switching cycles it can not be switched again [10]. This low stability is the most severe obstacle for their applications. The investigation of the degradation mechanism indicates that the formation of magnesium oxides at the outermost surface and failure of the Pd cap layer are the major causes of the degradation [10]. Magnesium in the thin film of Mg-Ni is easy diffusing towards the outermost surface during the hydrogenation and dehydrogenation processing due to the fact that the total energy is reduced by the segregation of the Mg to the surface [11]. The researchers have developed various devises to extend the lifetime of this mirror system for practical applications. For this purpose, the various polymer materials have been used as a protection layer by spin coating to surface of the mirror [12], and the hydrogen diffusion metals such as Ti, Nb and V as a protection layer inserted to the Pd top layer and the Mg-Ni thin layer period [13]. Polymer coatings can extend the switching

Discuss the merits and criticisms of the business case for equality Essay

Discuss the merits and criticisms of the business case for equality. To what extent could the state and trade unions contribute - Essay Example Equal opportunity is a fundamental need for the business, and it boosts the competitive advantage. Discussion Human resource department should recognize the importance of human capital in the work set up. Human effort is an asset to the organization and should be valued like other assets. Merit should be the key to rewarding employees. Discrimination should be avoided at all levels regardless of the race or gender. Women at the workplace should be offered equal opportunities as their male counterparts (Aristotle & Chase 1998, p.2). This essay will discuss the merits and criticisms of the business case equality. It will also draw the attention of the extent to which the state and the trade unions can contribute towards strengthening potential business case for equality in organizations. The primary concept of business strategy and in particular the equality case rests on the value for employers. Roles of Trade unions in strengthening potential areas of business equality Trade unions a dvocate for the collective bargaining case in the realization of business case for equality. The trade unions take all the grievances of the ethnic minorities and women and put proper action to address them (Gilmore 2013). All these are geared towards both the short term and the long term benefits. There is fight for equal treatment at all levels of management in the organizations. Union members are also able to come up with protective measures to the problems facing them. The voices of women are echoed through trade unions where they are treated with equality. Trade unions also advocate for equality in setting of minimum wage laws. All employees are supposed to be remunerated proportionally to the work done. There should be no cases of discrimination in wage set up. The human resource management should take the lead in advocating for the fairness in wages (Williams 2009). Women and minority groups voice their wage complaints to the trade unions which sometimes set the minimum indus try price. All the employers should view the equality concept as an interest to the business. There should be mobilization of power to do away with discrimination especially to pregnant women. The argument derives from social justice and the good will of the employees. Legislation should be effectively practiced in matters of human resource manager. Proper management of maternity leaves days will be a boost to the maintenance of potential talents in the organization. Many pregnant women who face the challenge of discrimination at work place reduce their productivity. In the long run, this has an effect to the organization in terms of profitability levels (Gilmore 2013). The concept of the business case for inequality is better understood when one considers the factors that hinder its effectiveness. The first factor is social class of the employees at work. Social class refers to the status of someone brought by the material possessed as compared to the other. People who have physica l materials tend to have their own class far from those who do not have. This greatly affects the level of work performance and result to poor results. The contemporary society is a good source of the social classes which are reflected at work places. Work is also another source of the classes among employees, and it affects their interaction. The greatest disadvantage of the social classes is the problem of unemployment among different people. Divisions are also caused by other

Feminist Legal Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Feminist Legal Theory - Essay Example The paper will examine the portions that constitute these two aspects and what makes them interconnected. In other words, an examination of how legal feminism as a concept affects feminist legal research will be done. Feminist legal scholars argue for a renewed dimension of research. They claim that gender recognitions had not been made in the past and that there is a need for adoption of a different phenomenon known as emancipator research. In other words, they are claiming that legal work needs to reflect the challenges affected by both sexes rather than merely focusing on the needs and perspectives of a universal experience. Radical legal feminists argue that men's experiences have always been treated as neutral or universal while female experiences are regarded as private or even negative. Consequently, these groups of legal feminists claim that there should be a radical transformation in law by accepting and changing power roles in the profession.1 Feminist research in law has been treated as something that lacks objectivity by opponents to this phenomenon. However, legal feminist researchers claim that objectivity is in fact a term coined by non feminists in an attempt to hide women's own subjectivity in law. Consequently, these proponents argue that research should not be treated as devoid off subjects. Instead, there should be an emphasis on the experiences and the actual challenges that subjects undergo in their everyday lives. Additionally, the latter adherents also claim that the utilisation of models during the research process is another way of forgetting the subject and thus renders such researches invalid. Distinctive features about feminist approaches to the study of law and how it compares to other approaches in the course Feminist legal theory is founded upon the premise that the law has been central in depicting historical subordination of women. There are two ways in which feminist legal theory can be treated the first is with regard to jurisprudence in which the law can be perceived as something that has been oppressive to the female gender. The second aspect is with regard to the transformation of society's perception of women through the law or through a reworking of the law. 2 This approach to the study of law is different from other arenas owing to the fact that it challenges the way the rights based approach to law or the liberal values in law are dealt with. The latter approach is synonymous with the liberal equality model of law. Here, greater emphasis is given to the issue of genuine rights accorded to the different genders rather than some of the conventional rights that have been accorded in the past to women. Through this school of thought, it is possible to see that there are certain links between injustice and gender. Feminist approach to law has also been instrumental in understanding that there are real differences between the genders and that these differences need not be obscured by the law. Instead, feminists assert that these differences should be brought to the table. The latter school of thought is held by sexual difference model adherents. However, the latter model is not synonymous to other feminists who claim that in order to ensure historic preclusion by the law is completely eradicated, then there must be treatment of both sexes as equal. These proponents hold that when the differences betwe

Risk Management and Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Risk Management and Investment - Essay Example Barclays has been able to acquire assets of the most competitive banks such as the Absa Group Limited in South Africa and bought about 54% of Juniper Bank (Davidoff 2012, p.42). On the other hand, Standard bank acquired Union Bank of Pakistan taking more than 81% of its assets. This strategy is not only aimed at perpetuating return on investment but also increasing the competitive advantage of the bank. Barclays bank has however been through some of the most difficult moments since its inception. In 2011, the bank suffered a loss of about 1.04 billion pounds (Treanor 2012, p. 4). This loss prompted the company to take objective measures aimed at minimizing the cost of operation. Between 2011 to-date, the bank cut more than 6,700 jobs as a way of addressing its challenges. Currently, market capitalization stands at about 54.75 billion. The dividends and earning per share have been dwindling since 2007 (Shankleman 2009, p.78). The management understands the role played by such factors as far as attracting investors and customers is concerned. This explains why the management has maintained its dividends at 6.50p and EPS at 34.50p despite the financial challenges. Risk management factors such as a focus on return on investment, customer satisfaction, leadership, and cutting on the cost of operation will be imperative. This will enable the bank to realize its objectives and become one of the most performing financial institutions in the world.The Barclays bank is one of the oldest of all banks that still stands strong. It has among the top 10 most active and performing banks in the world. Founded in 1690, the bank has subsidiaries in about 50 countries worldwide (Werdigier 2007, p.61). The old mutual on the other hand commenced its operations in 1845, making it one of the oldest financial institutions in Africa. With its headquarters in London, the Standard Bank serves more than 70 countries worldwide and millions of customers. On the other hand, Barclays Bank empl oyed thousands of professionals throughout the world to provide services to its more than 48 million customers.

Benefits of Video Games Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Benefits of Video Games - Research Paper Example Most institutions have installed computer laboratories to help their students to catch with the technology demanded by the contemporary job environment. Along this technology stands the gaming technology that continues to evolve and to become the favourite of many young students. In the invention of new video gaming technology, it was a mere source of entertainment that people could indulge to spend their luxury time. However, research has revealed that the value of video games in the life of learners has been ignored as these games can have both positive and negative impacts in their learning. Research points out that there is need for reconsideration of the application of video games in the life of learners both in their homes and in the school environment. Understanding the impact of video games on the learners learning will help to develop a strategy on which the negative effects can be eliminated and the positive can be optimized. Specifically, it will be possible to incorporate this technology in the learning environment and enhance the learners’ abilities. In this light, there is need to investigate the best approach to integrate computer aided video games in the curriculum. Video games have both physical and psychological impacts on the life of individual and this may affect their learning behaviour. Obradovic (2002) identifies that video games have had negative impacts on learners owing to the addictive behaviours that comes along their usage. As entertainment tools, video games are attractive and are addictive to their users statistics indicate that over 92% of children aged between 4 and 17 years have access to computer games and are likely to be addicts of playing these games. Addiction is the source of the negative impacts of the learning needs of the students. First, addiction comes about when a student spends

Argue about the misconception of Technology in Children Lives Essay

Argue about the misconception of Technology in Children Lives (Research based arguments of minimal 5 sources- 2 primary, 3 secondary, minimal 2 scholarly sources, needs citation in each paragraph) - Essay Example I could edit picture easily at my phone, mixing music through the application, and specialize for chatting and texting.  However, I recently realized that children now on is smarter than me for using technology. The toddlers were being introduced to IPod and keep playing with their gadget instead of playing with their friends. I also find out that child in this era has being addicted to games and not being responsible for their assignment. Skoric feels that addiction is not simply playing video games throughout but playing video games to the point of neglecting their responsibilities. However, people think --parents--that technology really helps child to learn and enhance more creativity. "Is it true that technology educate child to a better learner or it actually isolated them from the world and changes their behavior?" I believe that technology is harming the children because of the negative effects it is giving them. Children of today are mostly on their phones and iPods playing games. This leads them to becoming game addicts and inactive in other things that can help make their life improve such as studying. For example, they just sit in their bedrooms playing games and there is drop in their school performance. According Skoric in Cyberpsychology & behavior, trend of addiction are negatively related to academic performance. This is because they give more of attention to playing video games than school work. The child put effort to win the games and miss out on the value of educations. Mostly, the children who get addicted to these games have problem with interacting with other kids because they spend a lot of time on computer device playing video games. These make them even more addicted and there is a drop in their academics since they do not create time to study (Skoric 572). However, this game can also be good for the children if they play for reasonable amount of time. Skoric describes that it may

( individual Posters presentation ) for my project Speech or

( individual Posters ) for my project - Speech or Presentation Example Each poster must include: a. Customer Service and Demand Management The products of Al Ain mineral water organization is not without competition. Thus, to remain competitive in the market, Al Ain must also extend exceptional customer service in addition to the high quality and ready availability of their products. The demand side of the product is constant since water is an inelastic demand. It meant that the product that of Al Ain will always have a demand regardless of market condition because the market or its customers cannot live without water. It does not mean however that the company should be complacent in meeting this demand because if Al Ain fails to deliver its product, the competition will instead take its place and that would mean lost business for the company and will erode its market share. Demand management and customer service must come together to keep Al Ain relevant in the market. This means that Al Ain must have enough products to satisfy the customers while prov iding its customers with exceptional customer service to encourage loyalty to their brand. b. Inventory Management Al Ain mineral products must be readily available to the customers through its effective supply chain. It is not enough that the company has a good product but also has to ensure that their products reach the customer by keeping sufficient inventory to match the demand. But in doing so, it must not also overwhelm its inventory because large inventory will incur additional holding cost. In the case of Al Ain, they manage the number of inventory by matching the holding cost that will be incurred by stocking up with the ordering cost to determine the ideal quantity of their inventory. The ideal number of inventory must be enough to satisfy the anticipated demand without keeping too many products in the inventory. By maintaining an effective inventory management, Al Ain also reduces other costs such as unnecessary transportation cost and holding cost. It is important to not e that the life cycle of Al Ain’s products is less than 6 weeks so the company places its reorder in the fifth week to avoid selling spoiled products to the customers. c. Sourcing and Supply Management Supply management includes those processes which involve manufacturing the product to delivering it in the market which in the case of Al Ain mineral products, procurement of the water from the mountains and the fruits for its Capri Sun fruit drink. The bottled mineral water product lines have a straightforward procurement system because they not have to deal with a third party vendor since water is a product and fruits are products of nature. These resources must be use at its optimum to create a product that will bring optimum profit to the organization. It could also add value in the process such as the inclusion of flavoured water and added fluoride and calcium water in its product line not just to offer variety to its customers but also to optimize the products that can be made with the available supply. The life cycle of these stocks is not more than 6 weeks (Shauter & Theillio, 2006). In the fifth week of the inventory cycle the organization used to place reorder in order to utilize the time of distribution. The reason why a reorder has to be made in the fifth week as part of supply management to ensure that there will be available products when customer needs it without overwhelming its inventory. As part of its supply management, Al A

PASS Lifestyle, Leisure and Recreation Essay Example for Free

PASS Lifestyle, Leisure and Recreation Essay Introduction: The recreation and leisure activities present in our world today are differ from what generations 100 years ago participated in. Our physical environment is changing continuously under the effect of natural, cultural and economic systems which influence people’s lifestyles. As lifestyles change, peoples’ way of spending their leisure time, and leisure activity preferences, also change. Urban open public spaces such as parks seem to lose their popularity as shopping malls have become the new leisure centres due to the increasing need â€Å"to consume† of today’s societies. Our age has the accessibility of information and convenience of abundant transport to take us the venues that we can enjoy ourselves, or free ourselves from the issues of our daily life. Information of available activities that we know today, mainly come from sources such as the internet and the television or media. Media has shaped the many lifestyles of today, via their advertising of activities and appliances. By shifting our lifestyle, some of our interests in recreation and leisure have changed over the ages. Activities that existed 100 years ago but not today: Stickball. Stickball was a street game that is immensely related to baseball which adapts to the environment it was played in. The activity only required a rubber ball and a stick of any form. This activity has gradually died out, as people started to earn more money to afford playing other sports that involved swinging at a ball. The media also helped advertise America’s Major League Baseball, which put peoples’ interest into a more popular activity. Some people believe that this activity did not actually die out as it was the origin of all bat-and-ball sports that exist today. Playing Cards and Dominoes Since people living in the early 1900s, mainly middle-aged men, gathered together at bars after their day’s work, they took attraction to group activities. Their main activities were card games which involved betting small amounts of money or a glass of beer. In their houses, Dominoes was a common family game which appealed to all age groups. In today’s lifestyle, not all people have the luxury of time to participate in these activities or have lost interest due to the introduction of personal technological devices. These devices include the popularised iPod and computers, in which people can ‘surf’ the internet to find out many leisure and recreational activities which suit their lifestyle. Activities that exist now but not 100 years ago: Shopping The availability of shopping centres has increased rapidly in the past 10 years, as the world’s economy grew, and the average earning of families increased. The shopping for recreation and leisure of today mainly refers to excessive buying of ‘wanted’ materials for interest of the buyer. This modern activity is common among females, usually in groups. It fits into the lifestyles of women who do not work on weekends, and consumes much of the day, thus the inclusion of food courts in shopping centres. 100 years ago, shopping was not popularised as income of an average household was lower, and many women had to stay home to attend to the housework. The availability of shopping centres and transport to shopping centre venues was limited during that time. Most of the time, shopping was a chore rather than a leisure activity because it involved buying needs for the family, such as food and learning materials. Extreme Sports With increased knowledge and equipment to ensure safety, extreme sports are quite popular in modern society. These activities often involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion, and they can help isolate thoughts of current issues, help set new goals, and improve physical fitness. Some extreme sports which are available near suburban areas are: mountain bike riding, indoor or outdoor rock-climbing, body boarding and canoeing. In the 1900s, people were not aware of these activities due to the inconvenience of less media sources. Among teenagers and young adults, free running is particularly popular in city areas which have a variety of artificial environments. This activity did not exist 100 years ago because it originated from later popular movements like graffiti and internet groups. Dining Out The modern society values the bonding of couples more than the world 100 years ago. A common activity amongst couples is dining out, to create an atmosphere of romanticism. By observing the growing population, the variety of employed jobs is also growing. The food industry is one of the largest in the world, and has led to the creation of restaurants of different cuisines. Since the countries of the world are becoming more multicultural, people want to break away from eating their traditional foods. Dining out provides a solution to changing tastes, and may sometimes aid in saving time as cooking at home may take several hours when attempting to provide fine food. Activities which existed 100 years ago and still exist now: Soccer 100 years ago, soccer teams received growing groups of supporting members and fans that popularise the sport. The soccer associations of today have provided many opportunities for sport betting, employment and sponsorship to advertise brands or companies. In many schools of the 1900s and today, grassed areas were easily converted to soccer fields so that students could play this sport during or after school time. Older age groups can join soccer clinics and clubs where they can play for enjoyment at learning levels to competitive levels. Watching soccer matches is also considered a recreational and leisure activity among fan groups which follow the current soccer. Film Going out to watch movies was a leisure and recreational activity that was present 100 years ago and now. This activity is popular as many films relate to the current world affairs. This activity would not have survived if not for the extremely low pricing of cinema tickets in the 1900s. The price of tickets has inflated in our era, but this is acceptable as our average income has increased. Conclusion: From the research I have accumulated in recreational and leisure activities of 100 years ago and today, I have found out that a major factor of the changing pursuits has been the shifting of daily lifestyles. The trends originating from media has shaped the many lifestyles of our world today, which has in turn changed our interests. Another factor of our leisure and recreational pursuits is the availability of information and transport we have today that lets us do what we want. However, the popularity of early activities has declined as our society has further developed these activities, while the appeal of the activities has been surpassed by our modern trends and movements.

Conflicting Clients Interest; Case Analysis

Conflicting Clients Interest; Case Analysis Table of Contents What is Ethics? Moral Issue in the Case Possible Solutions to the Case Key considerations and Judgements Conclusion References What is Ethics? Professional ethics includes the personal, corporate and the organizational standards of the behaviour which is expected of the professionals. Professionals, who are working in esteemed professions, are well versed in exercising specialist knowledge. Professional ethics involves the governance of this knowledge when a service is provided to the public. Generally, professionals are good in making decisions, judgements and applying the skills to justify the decisions made by them later when there arises any discrepancy. Business ethics, also called corporate ethics is a form of professional ethics which examines the ethical principles (moral principles) and the problems that happens in a business environment. Today’s organization defines their approach towards professionalism through a set of discrete components. Some of them are mentioned below: Informally, a profession is a vocation that requires a high level of education and some amount of practical experience. They also take actions for the welfare of their clients. Professional ethics encompasses relationships with and also responsibilities towards the following set of stakeholders of a company: customers, clients, co-workers, and employees, others who are directly or indirectly involved in using or creating the goods and services of the company. Professionals in today’s context mainly include software engineers, consultants, doctors, layers, programmers, developers and the like. Some of the common guidelines that underscore all of them are mentioned below: A professional accountant in general has a moral responsibility to enhance and protect the business goals of his or her clients. The professional code of ethics as per the CCAB bodies does not in any way allow a professional accountant to hinder from fulfilling the duties. An accountant would always want to act in the best interest of his or her clients. There might lots of instances in due course of time which will test the ethicality and the moral obligation of an accountant. But caution must be exercised in that such ethical dilemmas are carefully analysed and due decision is taken which will protect the interest of the client as well the professionalism as an accountant. This is very important given the fast paced and money minded nature of today’s business world. There are many professional bodies which protects the interest of such professionals and acts in the interest of the profession (Gendron et al., 2006). Let us analyse the ethical dilemmas that arises in the case of â€Å"Case Study 3 Conflicting Client’s interests†. The case analysis is presented as mentioned in the framework ‘A Strategy for Understanding, Developing and Presenting Moral Arguments’ (Icaew.com., 2015). Moral Issue in the Case The case deals with a sole practitioner providing accountancy services for a client who is in to the business of selling hardware products for electrical services. Some of the services that the accountant provides are: preparing annual account statements, tax compliance and also currently the client has asked to provide due diligence for the purpose of purchase of another small hardware business. The accountant is also a continuity provider for another accountant who is also a sole practitioner, as he is not able to carry out the work because of medical reasons. One of the clients of the accountant who is ill is also planning to purchase the same small hardware business that the client of the accountant is intending to purchase. The new client is well known of the fact there is also another bidder for the business but is unaware of the fact the accountant who is involved is also performing due diligence for the competitor. Here comes the ethical dilemma in the case. The accountant wa nts to help the new client and provide value service on behalf of the accountant whom he is providing service to the client. At the same time, the accountant also realises the fact that he is supposed to maintain the confidentiality of information as per the agreement with his regular client (Icaew.com., 2015). The moral issue in the case mainly focuses on three core principles of professional ethics as follows: The accountant should be straight forward and honest. But at the same time, how can he ensure that he does not use the confidential information of one company when he is performing due diligence for the other. By doing so, he should ensure that he protects his reputation as an accountant and at the same time safeguard the reputation of his profession (Icaew.com., 2015). It is common for corporates today to have their code of conduct. On similar lines, it is also imperative for professional organizations to possess professional code of conduct. It provides statements pertaining to ethical values and also reminds workers that behaviour which is ethical is a critical part of the job. There are many organizations for professionals in their respective professions to register with them and maintain their code of conduct in their disciplines. For example, for computer professionals, the main professional organizations are ACM, IEEE computer society. These organizations jointly evolved the S oftware Engineering Code of Ethics and Professional Ethics. They underline the basic values like honesty and fairness (Lee, 1995). Possible Solutions to the Case Here in the case, it is very vital to understand that the accountant has responsibility for the practitioner on account of whom he is providing continuity services. He cannot let him down for his own good. It may be assumed that Company A may perform well out of the synergy that the company gets by acquiring as they are in the same line of business. However, this information is to be kept confidential by the accountant and not to be disclosed to company B. Doing so will violate the confidentiality clause which the accountant has signed with Company A. The accountant also has to comply with the professional code of ethics as an accountant and must act true to his profession because accounting being very critical information for a company (Icaew.com., 2015). The main parties affected in this case are that of the accountant himself, Company A and its promoters, Company B and its promoters, the target business which both A and B intend to acquire. The practitioner for whom the accountant is providing the continuity services will also be affected in this process. In an attempt to arrive at the solution to the case, none of the affected parties should be involved because; an attempt to involve any of the above parties in itself will breach the clause of confidentiality. Hence, the accountant on his own discretion should come up with the possible course of action. It may be considered that the practitioner on behalf of whom the accountant is acting as a continuity service provider may be taken in to account if the accountant feels the need for such a moral obligation (Icaew.com., 2015). The accountant should not disclose any kind of confidential information gained during the due diligence process to the directors of the company B. Also, the information should not be used which will give an undue advantage to Company B. The complication results from the fact the accountant has to work on behalf of the practitioner for whom he is providing the continuity services. The conflict can be avoided by declaring openly to the director of Company B. Even in this case, caution must be exercised in that what information to be disclosed and what not to be shared with the client. Also, the threat if any to confidentiality principle should be evaluated between the two clients. It is highly vulnerable to go for a decision which will give the company B that the accountant will do justice to both the companies and hence such a situation should be avoided under any circumstances. Hence, care should be taken such that which will ensure that the conflict of interest between both the comp anies A and B should be declared and stated explicitly (Icaew.com., 2015). Key considerations and Judgements It should be clearly mentioned that it would be impossible to act on behalf of the company B for carrying out the due diligence. There is always a moral responsibility towards the previous client and hence any violation arising out by servicing to the company B should be stated well in advance to the director of Company B so that he may exercise caution in the process. Such a disclosure should be well documented and maintained in case of any future discrepancies that may arise. There may occur a condition when the accountant may be forced to disclose the name of the other bidder. In such a situation, the name of the bidder should not be disclosed to either of the parties. This will only ensure that the threat of confidentiality is safeguarded. This is one of the last options to resort to as this situation to as such a situation arising is very difficult (Anderson-Gough et al., 2000). This is very important, the accountant is still in a moral obligation to provide services to the comp any B as the accountant is acting on behalf of the practitioner who is ill and unable to provide services to the company B. The practitioner can also be kept informed if it is deemed possible (Icaew.com., 2015). Under any circumstances, it is advised that detailed steps are well documented which will ensure that any future discrepancies are well protected and no breach of confidentiality arises in any situation. Hence the accountant is expected to clearly maintain the records of all the due diligence documents which he can refer to at later point of time in case of any complaints from any of the concerned or intended parties (Anderson-Gough et al., 2000). Conclusion From the above case, it can be seen that the issue of ethics is highly critical and severely impact the lives of people. Hence, professionals are expected to be highly ethical in their roles and understand the implications that arise of their immoral behaviour. It is also important that the organizations also encourage this ethical behaviour in their employees and promote this professionalism as a culture in their company. There are many organizations for professionals in their respective professions to register with them and maintain their code of conduct in their disciplines. Organizations should provide training programs to their employees on the severity of this aspect and also create awareness to the potential risks arising out of this (Lee, 1995). There are several other cases which highlight the different aspects of ethical behaviour. Professionals face the ethical dilemma in their day-to-day jobs and it is very important that ethics is never compromised. This will benefit the m personally, the organization for which they work and also the society at large. References Anderson-Gough, F., Grey, C., Robson, K. (2000). In the name of the client: The service ethic in two professional services firms.Human Relations,53(9), 1151-1174. Gendron, Y., Suddaby, R., Lam, H. (2006). An examination of the ethical commitment of professional accountants to auditor independence.Journal of Business Ethics,64(2), 169-193. Icaew.com. (2015).Practice case studies about resolving ethical problems | Ethics | Technical | ICAEW. Retrieved 29 January 2015, from http://www.icaew.com/en/technical/ethics/ethics-in-practice/practice-case-studies Lee, T. (1995). The professionalization of accountancy: a history of protecting the public interest in a self-interested way.Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal,8(4), 48-69.

History of documentary photography

History of documentary photography For this assignment we were required to work in groups to give a formal presentation on early documentary. Specifically the biography and works of the following three 19th century photographers; Francis Frith, Rodger Fenton and Mathew Brady discussing three images of each photographer. These photographers were a few of the first to record history in the making. To explore and share the places they captured and the people living there. This new form of communication played a vital role in the way society viewed painting and drawing. Not only as a method for channelling material but also as a medium of visual or artistic articulation. The Rockland Community College (2007  ¶3) when discussing the history of documentary photography give the following definitions; The Oxford Encyclopedia of photography defines documentary; â€Å"In the broadest sense, all photography not intended purely as a means of artistic expression might be considered ‘documentary’, the photograph, a visual document, of an event, place, object, or person, providing evidence of a moment in time. Yet the term ‘documentary photography’ has a more specific meaning. The Life Librarys Documentary Photography (1972) defined it as ‘a depiction of the real world by a photographer whose intent is to communicate something of importance—to make a comment—that will be understood by the viewer’. Francis Frith, an English photographer, was born in 1822. By 1853 Frith become a founding member of the Liverpool Photographic Society. A good businessman, Frith sold his companies in 1855 and committed himself exclusively to photography. He made three voyages to the Middle East, the first a trip to Egypt in 1856 with a sizable 16 x 20 camera. When he finally made the journey home Frith was regarded as celebrity as his works had reached London long before he had. In 1860 Frith embarked on a monumental mission. He wanted to document every city, town and village in Britain. His intention was to portray a 3D scene onto a 2D box as accurately as possible. While most travel photographers were partial to the more convenient paper-based calotype, Frith preferred to use the collodian process. This posed many problems during his expeditions to Palestine and Egypt where the climate is dominated by heat, dust and insects. His images have a literal, straightforward representation of the most characteristics of a place. This was accomplished by having a foreground middle ground and background. When possible he added people into his images to give an idea of scale and to add information such as hobbies and fashion. (see Addendum A, fig. 1-3) English born Fenton, came to photography from the legal profession. His first works were a series of calotypes taken during a visit to Russia. He became the principal founder of the Photographic Society of London. His most widespread acclaim came in 1855 with the Crimean War and becoming the official photographer for the British Museum after photographing Queen Victoria. Balaklava looking seawards, (see Addendum B, fig. 1) gives us a general view of the landscape and buildings. In the foreground sits the Commandants house, behind to the right, is the arms quay and the harbour, in the distance there is line of ships retreating. In the left corner we see the remains of the old Genoese castle which sits on the hills. Images of the war were originally intended to counteract the general unpopularity of war and occasional critical reporting (see Addendum B, fig. 2). The images from Fenton were transformed to woodblocks and then published in Illustrated London News which was regarded as a less critical publication. This staged image illustrates the civilised, structured and almost glamorized way in which Fenton wanted to portray the war. Widely regarded as the first iconic photograph of war (see Addendum B, fig. 3). This image was captured in close proximity to where the Charge of the Light Brigade (which was made famous by Tennysons poem) occurred. The soldiers writing back to their families called it The Valley of Death Fenton bolstered this by intentionally titling the image The Valley of the Shadow of Death with its specific reference to Psalm 23. This emphasizes Fentons efforts throughout his career to elevate the status of photography as an art. As seen by Fentons description this image fulfils the role of the documentary photographer in that it is a visual record of history in the making. Known as the father of photojournalism, Ameriacan Mathew Brady was one of the most acclaimed photographers of the19th century. Brady is best acknowledged for the documentation of the American Civil War and his portraits of celebrities. He made use of many paid assistants, managing to capture thousands of images of American Civil War. It is from these images taken that we gather the most knowledge and understanding of the curcumstances which occurred during the War. One of Bradys most well-known images of three confederate soldiers who were captured in Gettysberg, 1863 (see Addendum C, fig. 2). Due to the exposure time we can safely assume that Brady asked the men to gather in order for him to capture the image. In doing so the men intuitively posed in such a way that grants us an indication of how they wanted themselves portrayed. While these men are captives they still stand tall and proud, with one man even having his hand on his chest. Brady had the capability to recognize a story and capture the atmosphere of that story on to film. Brady took many group portraits of both Union regiments and Confederate soldiers. These images (see Addendum C, fig. 2) were all posed in a similar way, showing the order and discipline of both sides. Brady portrayed them all as American Heroes, they fight for that which they believe in. In comparison the photographs of both sides tell the same story of men willing to die for their cause, the only difference being their uniforms. The following image (see Addendum C, fig. 3) was taken of a slave known only as Gordon after he had escaped from a Louisiana plantation. Gordon found refuge at a Union regiment camp where, before he enlisted as a soldier, he was examined by doctors who found the horrific scars on his back. The purpose of the image was to record the brutal treatment Gordon was forced to endure. After this portrait was taken it became on of the most important and powerful images used as part of the movement to abolish slavery in America. Prior to the invention of photography all events, occasions and information were illustrated by a painting medium, and although many paintings evoke an emotional response it would be severely misguided to assume that what we are being presented with is not inaccurate, fictitious, or even unashamedly deceptive. Queen Elizabeth I, for example, has had so many different paintings composed that we have no real means of truly identifying her. However, unlike paintings, the images Frith, Fenton and Brady produced could show more accurately new landscapes and record historical events. Nasreen Chothia and Darren van Tonder 1