The military, political and social importance of the castle in King Essay

The military, political and social importance of the castle in King Stephen's reign - Essay Example own territories from the rivals, both Matilda supporters and King’s force started establishing fortifications on their own style of motte, bailey designs and fen-edge castles. â€Å"Meanwhile in England both parties were compelled to keep armed forces permanently in strong castles, if necessary building new castles or increasing the fortifications of old ones.†1 In the period of King Stephen various new fortifications were established and the existing ones were reconstructed. Stone built castles played a major role in the military and political spheres of the country. â€Å"Developments in castle-building certainly did not arise from the exigencies of war but to provide an appropriate lordly residence – offering security, not terror, to dependents.†2 Royal castles were built to maintain and control the township and the forests while the baronial castles were used by the lords in controlling their widespread territories and estates. In addition, the authori ties also excised power over baronial castles and placed restrictions on its construction. The baronial castles, of that time were considered as a threat to the public, due to their extensive control over the land and people, and so it was curbed by the monarchic authority by the castle policies and forfeitures. â€Å"There was a distinct ‘Angevin castle policy’ under which, by a careful strategy of building and forfeiture, the ratio of royal to baronial castles was altered to enhance royal power over that of the aristocracy.†3 It was during the period of King Stephen that these numerous castle building created a greater chaos to the social life of the people. The society was greatly affected with the castle-building of the powerful people. This included the ‘adulterine castles that are so prominent both in... The researcher states that in the period of King Stephen various new fortifications were established and the existing ones were reconstructed. Stone built castles played a major role in the military and political spheres of the country. â€Å"Developments in castle-building certainly did not arise from the exigencies of war but to provide an appropriate lordly residence – offering security, not terror, to dependents.† Royal castles were built to maintain and control the township and the forests while the baronial castles were used by the lords in controlling their widespread territories and estates. In addition, the authorities also excised power over baronial castles and placed restrictions on its construction. The baronial castles, of that time were considered as a threat to the public, due to their extensive control over the land and people, and so it was curbed by the monarchic authority by the castle policies and forfeitures. â€Å"There was a distinct ‘Ange vin castle policy’ under which, by a careful strategy of building and forfeiture, the ratio of royal to baronial castles was altered to enhance royal power over that of the aristocracy.† It was during the period of King Stephen that these numerous castle building created a greater chaos to the social life of the people. The society was greatly affected with the castle-building of the powerful people. This included the ‘adulterine castles that are so prominent both in modern times as well as in the chronicles which is probably considered as the root of all the evils of the reign.

MODERNITY VERSUS POSTMODERNITY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

MODERNITY VERSUS POSTMODERNITY - Essay Example The evolution of modern concrete and certain other building technologies have contributed to varied changes; thus design building has been and continues to be practiced in a more or less similar form in many states globally. Modernism architectures have become more coherent, a structured field containing a variety of equivalent strains and more pluralistic array of formal practices. Among the modern building design of the 20th century includes the MNCARS (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia), the Sistine chapel, St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney, which is a revival of gothic architecture, mosques, parliamentary building and many others. The idea of the avant-garde is considered as the hallmark and the beginning for novelty, which was distinctive from postmodernism architecture. The avant-garde comprehends itself as attacking indefinite territory, exposing itself to the threats of sudden, shocking encounters; conquering and as yet unoccupied future; thus the avant-garde must find aw ay in a scene into which no one seems to have yet ventured. Sistine Chapel One of the structural buildings of the 20th century is Sistine chapel, which is among the best and advanced acknowledged structural buildings for the apostolic fortress. ... Some of the painting styles employed by Michelangelo, which are on the ceiling, are among the utmost and notable works of the modern creative style ever created (Norberg-Schulz, 2000, p. 81). The frescoes of the Sistine chapel, which are mainly on the upper parts of the buildings especially on the ceiling and accompanying lunettes by Michelangelo, have been the issue for varied aspect of refurbishments. Sistine chapel has created spontaneous and shocking encounters to most people because of varied features and paintings, as well as, decorations of the buildings. The mystery that was gathered to reveal the contemporary issue was at formerly viewed as timely and timeless. For the aspect of timely, scholars explain that the faithful have higher complexity in accomplishing prayerful reminiscence and a sense of the existence of God. This is seen as a complex issue and a predicament that surrounds the holy or sacred structural designs. For the case of timeless, God never ceased to call hum anity to himself; thus he interceded through human history. There are varied realistic and grounded guiding doctrines that reflects upon the concerning aspect of vocation and mission of the structural designers in the church history. The sacred or holy scripture confirms that the purpose of architects and artists arose from the very aspect of God’s plan during the creation of the world; therefore, scholars beliefs that from the very beginning, the talents of architectures and artists have been shaped through a distinctive relation to the plan of God. From the sacred scriptures, God is seen as the divine architect and the first mission of God was to create a suitable place for man to dwell in or live and that was the Garden of Eden. Therefore, Sistine chapel is one of the sacred

Images of female bodies Essay Example for Free

Images of female bodies Essay Images of female bodies and female sexuality are displayed everywhere. Many images of women portrayed in the mainstream media glorify the ideal image of women and the feminine ideal. This paper discusses the way in which the media portrays the feminine ideal in mainstream media and compares the feminine ideal with the masculine ideal and the ideal image of women depicted in prior periods of history. The perfection that is idealized in the mainstream media is deliberating to women where images of beautiful women are plastered all around them and they feel that they need to aspire to a perfect celebrity image by being the perfect weight, wearing the best clothes and buying the latest make up that makes them look as beautiful as celebrities such as Scarlett Johansen. Media activist Jean Kilbourne is at the forefront of this media debate and argues that the images of women in the media means that real woman’s bodies have become invisible in the mass media. Advertising creates a mythical, mostly white world in which people are rarely ugly, overweight, poor, struggling or disabled, either physically or mentally. ’’ (Kilbourne, Beauty and the Beast). The problem of this `feminine ideal’ is that media images of beauty are unattainable for most of the women that aspire to this perfect image. The portrayal of the ideal body shape in celebrities applies a cultural pressure to be thin and achieve the ideal body shape on women who read magazines and the like. They sell values, images, and concepts of success and worth, love and sexuality, popularity and normalcy. They tell us who we are and who we should be. ’’ (Kilbourne, Beauty and the Beast) In contrast to the way that females are depicted mainstream media today it is interesting to look at ways that females were portrayed in prior periods of history. The more robust female figure was glorified in the past as seen in the art works and described in the literature of yester year. As time goes on the image of the `feminine ideal’ is becoming smaller and smaller. It is not only the female body that is imaged in the media but the masculine form as well. Masculinity is constructed in a similar way to which femininity has been constructed over the past few decades. Mainstream media representations play a role in enforcing the media representations of men and what it means to be a ‘real’ man in society. Traits that are typical of this ‘real’ man image include but are not limited to self -control, control of others, aggression and physical desirability. In conclusion, it is clear to see that the media now portrays an ideal image for both women and men to aspire to and that it is the media that idealizes and constructs this perfect and sometimes unattainable image. References Kilbourne, Jean. The Beauty and the Beast of Advertising. In Diana George John Trimbur (Eds. ) Reading Culture (pp. 178-184). New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc. 1999.

Analysis of the Starbucks Corporation Essay -- Business Management Sta

Analysis of the Starbucks Corporation History Of Starbucks Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Ziv Siegl founded Starbucks in 1971. Their goal was to sell the finest quality whole beans and ground coffees (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). In 1982, Starbucks had grown to five stores and started serving coffee to restaurants and espresso bars. Harold Schultz was employed as the director of retail operations and marketing. Harold Schultz convinced the founders of Starbucks to open a downtown Seattle coffee bar, which opened in 1984. With the success of Seattle coffee bar, Schultz left Starbucks to start his own company named Il Giornale. In 1987, Il Giornale acquired Starbucks retail operations for 4 million dollars. In addition, Il Giornale changed its name to Starbucks Corporation and opened locations in Chicago and Vancouver, B.C. (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). Starbucks continued its expansion throughout the late 1980 and beyond. In 1991, Starbucks became the first privately owned U.S. Corporation to offer stock options to part time employees (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). In the early 1990s Starbucks started setting up coffee shops in Nordstrom ¡Ã‚ ¦s department stores, Barnes & Noble bookstores and ITT/Sheraton hotels. In 1995, the corporation began selling compact discs and formed an alliance with the Canadian bookstore, Chapters Inc. In 2000, Schultz promoted Orin Smith to the position of CEO. Schultz remained chairman for the corporation. This allowed Schultz to focus on Starbucks ¡Ã‚ ¦ global strategy. Starbucks operates and licenses more the 7,500 coffee shops in more than 30 countries. Coffee Industry In the United States, coffee is the second largest import (Roosevelt, 2004). Furthermore, the United States, consumes one-fifth of all the worlds ¡Ã‚ ¦ coffee (Global Exchange, 2004). The present industry is expanding. It is estimated that North America ¡Ã‚ ¦s sector will reach saturation levels within 5 year (Datamonitor. n.d.). According to National Coffee Association (NCA), 8 out of 10 Americans consume coffee. In addition, it is estimated that half of the American population drinks coffee daily. The international market remains highly competitive. It is estimated that 3,300 cups of coffee are consumed every second of the day worldwide (Ecomall, n.d.). The latest trends included dual drinkers, an increase in senior citizens... ...ll us how we are doing. We appreciate your business and want to make sure we meet your expectations. Attached you will find a coupon good for 1 free coffee. Thanks again, for your time and patronage. How often do you visit Starbucks? DAILY ONCE/WEEK OR MORE 2 TO 3 TIMES A MONTH ONCE/MONTH EVERY 2-3 MONTHS 2-3 TIMES A YEAR OR LESS Overall, how satisfied are you , with [PRODUCT/SERVICE]? Please answer using the rating scale where (5) means "extremely satisfied" and (1) means "very unsatisfied." VERY UNSATISFIED UNSATISFIED SOMEWHAT SATISFIED VERY SATISFIED EXTREMELY SATISFIED How likely are you to use/purchase [PRODUCT/SERVICE] again? DEFINITELY PROBABLY MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT PROBABLY NOT DEFINITELY NOT NEVER USED Would you recommend [PRODUCT OR SERVICE] to others? DEFINITELY PROBABLY MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT PROBABLY NOT DEFINITELY NOT NEVER USED   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What recommendations would you offer for improving [PRODUCT/SERVICE]? _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________

Black Humor in Vonneguts Cats Cradle :: Cats Cradle Essays

Black Humor in Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚   The phrase Black Humor has the broad meaning of poking "fun at subjects considered deadly serious or even taboo by some"2. This definition is simple, and yet embodies an important idea that is often lost in more complex definitions: the idea that Black Humor can actually be "fun", and provoke laughter. This is not, of course, the only important aspect of the term, and I shall explore some of the other important defining features of Black Humor before moving on to discuss its use in Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle3. Many critics have attempted definitions of Black Humor, none of them entirely successfully. The most significant recurring features of these definitions are that Black Humor works with: absurdity, ironic detachment4; opposing moral views held in equipoise, humanity's lack of a sense of purpose in the unpredictable nuclear age, the realization of the complexity of moral and aesthetic experience which affects the individual's ability to choose a course of action5; and a playing with the reader's ideas of reality6. On their own these elements don't make up what we understand as Black Humor. Combine all of these ideas with the generation of humor, particularly through incongruity, and as a method of releasing tension, 7 and I think that we are close to realizing the complexities of Black Humor. But perhaps the best definition of all comes from a Black Humorist - Vonnegut himself. Black humorists' holy wanderers find nothing but junk and lies and idiocy wherever they go. A chewing gum wrapper or a used condom is often the best they can do for a Holy Grail.8 What, then, are Vonnegut's uses for Black Humor in his novel Cat's Cradle? I believe he has three primary uses, which are: entertainment; furthering the novel's themes; and raising self-awareness in the reader. Entertainment Vonnegut believes that writers can influence people's ideas profoundly. In one of his many speeches he stated the following: We will become influential when those who have listened to our myths have become influential. Those who are influential now are living in accordance with myths created for them by writers when they were young. It is perfectly clear that our rulers do not question those myths for even a minute during busy day after busy day. Let us pray that those terribly influential writers who created those our leaders' were humane.

Cultural Competence Essay

The claim that every person is a product of his own cultural background which includes, among other things, his life experiences as well as family, religion, ethnicity and age (Kim, 2001, p. 207) reflects the idea that cultural competence inevitably requires an understanding of other people’s cultural background other than one’s own. While it is true that â€Å"our cultural inventory provides us with valuable insights for understanding our beliefs and attitudes† as well as our values and assumptions† (Kim, 2001, p.  207), it is also important to consider the need to fill that inventory with how other individuals perceive people from other cultural backgrounds. With respect to cultural competence, it is not always enough to satisfy the need to widen our cultural awareness solely through our personal knowledge of other cultures. Indeed, it is true that we should look into the different parts of â€Å"our own cultural identity and examine their positive and negative impacts on our professional and personal development† (Kim, 2001, p. 27). But more to that, we should also consider how other people see other people in terms of their cultural background. In essence, cultural competence can sustain cultural awareness and tolerance inasmuch as it can further foster interaction among cultures. According to Johnson, Lenartowicz and Apud (2006), cultural competence involves at least four elements: knowledge of personal cultural worldview, knowledge of other cultural worldviews and practices, perception towards differences in cultures, and cross-cultural skills. Assuming that we are the products of each of our own cultural backgrounds, it appears that to be culturally competent means to be able to recognize other cultures and to be able to interact with those cultures. Interaction can come in many forms, from simple hand and facial gestures to the more complex ones such as personal interaction on a verbal basis. Whatever way we choose to interact with people who belong to another culture, it is important to practice tolerance towards cultural differences. Cultural intolerance can very well lead to disagreement or, worse, to bigotry. Cultural competence presupposes cultural tolerance precisely because the latter allows individuals from distinct cultures to interact with one another without resorting to hatred or bigotry. Cultural tolerance can only progress if people begin to realize the idea that the belief-systems that each one of us subscribes to does not necessarily invoke the task to assimilate others into our own belief-systems (Persell, 1997). It can also progress if people are able to realize that various cultures can live side-by-side without necessarily interfering with the affairs of one another (Fischer, 2007). If communities of individuals are able to coexist and interact, the cultural landscape becomes one that is peaceful and lively. In a peaceful and lively society thriving with unique cultures, the task of obtaining and practicing cultural competence becomes an easy task. On the other hand, a society where racial bigotry exists among others is a society that pre-empts cultural competence right at the bud. One way to achieve cultural tolerance is through seeing and understanding how other people understand other people from other cultures. Additionally, it also helps to see and understand how other individuals interact with other individuals from other cultures. Like a third-person viewer, being aware of the dynamics of the cultural exchanges of people expands our mental horizons as we become more equipped with cultural knowledge that we may have hardly had in directly interacting with people from other cultures. Our cultural inventory becomes more comprehensive since we are able to gather more information about how people from different cultures communicate, for instance, with one another. Many different forms of cultural exchanges happen in ordinary life and to be able to bear witness to these different forms gives us a clearer picture of what it takes to be culturally competent. When we begin to realize that cultures do not essentially incite hatred and indifference, we become more convinced to study other cultures and to mingle with other people. Eventually, being culturally competent becomes an easy task to take. Another way to achieve cultural tolerance is through a theoretical study of the practices and beliefs of various cultures. This can be done with the help of academic institutions which offer formal ways to introduce and to educate people about the ways of other cultures. These institutions provide a pivotal role in enlightening people—presumably students—about unfamiliar cultures and their practices and beliefs. Armed with cultural insight, people can, in a manner of speaking, let other cultures be. Moreover, the education given by these academic institutions provide a fundamental block towards reaching the goal of cultural competence; for without at least an academic knowledge of cultures there can hardly be any individual progress towards any one of the four elements of cultural competence. Perhaps the most effective and yet most difficult way of achieving cultural tolerance is through the study and practice of the languages of other people. Interestingly, it is argued that language holds the most useful key to understanding other cultures (D’Andrade, 2002). The setup and function of the linguistic component of culture appears to be universal. That is, every language in the world regardless of cultural distinctions involves the receiver and the sender of the message of the medium, language being the medium. Language regardless of cultural distinctions is essentially used for communication, which is why learning a ‘foreign’ language is a crucial step in learning a ‘foreign’ culture because it enables us to penetrate linguistic barriers. Having the language of another culture as part of our so-called â€Å"cultural inventory† is a formidable advantage in dissolving the hindrances towards a comprehensive cultural awareness and, ultimately, cultural competence. How is it possible that cultural tolerance leads to cultural competence? For the most part, a person who is tolerant of other cultures is a person who has already satisfied the need to know one’s own culture and other cultures. An individual cannot be tolerant of a culture which he or she is not even aware of. Moreover, the culturally tolerant person is also someone who has already formed his own perceptions towards other cultures including his own. The only thing missing in all of these is the actual practice of that tolerance into reality. A person who is fully tolerant of other cultures is one who is already able to interact with other individuals who belong to another race or religion, for instance. As a case in point, expatriates are people who have been absorbed into another culture in more or less the same way as they have absorbed such culture into their lives. They are culturally tolerant individuals because, at the least, they are able to mingle and live with people of what used to be a different culture. More importantly, expatriates are also individuals who possess cultural competence not only as a result of their cultural tolerance but also as a product of their interest and inclination in becoming ‘one’ with another culture. They become thoroughly attached to another culture to the point that they are already able to speak the native tongue, subscribe to and practice the dominant religion or even adapt the general lifestyle of that culture. In any case, cultural competence and cultural tolerance go with one another in most, if not all, instances. It may be noted, however, that our reflection on â€Å"the various aspects of our own cultural identity and [our examination of] their positive and negative impacts on our professional and personal development (Kim, 2001, p. 207)† may not necessarily lead to cultural competence. It may only lead us to cultural tolerance to a certain degree without ever reaching the stage of putting into practice what we have learned from our acts of reflection and examination of our cultural identity. Even though â€Å"each of us is a product of our cultural background (Kim, 2001, p. 2007),† we are not naturally inclined to be culturally competent. The fact that there are people who struggle to become culturally competent and that there are those who deny themselves of the chance to become one suggests the same thing—human beings are not naturally inclined to know other cultures and to interact with them. However, what it entails on a positive note is the idea that there is the possibility of an overlap among the many different factors involved in determining the cultural identities of individuals. Perhaps the biggest struggle towards achieving cultural competence is overcoming the possibility of treating one’s personal cultural worldview or even one’s culture as superior to the rest. In submitting to such risk, we become more prone to cultural intolerance as we tend to put down cultures other than our own. We may eventually lose interest in knowing other cultural worldviews and in observing people of different cultures interact with one another from an outsider’s perspective. Our â€Å"cultural inventory† becomes filled only with our own cultural worldviews and our reflection and examination of culture may hardly extend towards other cultures. Nevertheless, people can overcome all these risks and struggles as part of the task of becoming culturally competent. A person’s level of cultural competence may hardly be quantified (Fischer, 2007) but it does not mean that there is no such thing as cultural competence. The fact that cultures exist and the fact that each person is the product of his own cultural background (Kim, 2001) suggests that interaction among cultures is possible, if not highly likely. Obtaining cultural competence may be a laborious task but, in the end, it poses large benefits in sustaining cultural tolerance on both personal and group levels. REFERENCES D’ANDRADE, R. (2002) Cultural Darwinism and Language. American Anthropologist, 104, 223-232. FISCHER, M. M. J. (2007) Culture and Cultural Analysis as Experimental Systems. Cultural Anthropology, 22, 1-65. JOHNSON, J. P. , LENARTOWICZ, T. & APUD, S. (2006) Cross-Cultural Competence in International Business: Toward a Definition and a Model. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 525-543. KIM, E. Y. (2001) The Yin and Yang of American Culture: A Paradox, London, Intercultural Press. PERSELL, C. H. (1997) The Interdependence of Social Justice and Civil Society. Sociological Forum, 12, 149-172.

Treaties and International Law essays

Treaties and International Law essays As international instruments proliferate, the remedies available to states for breach of international obligations and the number of institutions offering for a granting of such remedies have expanded. Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is no longer alone in providing a forum for the granting of remedies. Different trade, environmental, or law of the sea regimes, for example, has expanded the range of options Yet, with this expansion come new problems, tensions and questions. For example, will a given institutional option actually be effective' Is the proliferation of procedures and mechanisms necessarily a good thing' What happens if different institutions offer diverging jurisprudence' Which factors determine the choice of one forum over another' Evolving out of the papers and presentations given at the Fourth EC/International Law Forum hosted by the Law Department at Bristol University in May 1997, Remedies in International Law is a collection of essays by leading international jurists on the remedies available to states in international law and the issues "flowing from the multiplicity of procedures and mechanisms".[1] Discussions go beyond the examination of traditional institutions such as the ICJ to more recent institutional that under the Convention on the Law of the Sea and to alternative dispute The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) "represents the first world-wide court set up specifically to deal with a major part of international law since the establishment of the International Court of Justice fifty years ago".[2] David Anderson and Robin Churchill examine, in different pieces, new institutional arrangements under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Both focus on the ITLOS. However, while Anderson examines the establishment, jurisdiction, rules of procedure and judicial policy of the Tribunal, Churchill ...