Great Power Hegemony

Name: Sayed Jamaluddin Firozi, St no: 1B1019 Great power hegemony There is a question that which system (empire, balance of power, concert of power or great power hegemony) provides the best conditions for advancing peace, prosperity and civilization? There are several opinions about the advantages and disadvantages of each system and the functions, abilities and disabilities of them to maintaining the peace and stability in international arena. But I want to argue on hegemonic power system as a preventer of war among states and a maintainer of peace as comparison to other suggested types of system for advancing peace, stability and civilization in all over the world. Hegemonic power system is the best system for advancing peace, prosperity and preventing war among states comparing to other types of systems such as empire, balance of power, and concert of power. In this paper I will argue that as history of international relations show most wars and conflicts among states occurred in a lack of a hegemonic power because a hegemonic power try to act as a policeman and don’t let the states to start war. If war happens mostly the super power will enter the war to stop it because the hegemonic power does see itself as a policeman to have the right to intervene. So, hegemonic power is good for making peace and stability in the world. There are many reasons that great power hegemony system could be the best option for developing peace and preventing the war. It is clear that two world wars happened in the absence of a great hegemonic power. For example if in the 1910s there was great power hegemony the First World War may did not happen. In addition, hegemonic power system naturally makes its allies and don’t want to go just for its own interest but also look for others as well. In contrast in balance of power each actor in the system try to pursue its national interests and want to increase the power in terms of military or other resources. Furthermore, great power hegemony can be very helpful in cooperation among states, because the hegemonic power bear the most cost of transaction in the system. For example USA as a hegemonic state â€Å"pays the 22 percent regular expenditure of United Nation and 25 percent of the budget while UN goes for peacekeeping operations around the world. On the other hand, â€Å"the system of balance of power doesn’t seem to contribute the cooperation among states but in contrast it pushes the states to go for a competition and armament race because each state in the system will increase its capabilities to make the balance in the system. Eventually this competition will lead nation state to build its arm forces†. However, there are some arguments about the weakness of hegemonic power to prevent states from going to war. They argue that hegemonic power has its own limitations in term of internal and external barriers to go as policeman around the world. This arguments see very good and logic. But they don’t have any proposal that which system could be the best to make the world more peaceful and prosperous. So, despite these points of view the other types of system such as balance of power or concert of power likely aren’t good replacement for great power hegemony system to be succeeded for making peace and stability in the world. So I will try to give more examples from history of international relations to show the other systems (empire and balance of power or concert of power) couldn’t make a stable and peaceful world. But mostly went to war and there was fear of attack from other country in the era of those systems. In conclusion, there might be some suggestion for advancing peace, prosperity and stability within the system of great power hegemony. References: 1. Luard, Evan. The balance of power: The System of International Relations, 1648 – 1815, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1992. 2. Kennedy, Paul, The Rise and Fall of Great Powers, Random House, New York, 1987 3. Huntington, Samuel P. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1996. 4. Journal of Peace Research. 5. Brooking Institution Press. 6. The Better World Campaign. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. . U. S. Dues and Contributions to the United Nations, The Better World Campaign, http://www. betterworldcampaign. org/issues/funding/us-dues-and-contributions. h tml , [ 3 ]. . Journal of p eace research, 1964-2007 (Vols. 1-44), http://www. jstor. org/stable/422972? seq=3

Madre de Cacao

Gliricidia Sepium is known as Madre de Cacao or Kakawate. Madre de Cacao is common here in the Philippines. This plant has a great benefits in treatment on the skin and also it is use for antimicrobial. This plant is a natural insect repellant. It is toxic to humans when it mixed with rice or maize ( also known as corn ) which is use as rat killer. The researchers choose this kind of plant is because it has a capability to kill parasitic mites which may help to the animals who are now experiencing skin disease like mange ( skin disease of a dog and cats ).If this disease are continuing to be further this may transfer to humans that may experience skin disease which is called scabies. The group of researchers has a goal to determine if this plant can use as treatment for the dogs that are experiencing mange. B. Statement of the problem : This study generally aims to find out if kakawate leaves can be used as as parasitic mites killer in dogs and cats†¦ More specifically, study ai ms to determine the following †¢How long it will take for the extract to take effect †¢Amount of extract more effectiveC. Significance of the study: Among people dog is usually chosen as their own pet, because of its great skills and caring as an animal. Aside from knowing them as â€Å" Man’s Best friend† they are also used to be the guards in our home. Dogs really need to avoid burglars and lessen the crime. Dogs can’t avoid from having a disease one of this is Mange. It may transfer to humans if this disease will continue to spread.This study aim to help dogs from avoiding skin disease such as mange, with help of Madre de Cacao (Kakawate) it may give a solution. D. Scope and Limitation: The researcher will just focus on the study concerning the extract Madre de cacao as parasitic mites killer. The study only limits the effect of Madre de cacao as parasitic mites killer. This plant has no bad effects in the animals and humans. This plant is toxic whe n it mixed with rice and maize ( also known as corn)

The Effect of Classroom Management on High School Academic Achievment Research Proposal

The Effect of Classroom Management on High School Academic Achievment - Research Proposal Example Research Problem The problem at hand is to determine whether or not classroom management can effect the academic achievement of high school students. Many factors may or may not play a role in this and will evaluate a teacher's discipline, organization, and other factors that could be reflected on how the classroom is managed. This problem could be determined in various high schools across the United States to see what hurdles a teacher's personal management of a classroom reflects on high school students' academic achievement. The hypothesis of this problem as discussed in this research proposal would be that if a teacher's classroom management will impact a student's academic achievement. It may not reflect in all students but it will impact most students. Literature Review Classroom management is a critical role in education aside from curriculum itself. Teachers play many roles in the classroom but their primary role is that of classroom manager. If a poorly managed classroom is full of students that are disrespectful and disorderly, there is a lack of discipline from the teacher, then both students and teachers suffer (Marzano, Marzono & Pickering, 2003). However, sound behavior management does not necessarily guarantee effective instruction but it does increase the foundation for an environment that makes for good instruction. Additionally, the teachers' abilities to organize the classroom and discipline the students effectively, letting students know who is in charge will help to keep the classroom under control and the students are more apt to respect the teacher and learn from her guidance. This will then establish a much better... This study investigate the effects of classroom management on high school students using an applied method of research in order to perform an evaluation. The purpose of this is proposal is to identify the previous research already performed by other educational professionals, discuss their findings and then use that information to develop an additional experiment required in order to perform the actual research in order to further support or disprove the theory that classroom management may or may not have an effect on students in a high school setting. Additional factors other than just classroom management may also impact a student's achievements at school and achievement is crucial to the impact that each and every individual student will have on society and the way that their life will play out, having successful lives both in work and personally in the future. The importance is discovering the correlation, if there is one, that an implemented efficient classroom management serie s of methods can has on these students' achievements and potentially lay the groundwork for the rest of their lives. This report makes a conclusion that at various times throughout the research time frame, a series of tests should be given to each class at the exact time frame to see how they score academically. The test would be universal to all classrooms that were participating in the research. There should be at least three or four tests taken throughout the semester to measure the academic achievement of each student.

Constitutional Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Constitutional Law - Essay Example In such a way, the power of government officials to harass and/or infringe upon what the founders saw as the â€Å"fundamental† and â€Å"innate† rights of mankind is severely restricted. Firstly, it must be understood that regardless of what type of economic situation the given country ascribes to, and even regardless of the particular political situation that may exist within its boundaries, the restriction of government from being able to stop and search an individual without any type of probable cause or warrant violates the very most basic forms of human rights and democratic ideals by which a free and open society is ultimately founded upon (Cady, 2012). Taking this example and present era, or the recent past, it can easily be determined that the fourth amendment the United States Constitution provides a level of protection of the individual, is/her papers, and personal effects, that many nations have not traditionally respected (Leong, 2012). Yet another reason w hy the fourth amendment to the United States Constitution can and should be considered as the most important is with respect to the fact that the prior amendments, and subsequent amendments for that matter, would make little if any sense if there was not a level of guaranteed protection for the personal facts, documents, and persons that were subject to search. What is meant by this is that the freedom of expression would necessarily be negated if any and all individuals that expressed an alternate view to whatever political party or power was in control at that time were summarily searched and harassed, the entire fabric an understanding of why the freedom of speech was important and should be appreciated would necessarily evaporate (Harr, 2012). Similarly, the right to own and bear arms would have little if any merit if any and all non-owners worsen merely harassed and searched by law enforcement officials at each and every juncture. The same can of course be applied with regards to the rights of African-Americans or women to vote, the same could be applied with regards to freedom of assembly and/or freedom of religion. In fact, each and every amendment the United States Constitution is predicated upon the belief that the United States government will not retaliate against a specific group of individuals for exercise of their rights (Robinson, 2004). By constraining the level and degree to which government and/or law enforcement officials can target and search specific subsets of individuals, this particular amendment provides a very broad level of freedom with respect to the fabric and foundations of the Republic. Finally, the fourth amendment is one of the few amendments to the United States Constitution that specifies a particular course of judicial action with regards to the way in which the rights and law of the United States must integrate with one another. Although it is true that the other amendments make necessary reference to the means by which law is utilized to protect these rights, the fourth amendment is unique due to the fact that it specifically delineates the means by which searches and seizures must take place in order to ascribe by the very laws that have been discussed and applied (Richardson, 2012). Although it is not the intention of this analysis to set the United States apart as the best country on Earth or seek to define it in glowing

Globalization and human resource management practice 03191 Essay

Globalization and human resource management practice 03191 - Essay Example The increasing relevance of globalisation is influenced by numerous factors including talent shortage in developed countries, low cost labour accessibility and technological development. The aim of the study is to draw attention to the key issues relating to the global management of people, significance of human resources management in international organizations, globalisation leading to convergence in human resource management practice and the human resource impact relating to various changes (Paik, Chow and Vance, 2011). The objective is to conduct an in-depth study on globalisation and its impact on human resource management and then derive a conclusion to the study. In the developing countries, globalization has a giant impact on the human resource management (Rowley and Benson, 2002). It has led to unionisation and homogenization of the strategies of an organization. It led to the convergence in the structures and processes of an organization as well as in the consumer’s choice. In the increasing stage of globalization, the organizations felt the need to change and the new trends came into existence in the management of the human resources. Globalisation resulted in changing the organizational structure improving competence but the negative result is that the staff numbers had to be reduced (Edwards and Kuruvilla, 2005). The employees have been minimised in various sectors such as telecommunications so that the organizations can gain a competitive advantage. The human resource planning strategy is focussed on having limited workforce in the core areas which enabled the organization run profitably. The organizations outsourced for the no ncore jobs which led to increase in independent contractors in the service industry. Globalisation hence can be said to have an extraordinary impact on the developing countries

Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Blog - Essay Example The red face logos have a lot than meets the eye. This is because, for years, there have been advocacy for the red color stereotyping. The logo connects in many ways to Native American caricatures the under fire. The red colored C and red face for instance for many years hints using the derogatory word â€Å"redskin† as its Indians baseball team’s mascot. The connection is more of an embodiment of ferocity, savagery and aggression of this group. These intriguing logos illuminate the origins of tidy Native Americans stereotypes. Likewise useful in understanding the root of derogatory Native America caricatures like â€Å"redskin.† Through critically analyzing the logos, the history of Native Americans stereotyping is evident. Over the years, the images have been used to echo the insignificant cultural consequences, the real import that is not actually apparent. These are clear indication of the dispute and the recent need to come with alternative

Causes of World War I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Causes of World War I - Essay Example This is what will be dissertated in the following. "Facts are mere accessories to the truth, and we do not invite to our hearth the guest who can only remind us that on such a day we suffered calamity. Still less welcome is he who would make a Roman holiday of our misfortunes. Exaggeration of what was monstrous is quickly recognized as a sign of egotism, and that contrarious symptom of the same disease which pretends that what is accepted as monstrous was really little more than normal is equally unwelcome." (Max Plowman from Subaltern on the Somme). World War I, which has also been known as the First World War and the Great War, lasted from August 1914 to the final Armistice on November 11, 1918. Ultimately, this war created a decisive break with the old world order that had emerged after the Napoleonic Wars, as modified by the mid-19th Century national revolutions, "the processes of European national unification and European colonialism." ("Wikipedia", 2006). Unlike World War II, the circumstances leading up to World War I are more politically complex. There are several commonly used explanations towards the reasoning for the cause of World War I, some of which are as follows: The actual 'spark' of World War I occurred after the assassination of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife by a Serbian nationalist on the morning of June 28, 1914, while traveling in a motorcade through Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The Archduke was chosen as a target because Serbians feared that after his ascension to the throne, he would continue the persecution of Serbs living within the Austro-Hungarian empire." ("Cyber", 2006). The humiliation of Germany, which occurred after Austria attacked Serbia on July 29 and Germany invaded Belgium on August 3, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan. The guilt plause in this particular situation portrayed Germany and Hungary as being the aggressors, and therefore as those bearing responsibility for hostilities. What this meant was that Germany was responsible for paying all war costs - including pensions - of the Allies. It has been said by some that "This directly affected the global economy and indirectly contributed to the Great Depression." ("Wikipedia", 2006). Another commonly viewed explanation is that of the building of alliances and the related arms race. This factor was of great significance primarily because of the fact that the incorporation of allies resulted in severe strengths or weaknesses. From the end of the Franco-Prussian War, a system of secret alliances formed and developed in Europe. This of course eventually split the continent into two hostile and separate sides. These secret alliances led to much speculation and suspicion and the belief that far more secret alliances actually existed, then was in fact, the case. The major participants in the related arms race were Britain and Germany, tying in with the concept of new imperialism which gave way to the need for alliances. Competition was another major factor in the cause for World War I. The competition for colonies was a source of much international antagonism. "The great powers sectioned off Africa among them, established spheres of influence in China and sought protectorates elsewhere. Sooner or later this rush

Philosophy vs Ideology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy vs Ideology - Essay Example ividual is considered to be faced with different concepts which primarily aimed at understanding the human existence, mind, values, culture, reason and more. Thus, philosophy is an integral part of the human experience because of his intellect and moral obligations in line with his pursuit to understand the nature and origin of ideas. Beliefs and ideas disregarding whether they are true or false are integral part of ideology (Eagleton, 1991). The most familiar adage puts it that no man is an island. This implies that socialization is part of being human. Thus, the society in general is composed of individual, social movement, institution or group which function together based on certain beliefs and ideas. These guide them in their daily living as they continue to exist and be a part of the highly structured society. Thus, an ideology therefore is a guiding principle underlying the existence of an individual, class or group. For example, the Greek mythology is a specific replica of what an ideology is all about. Doctrine on the other hand is another form of ideology. Considering that there are various religions in the world, each of them carries substantial doctrine which is another form of ideology. The Roman Catholic has specific doctrines that may or may not be applicable among Protestants. Philosophy on the other hand tries to organize beliefs and ideas based on the truth using the senses. Everything is highly intellectualized with Philosophy. For instance, a suspect may remain as such until proven guilty due to strong supporting evidences. In Philosophy, it is only the truth that counts in order to understand various concepts, ideas or beliefs in order to trace their very nature or inception. In a society where people’s beliefs are subject to what they felt, perceived and experienced, the truth is always based on what the human mind can fathom or understand. It is in this reason that faith does not need to be intellectualized because it is more than what

Analysing the organisational approach to segmentation,targeting and Assignment

Analysing the organisational approach to segmentation,targeting and positioning - Assignment Example Procter and Gamble also acknowledged as P&G is one of the leading packaged product providers in the world. The company operates globally and offers a variety of products under different brand names. Furthermore, in the highly dynamic business environment, marketing strategy is considered to be a crucial determinant for attaining competitive advantage and for gaining profitability with the aim of surviving at the marketplace. Thus, this paper consists of critical strategic analysis of P&G related with market segmentation, target market and positioning followed in different geographical regions.Procter and Gamble, popularly known as P&G is the one of the leading consumer packaged products company. The company’s annual sales turnover is nearly US$84 billion with annual net earnings exceeding US$10billion. It has also established a brand portfolio of about US$25 billion. Additionally, the company offers a wide range of products which include household care products, grooming produ cts, personal healthcare products and beauty products among others (Procter & Gamble, 2012). The company operates its business in almost all the continents across the world. Evidently, it operates in 180 countries located in different continents. The company offers its products through grocery stores, membership club stores, discount stores and through merchandisers. Moreover, the company employs in excess of 110000 employees globally. From the critical perspective, it has been identified that markets in which P&G operate are highly competitive due to the presence of global and local competitors. Despite high competition faced by the company, it has been able to sustain its business profitability and to establish itself as one of the renowned brands across the world. It is worth mentioning that the company’s primary mission and purpose is to offer superior quality branded products and services that significantly contribute towards improving the lives of its worldwide spread c ustomers. Over the period of time, the company has prospered dramatically and is continuously able to improve its overall performance and thereby increase it revenue earnings capability. With due consideration to the above recognized facts, the paper intends to critically analyze P&G’s approach to segmentation, targeting and positioning. Furthermore, this paper entails certain valuable recommendations for the company so that it is able upheld its existing market dominance and superiority along with focusing on offering quality products to its long-list of trusted consumers. Market Segmentation Strategy It has been critically observed that as a key strategic differentiator from its close competitors, the company offers a wide range of products to its globally dispersed customer base. In general, the company’s business strategies are fundamentally focused on outsized scale operations, product innovation and development along with strong product branding in order to seek greater competitive advantages. The company’s strategy is continuously directed towards innovating new products and selling these products to its diverse assortment customers in order to attain sustainability and constant growth. Moreover, the company has made considerable investments worldwide and has significantly involved in joint ventures, acquisitions along with establishing alliances to enlarge their business operations and market reach (Graul & et. al., 2006). Additionally, the company operates under three major global business units namely P&G Household Care, P&G Family Health and P&G Beauty. Correspondingly, these global business units of the company are primarily separated into five major divisions which include Healthcare, Snacks and Coffee, Fabric Care, Baby and Family, P&G Beauty and Home Care (Graul & et.

Conditioning and Learning Essay Example for Free

Conditioning and Learning Essay Learning, acquiring knowledge or developing the ability to perform new behaviors. It is common to think of learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, and people continue to learn throughout their lives. (Gregory, 1961) Conditioning is the term used to designate the types of human behavioral learning. Since the 1920s, conditioning has been the primary focus of behavior research in humans as well as animals. There are four main types of conditioning: ? Classical Conditioning ?Operant Conditioning ?Multiple-Response Learning ?Insight Learning. Conditioning and Learning 2 LITERATURE REVIEW Classical Conditioning Classical conditioning, also called associative learning, is based on stimulus-response relationships. A stimulus is an object or situation that elicits a response by one of our sense organs, like how a bright light makes us blink. Associative learning allows us to associate two or more stimuli and change our response to one or more of them as a result of simultaneous experience. (Moore, 2002) According to classical conditioning, learning occurs when a new stimulus begins to elicit behavior similar to the behavior produced by an old stimulus. Studies into classical condition began in the early 1900s by the Russian physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov. (Klein, 1998) Pavlov trained dogs to salivate in response to two stimuli: noise or light, and food or a sour solution. The dogs salivation is automatically elicited by the food and sour solution, so these were called the unconditional stimulus. However, when the noise or light (conditional stimulus) was repeatedly paired with the food or sour solution over an extended period of time, the dogs would eventually salivate at the noise or light alone. This is a prime example of a conditioned response. Unconditional stimuli, such as the food and sour solution, allow the learning to occur, while also serving to reinforce the learning. Without an unconditional stimulus in his experiment, Pavlov could not have taught the dogs to salivate at the presence of the noise or light. Conditioning and Learning 3 Classical conditioning is particularly important in understanding how people learn emotional behavior. For example, when we develop a new fear, we have learned to fear a particular stimulus, which has been combined with another frightening stimulus. Operant Conditioning. Operant conditioning is goal-directed behavior. We learn to perform a particular response as a result of what we know will happen after we respond. (Blackman, 1975) For example, a child may learn to beg for sweets if the begging is usually successful. There is no single stimulus that elicits the begging behavior, but instead it occurs because the child knows that this action may result in receiving treats. Every time the child receives sweets after begging, the behavior is reinforced and the tendency of the child to beg will increase. During the 1930s, American psychologist and behaviorist Burrhus F.Skinner performed several important experiments into operant conditioning. Using what is now termed a Skinner Box, he trained rats to press levers to receive food. A hungry rat would be placed in a box containing a special lever attached to concealed food. At first the hungry rat would wander around the box, investigating its surroundings. Eventually it would accidentally press the lever thereby releasing a food pellet into the box. At first the rat would not show any signs of associating the two events, but over time its exploring behavior becomes less random as it begins to press the lever more Conditioning and Learning 4Â  often. The food pellet reinforced the rats response of pressing the lever, so eventually the rat would spend most of its time just sitting and pressing the lever. This type of learning is based on the idea that if a behavior is rewarded, the behavior will occur more frequently. There are four main types of operant learning: Positive Reinforcement, Negative Reinforcement, Punishment and Omission Training. Observational Learning When we learn skills, we must first learn a sequence of simple movement-patterns. We combine these movement-patterns to form new, more complicated behavioral patterns with stimuli guiding the process. (Domjan, 1995) For example, efficient typing requires us to put together many finger movements, which are guided by the letters or words that we want to type. We must first learn to type each letter, and then learn to put the movements together to type words and then phrases. To investigate this type of learning, psychologists have observed animals learning to run through mazes. An animal first wanders aimlessly through the maze, periodically coming to a choice-point, where it must turn either left or right. Only one choice is correct, but the correct direction cannot be determined until the animal has reached the end of the maze. By running through the maze numerous times, the animal can learn the correct sequence of turns to reach the end. It has been found that the sequences of turns near the Conditioning and Learning 5 Two ends of the maze are learned more easily than the parts near the middle. Similarly, when we try to learn a list of items, we usually find the beginning and the end easier than the middle. Insight Learning Insight refers to learning to solve a problem by understanding the relationships of various parts of the problem. Often insight occurs suddenly, such as when a person struggles with a problem for a period of time and then suddenly understands its solution. Therefore insight learning is solving problems without experience. Instead of learning by trial-and-error, insight learning involves trials occurring mentally. In the early 1900s, Wolfgang Kohler performed insight experiments on chimpanzees. Kohler showed that the chimpanzees sometimes used insight instead of trial-and-error responses to solve problems. When a banana was placed high out of reach, the animals discovered that they could stack boxes on top of each other to reach it. (Schwartz, 1983) They also realized that they could use sticks to knock the banana down. In another experiment, a chimp balanced a stick on end under a bunch of bananas suspended from the ceiling, then quickly climbed the stick to obtain the entire bunch intact and unbruised (a better technique than the researchers themselves had in mind). Kohlers experiments showed that primates can both see and use the relationships involved to reach their goals. Conditioning and Learning 6 CONCLUSION There are many differences and similarities between each of these learning processes. For example, classical conditioning involves only involuntary or reflex responses where as operant conditioning involves both involuntary and voluntary reflexes. These diverse learning processes can be used independently in many different situations. Where classical conditioning may be extremely effective in one situation it might be ineffective in another. For this reason each of these learning processes, classical and operant conditioning and observational and insight learning are each as important and effective as the other. Conditioning and Learning 7 References. Kimble, Gregory: (1961) Conditioning and Learning, New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. John W Moore: (2002) A Neuroscientists Guide to Classical Conditioning. Stephen B. Klein: (1998) Contemporary Learning Theories: Pavlovian Conditioning and the Status of Traditional Learning Theory, Chap. 5 (Perceptual and Associative Learning). Derek E. Blackman: (1975) Operant Conditioning: Experimental Analysis of Behaviour (Manual of Modern Psychology). Michael Domjan: (1995) The Essentials of Conditioning and Learning. Tighe, Schwartz: (1983) Modern Learning Theory, Psychology of Learning and Behavior 2nd edition.

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN INDIA CONSTRUCTION SECTOR †OVERVIEW

CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY IN INDIA CONSTRUCTION SECTOR – OVERVIEW The development in  Indian construction industry  feature is almost equal to the construction industry development in other countries. It is founded by the government and gradually it was taken over by the enterprises. After self-government requirement for industrial and infrastructural developments in India, they established the stone of construction, architectural and engineering services. The stage from 1950 to mid 60s witness the government in concert an energetic role in the expansion of these forces and most of construction performance during this period were carried out by state owned enterprises  and supported by government departments. The Indian construction industry is an essential part of the economy and a direct for a considerable part of its development involvement and is positioned for growth on account of urbanization, industrialization and profitable expansion and peoples rising potential for better quality of living (Indo Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 2008). IMPORTANCE OF CONSTRUCTION: Construction is an important part of any countrys infrastructure and industrial growth. Construction industry, by means of its diffident and forward linkage with various additional industries like cement, steel bricks catalyses service generation in the country (Indian Construction Industry, 2008). Construction can be classified into 3 segments such as 1) Infrastructure 2) Industrial 3) Real Estate FINANCIAL BACKGROUND OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: In India, construction is the second main economic activity after agriculture. Construction financial records for nearly 65 % of the total investment in infrastructure and is probable to be the main recipient of the surge in infrastructure venture over the next five years. Investment in construction accounts for nearly 11 per cent of Indias Gross Domestic Product (GDP). à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬239.68 billion is likely to be invested in the infrastructure sector over the next five to ten years in power, roads, bridges, city infrastructure, ports, airports, telecommunications, which would provide a huge enhancement to the construction industry as a whole. Investment for residential, non residential and civil engineering construction as follows in given table: invst in conc indus Table 1.1 Investment in Construction Industry (Swarup and Mahajan, 2001) Investment into this division could go up to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬93.36 billion by FY2010. With such confident prospects in communications, associated industries. For the first time cement is one of the consumptive associated industries is set to exceed the 150-million tone mark. Considering the demand for the commodity, capacity utilization rose to over 100 per cent to touch 102 per cent in January 2007 with dispatches touching 14.10 million tones as against the production of 14 million tones. As opportunity in the sector continues to come to the forefront, foreign direct investment has been moving upwards. The real estate and construction sectors conventional FDI of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬216.53 million in the first half of the current fiscal year (Swarup and Mahajan, 2001). DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES IN INDIA: This industrial construction includes the building, renovating, preservation, repair, and destruction of industrial buildings such as (Compliance Information Portal, 2008): crematoriums chemical plants medical waste disposal primary manufacturing oil and gas facilities pulp and paper mills golf courses INDUSTRY SEGMENTS: REAL ESTATE Residential, it covers housing and Development Industrial, it includes Industrial Parks, Factories, Plants Corporate, it includes Office and research Centers Commercial includes retail, shopping malls, Showrooms ,Hotels INFRASTRUCTURE: Indias blooming communications sector is fuelling demand for all kinds of construction equipment. Earlier than the opportunity of the Indian economy, and the entry of worldwide majors, a great deal of infrastructure development and construction in the real estate sector was done manually. But with the infrastructure and construction sectors undergo spectacular changes with 60-storeyed sky-scrapers being built in cities like Mumbai, and thousands of kilometers of expressway and highways being laid across the subcontinent for builders and contractors are acquiring complicated equipment to execute the multi-million-dollar projects. For the construction equipment division, which has adapted rapidly to the distorted situation, this is really good news, as it pave the way for an exciting future. Roads Railways Urban infrastructure (improved housing, water supply and sanitation, schools, universities, health and security, etc.) Ports Airports Power CONSTUCTION INDUSTRY FOR ROAD AND RAIL NETWORK: Mainly countrys economic growth and trade are based on transport.No production can take place unless and until such as raw materials, labor, and fuel can be moved to and from different locations. Without roads, rail, water, and air transport, manufactured products cannot be delivered to consumers. Mainly road transport because it is very cheaper in all of these transport (World Bank Group, 2010). IMPORTANCE OF ROAD TRANSPORT IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: India is the second largest road network in the world for road of 3.3 m km. Almost one billion people living in rural areas in rising countries do not have right to use to reliable roads. These roads are important to ensure that farmers get agricultural inputs in time and can get their harvested products to market with minimal cost, disruption, and loss. After 35 years the global population will grow to 2.5 billion. India is a developing country. So most of this expansion will be in urban areas. The number of cities more than one million population will reach to 358 by 2015. This development, coupled with ongoing globalization and trade liberalization, will increase exact for the transport of people and goods (World Bank Group, 2010). The World Bank has delivered $36 billion in lending for the transport sector since 2000. In 2009, lending reached a peak of $6.5 billion, amounting to over 13 percent of the World Banks commitments for the year. The volume of lending anticipated for 2010 is strong and this growth in investment is expected to continue in subsequent years. TRENDS AND ISSUES:   Facilitate for economic growth and regional integration through national and international trade. And make the cities with better work for citizens not only for environment and also it develops economy growth. Change economic opportunity and growth in rural areas. Make available admission to health and education facilities. FEATURES OF CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: In this industry mainly we face difficulties with temporary structures and these are compounded by the detail structure that compared to most other industries, the construction industry is single in many ways, as follows It is a large but diverse and split industry Every job is exclusive with numerous and Complex tasks It is labour concentrated work involving many materials and heavy loads The work force is transient which is difficult to train, when mainly if there are more labours. typical temp structures Fig 1.1 Typical Temporary Structures (Krishnamurthy, 2010) IMPORTANCE OF SAFETY IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: Due to the following concerns, Safety is very important aspect in all types of industry Humanitarian concerns. Economic concerns. Professional, institutional, and social concerns. Legal and regulatory concerns. CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY MOVING TOWARDS CONSOLIDATION This industry is shifting towards a stage where large companies are well clear. LT,Lapee etc are the big companies undertaken the major engineering and construction projects like power plants, construction of dams etc. this leads for huge demand between so many limited companies (Scribd, 2008). The cost of real estate in the urban India is very important which will need companies to have more resources so as to require new lands and develop them. The big companies can live and will be few in numbers with well clear territories of procedure. The demand in metro cities is completely inelastic with certain well distinct competition will make huge boom for operating companies. The industry is affecting towards consolidation the increase urbanization which leads the local players also have a great chance to serve the huge demands of people. CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Change management is something relates to a process of controlling the changes that happens to the infrastructure or any kind of services, in a controlled way, facilitating changes with minimum distraction (Office of the City Auditor, 2010). Change is unavoidable and has become routine in life. Planning, applying and managing change in a dynamic environment is most common situation in which present organizations work. Change generally engrosses three features as represented diagrammatically below (JISC Infonet, 2009). Change management has become a complex problem for most public sector organizations which are going to be affected by the daily ongoing changes due to the new requirements almost every day. Change needs managers to take right strategic decisions without which may lead to consume more time, money and reliability of the involved stakeholders (Capacity Building Programme, 2007). The change management system should make out all the variations from the specifications and drawings of the contract and should also present a method for the technical support and project approval. The recommended change should be implemented in a proper manner as excessive change may result in more cost and difficulty (The Construction Users Roundtable, 2004). Kotter recommended an 8 step process where organizations can avoid failure and become expert at change (Kotter International, 2010). Performing by necessity Developing the Directing alliance Establishing a change vision Conversing the Vision Buy-in Allowing Broad based action Creating short term wins Not to give up Formulate Change stick CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The literature review will commence by explaining how the construction industry in India has undergone changes in the recent past and how it managed change. According to Paton et al. (2008) The management of change is a complex, dynamic and challenging process rather than a set of recipes and is never a choice between technological, organizational or people-oriented solutions, but involves combinations for best fit; integrated strategies designed to produce results. This chapter will also highlights the concepts of change management, different approaches and technologies that aid change processes in any organisation. Change has to be managed in any organisation and managers play a major role in change management as the most observed barrier to successful organisation is the lack of change management. Hiatt and Creasey (2003) quoted the importance of managing change in a broader sense as: Things did not go exactly as planned and the unexpected happened, so managing the people side of change impacted their success and introduced risk into their projects. 2.1 TYPOLOGIES OF CHANGE: According to Luecke (2003), organisations generally face the challenges from new competitors, new technologies, and new markets for higher performance to come up with the obstacles and improve business performance. The changes fall into the following types. Structural Change: During this type of change, senior management tries to rearrange the functional parts to attain better performance. Cost Cutting: These mainly focus on the eradication of unimportant activities for compressing operations costs. Process Change: These focus on changing how things can be done in a different way to make the process effective, faster and more reliable. Cultural Change: These focus mainly on the relationship between employees and the senior management. 2.1.2 CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Baca (2005) viewed that, change is unavoidable and change may either seen as a good or a bad sign for any project. According to him, change management can be defined as the proactive identification and management of modifications to your project. Managing change engages managing four difficult tasks which of these have to be completed efficiently to accomplish successful output and the four tasks are welcoming change, organizing support, performing change and constructing change potential (Nilakant and Ramnarayan, 2006). Fig: Change Management Model (Adapted from Nilakant and Ramnarayan, 2006) 2.1.3 APPROACHES TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Relationship maintenance strategies are significant in terms of the strategies followed    in change management and relationship outcomes pertain to the result of the strategies. In organisation change management there are two types of approaches (Stroh, 2004). 1) Planned approach:         It is a  first approach which represents a variety of models descending from the practice of organisation. The main characteristics of this approach is that it places emphasis on process and deals with change over a significant period of time and follows holistic approach and it encourages  participations. 2) Emergent approach:    It is  second approach in the change management which recognises that highly dynamic environments demand more contingent methods that are more situational and where change strategies can be modified to achieve maximum fit with the ever changing environment. With this approach organisation can rely less on complete plans and  projections and build up instead an understanding of the complexities and the issues concerned. 2.2 ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGY AND ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE: While managing a strategic change, there is too much dependency on the individuals at higher level in the organisation and the change agent may be a middle manager or a consultant who works along with the managers within an organisation (Johnson et al, 2008). According to Stranks(2005), change management has to take place in an organisation with a need to eradicate the stress caused at work because of change by maintaining effective communication of what is happening and this change should be well organised on a stage basis. Organisational culture seems to be more important while managing change. A cultural outlook on organisations offers insight into change barriers and how to overcome these barriers (Balogun and Hailey, 2004). 2.3 LITERATURE ON CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: Indo Italian chamber of commerce and industry (2008) clearly gave an overview of construction industry in India. It clearly explained that construction industry is an integral part of the economy and a conduit for a significant part of its growth investment and it is poised for growth on report of industrialization  economic development and rising people expectations for improved quality of living. This paper emphasizes on the financial criteria in Indian construction industry. This report told that construction is the second largest economic activity after the agriculture. This paper explains about what industry segments are and how many types of industrial  segment are there. It also gave a clear idea of how about in all round development of Indian economy. Finally this paper concluded that Indias booming infrastructure sector is fuelling demand for all types of construction equipment before booming the infrastructure development and construction equipments in real estate  se ctor done manually. Swarup (2007) mainly gave a brief description about the overview of practices being used in Indian construction industry and he also gave an idea about political, legal and social frame work and also explains the economic overview of administrative and regulatory features improvement and development of Indian construction industry. He also told about the globalization of construction services with outlook of WTO and GATS. And he also notified the opportunity and activity in the construction areas where he relied on the usage of PPP models, type and extend use of international standard forms of contracts and its administration and certifications process. Generally, in this paper, he clearly  explained about Indian economic surroundings and several systems and procedures and also focused on further boost in construction industry which would provide the basic infrastructure for the nation as well for different industries. Manjrekar et al (n.d.) explained that in India, there are large numbers of buildings which are more than 40 to 50 years and which need to be renewed.   They also explained about the old and new structures in constructions. They mainly focused on the constructions of old and new building and what are the rules applicable for that. They also told that construction  chemicals have been used in large number of construction projects. They told that new construction projects market is also usual to enlarge the demand for construction chemicals. Within next few years, the construction market is expected to grow more than 30 percent. In most large scale construction, there is variety of construction  chemicals that will be used for designing. This paper also focused on the key issues and challenges this fledging industry faces and it also told about the desk research and field research. They explained about the construction industry turnover and rate of growth in construction industry from year 2002 to 2007. They emphasized on the outlook and potential of the Indian construction industry and also gave a light on the expenditure in construction structure and about different types of policies. They mainly focused on 2 main players in the market. They are Pidilite industries and Choksey chemicals and the growth strategies of these players have been evaluated.   It mainly compares the  development strategies engaged by these Indian firms in the current scenario and environment of operation. It also focused on analysis of the theoretical propositions in Indian context. Siddique (n.d.) gave a detailed description about Indian cement industry and utilization of fly ash and construction waste in construction related activities. He also told that if there is development in materials, it will affect the design and construction of facilities. These facilities are very important for the significant growth of any  nation. He also discussed about the topics like issues facing the technology of concrete materials, maintenance of construction facilities, quality, assurance, production, design. Finally, in this paper, he concluded that developments take place in construction industry India as well as potential advances anticipated in the next 10 years for the  concrete construction industry through substantial use of supplementary cement materials. Love et al (2000) presented a study on Total Quality Management (TQM) which is a means to any learning organisation. They felt that for the improvement of performance in construction industry there requires a cultural and behavioural transfer in the attitudes of the expert, academic and specialized organizations. They provided a theoretical model for any learning construction organisation. They notified that several organisations are looking for alternative means of supporting and allowing a learning society inside their organisations which allows the employees to make decisions and implement required changes. If construction organisations want to become learning organisation, then they should need to implement a change in culture and behaviour. They proposed a few number of dimensions that are to be taken into consideration for describing learning organisation as: a relation with the changed results and behaviour, difference between organisational and individual learning, identifica tion of the environment, deutro learning and double loop learning. Sattineni (2008) presented the recent changes in telecommunications sector for off-shoring structural design work in developing countries like India and china. He also mentioned in the paper that economic outsource is a key reason for this possibility to be realized and it is reasonable to be considered regarding the effects of outstanding in the design sector and its effect on the construction industry. He mainly explained about United States construction industry. The author conducted detailed interviews with principals in US structural design and then he travelled to Bangalore for a detailed interview with Indian counter parts. These results lead to the development of outsourcing  construction activities. He also discussed about the topics such as training, economics   and logistics and this document also identified three outsourcing models for   constructions companies namely Joint Ventura outsourcing, individual project outsourcing and global delivery off sourcing. Aouad et al (n.d.) explained about process map in construction sector where they told that construction industry has witnessed severe efforts in the last few years through the consideration of the implementation of new procurement systems and manufacturing philosophies. On the other hand, process maps which can help organisations  map their processes into some important structure are still missing. The product (building) is still the majorly focused one in construction. In the developed industry, most large organisations have process maps which can help them in ensuring the delivery of  products on time, within budget and to the right quality while capturing the best process practices. They also told that in construction industry, there are some labours to plan process maps such as the RIBA plan of work in the UK. This paper delivered that the process map based on principles is used in the developed  industry. Information was elicited from experts through a series of workshops and case studies. The results of few of these case studies, which have been used to assess the realism of implementing this process map on real life projects, are presented. Finally, they told that IT which needs to maintain and enable the effective implementation of the process map is clearly  explained and also demonstrated the process and manufacturing of construction process. Finally they focused on more holistic picture of design and construction procedure that can be known through the organisation of process and it capabilities. They also spoke about the usage of case studies for testing the practical implementation and also also  told about the problems occur during the implementation phase. Bandhyopadhyay et al (2008) focused on the stems partly from GOIs distress concerning the capacity of the road construction industry to deliver, and partly from the Banks growing need to recognize the impact of the expanded road investments on the industrys capacity in South Asia. The study attempts to  outline the entire gamut of problems and capacity constraints faced by Indias construction industry. It comes out with previous studies information and industry-wide stakeholder surveys and workshops and speaks about government initiatives and road development program. This paper suggested and felt that there is a huge gap between supply and demand for  improved roads. The domestic construction industry is not geared up to expectations demand. There is a need to bring new players into the field, both domestic and foreigner and they also suggested that  present contract procedures and requirements need major modifications as they do not encourage incorporation of scientific, labour and major innovations .They also provided key issues and strategies of the road construction industry in the past and future. HIS global insight (2009) gave an information and detailed description about the recent progress and future trends in the key sector of infrastructure which leads to prevent various opportunities for private sector. It also told about some of the key facts about countrys overall economic environment as well as legal and tax  systems. This paper gave some important information about Indian construction industry.   It clearly explained about how many other countries were spending on Indian construction and how much amount there are spending for non residential and residential construction in India.    This paper also told that Indian companies have very limited contact with large  markets such as Japan, United States and West Europe countries. This paper told one fact that Indian construction industry is highly uneven and this happened as there are no long term relations between contractors and clients in most of the projects. 2.4 LITERATURE ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT: Woodward (1997) provided the importance of project management and also the main features of this approach. They delivered some methods that are applicable to change management in any industry. They concerned mainly on the applications in construction industry and they also highlighted the techniques that are appropriate to practically all other businesses where a change has to be executed and managed. They covered all the issues by including distinctive examples that would consist of: the instigation of a new product, penetrating into new market, installing a new production line, putting into practice a new business policy, starting a new branch office, setting up a modified accounting system, systematizing a sports or charitable trust occasion, recruiting and instructing staff for a new enterprise, the creation of a new product and the testing of it, a company surrender or reorganizing and setting up and initiating new legislation. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (2005) provided a report on the Local Government Pay and Workforce Strategy which mainly focused on the transforming of the authority to produce real and longing change. In order to adopt this change, Englands Local government should have imaginative leadership, organisational elasticity and resources facility to offer better services, higher efficiency and best customer focus. Organisations try to change the approach from organisational development to the change management, applying a strategy that effectively deal with development of skills and leadership, applying reviews of local pay having the same opinion of a salary form that bear improvement of service. Beer et al (1990) focused on the efficient corporate regeneration that initiates at the bottom through casual efforts to resolve business problems. They observed a situation where the change has to be incorporated to meet the challenges to which the banks conventional hierarchical organisati ons were ill-outfitted to act in response. There has to be extra care taken about who should direct the change attempt, what required changing, and how to go about implementing the change. Most of the companies are facing challenges with the changing marketplace and raised competition to develop their authority, recover market share and guarantee their endurance. Changes in approaches direct the changes in the individual attitude which results in the organisational changes. The most common problem with the most change programs is that they tackle only one or two of these three factors: coordination, commitment and competencies. They provided six steps to the efficient change: Organize assurance to change through joint verdict of business issues, establish a distributed vision of how to systematize and manage for competition, promote agreement for the new vision, ability to perform it, and consistency to move it alongside, broaden regeneration to all the departments, establishment of revitalization through formal structures, policies and systems and observe and regulate strategies responding to the problems in the regeneration process. They gave priority to the top managers in making the change in the entire organisation by generating a market to change, utilizing successfully regenerated units as the organisational replicas for the entire organisation and establishing career paths that support the development of leadership. They laid emphasis on the particularity of the mind set for change management which is difficult to be maintained in an atmosphere that pushes down for periodical earnings. 2.5 LITERATURE ON CHANGE MANAGEMENT IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY: Walker (2007) relied on a fact that management of construction projects seems to be a continuing challenge as the environment around which the projects are built increases in complication. He focuses mainly on the project management theory. Most of the construction projects are planned and designed in agreement with the previously developed process. But the project team must also consider the fact that changes might be incorporated in the middle of the project according to clients requirements and the change has to be managed. There should be a minimum knowledge in understanding the environment of client as flexibility needs to be maintained when there is a need to incorporate changes in the project. He clearly mentioned that this can be achieved only through the maintenance of up to date information about the clients requirements. Advancement in technology for any particular process can be taken as an example for this. He also stated that project team members should be aware of the changes that can be made and should be ready to explain them to the client consequently. Oracle (2009) mainly highlighted the best practices of identifying and managing the changes that may occur in any construction project and also provided a process to effectively manage changes in construction projects. It clearly  explained about the different types of project changes in construction sector such as directed changes, constructive changes, cardinal changes. It also explained in detail about the change management process and also explained that they are few steps to be followed in construction sector such as recognizing the contract requirements, identifying the  possible change and creating a potential change order file and determining privilege, measuring the effect of the change, and analysing the cost of the change, negotiating and executing the change order, maintaining complete records of the executed change. Like this, it gave an explanation for each and every step. It also explained different  methods for resolving change related construction disputes to avoid costly arbitration and mainly focused on the dispute resolution boards (DRBs) which are nonaligned authority consisting of three members as one preferred method. Choosing the board members can be performed in a number of ways; however, it is critical that the individuals are neutral and both the owner and the contractor  view each board member as individual balanced. Naturally, DRBs are empanelled at the project level and management of the DRB process is governed by the projects contract. Other dispute resolution procedures could escalate the dispute from the project level to a higher governmental level between the owners organization and the contractors organization,  before proceeding to an arbitration panel.   The terms used and contract documents referenced in this paper are geared towards usual design-bid-build public development projects, even though the basic principles are applicable to almost any construction project. It must be well-known that any change management procedure is only as effective as the participants ability to  communicate and

Jean De La Fontaine :: essays research papers

Jean de la Fontaine La Fontaine, the most versatile and most widely celebrated nondramatic poet in seventeenth –century France. He has often experienced the misfortune of having the artistry of his works obscured by a host of myths, half-truths, prejudices, and nonaesthetic issues. This great poet, has become a "classic". His fables, on which his Reputations rests, are part of the literary canon of French writers and are studied in schools. His other works, however, have been rediscovered and are the object of quite a few recent studies. (Carter, pg.46) Very little is known about the early part of La Fontaine’s life. He was born in Château-Thierry, a small town in the province of Champagne some fifty miles northeast of Paris. His baptism was entered in the parish of Saint-Crépin register on July 8, 1621. Most take this as his actual birth date, but according to the custom of the period, it probably means that La Fontaine was born a day or two earlier. (Mackay, pg.4) He was the son of Charles de la Fontaine, a royal government official who inspected forests and waterways. His mother Françoise Pidoux, who came from a nobler family from Poitou. He also had a younger brother who was born two years after La Fontaine. He also had an older step sister named Anne de Jouy on his mothers side of the family. (Carter, pg. 46) Burns 2 The education and formative years of young la Fontaine are not documented. Most biographers state that, in all likelihood, he attended château- Thierry "college". This is a secondary institution where humanities were taught to the sons of the middle class. (Encarta n.pag.) He then attended a school at Reims. From there he went to Paris to study medicine and theology, but was drawn into the whirls of social life. During that time he became qualified as a lawyer, but never perused it. In 1641 he went to the Oratory of Saint Magloire in Paris, intending to become a priest and was soon joined by his brother who later dropped out as did La Fontaine. (Http//localhost, pg. 3) After he left the Oratory he went home and started to work for his dad and eventually took over in 1647. The same year he married Marie Héricart, who was an heiress. In 1653 Marie and La Fontaine had a son, (his name was not found in any of my sources).

nato and the united states :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The United States had an isolationist outlook on international policies during its early history. But that has changed, starting in the 20th century. The United States is now involved in many international organizations, including The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. â€Å"The North Atlantic Alliance was founded on the basis of a Treaty between member states entered into freely by each of them after public debate and due parliamentary process. The Treaty upholds their individual rights as well as their international obligations in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. It commits each member country to sharing the risks and responsibilities as well as the benefits of collective security and requires of each of them the undertaking not to enter into any other international commitment which might conflict the Treaty†1. There is a now a debate in the United States over whether or not we have a place in the international community. Many say that the United States is only making things worse by interfering with other countries such as Iraq, but in reality the U.S. is helping throughout the world. How is it possible for people to live without freedoms and at least a small sense of peace? It’s not possible and that’s one of the main reasons that the United States plays and important role in the international community; the United States is bringing newfound freedoms to countries that have not previously known of them. We are also bringing a sense of peace and well being to those countries. The United States is meant to be involved in the international community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is a regional defense alliance that was created by the North Atlantic Treaty. It original signatories include: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Iceland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and the United States. Other countries were admitted later, including, Greece and Turkey, in 1952;West Germany, in 1955; Spain, in 1982; the newly unified Germany, in 1990; and Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic, in 1999. Today 19 nations are full members of the alliance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the years between 1939 and 1945, many western leaders believed the policies of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) threatened international stability and peace. Their forcible installation of Communist governments throughout Eastern Europe, territorial demands by the soviets, and their support of guerrilla war in Greece and regional separatism in Iran appeared to many as the first steps of World War III.

Prohibition and Repeal 18th & 21st Amendments :: essays research papers fc

Prohibition   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Prohibition was the eighteenth amendment. It prohibited the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages. People would have never thought of â€Å"excoriating† alcohol until the 19th century (Tyrrell 16). During this time widespread crime and dismay arose. Some beneficial things did come out of this period of chaos such as women were able to prove themselves as people their temperance movements. During this time many things happened that led to Prohibition’s strongest point and to its fall. Prohibition proved to be a failure from the start,. Prohibition was scarcely adhered to and also widely defied but out of this women had a chance to voice their opinions and prove themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Article V deals with amendments. Either house or law makers can propose amendments. In order for an amendment to be passed the House of Representatives and the Senate must ratify by three quarters vote. On January 29, 1919, the Secretary of State announced that on January 16th thirty-six states had ratified the amendment and therefore it had become a part of the Constitution.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Temperance movements were vital keys to the ratification of the eighteenth amendment. Temperance at first meant abstaining from distilled liquors, but later would be the complete avoidance of alcohol. Both men and women would participate in temperance across the United States. Women finally had a voice in these issues. Women temperance movements would include gathering around saloons, pharmacies, and other places that distributed alcohol that could be consumed. In these gatherings women would sing prayers, recite psalms, and persuade people to avoid drinking alcohol.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Among the men of these temperance groups was a Connecticut preacher named Lymm Beecher. He was well known for his work with temperance movements. He was also known for his publishing, Six Sermons on the Nature, Occasions, Signs, Evils, and Remedy of intemperance. He was a pre-prohibition modern day Reverend Jonathon Edwards by â€Å"appealing to the deepest emotions and beliefs of his readers† (Lucas 24). Ironically he moved to Boston and worked with Reverend Justin Edwards to unite temperance groups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Among the women of the temperance era, Francis Elizabeth Willard was probably one of the most important temperance leaders. She was born September 23, 1839 in New York. She first got her aversion towards alcohol by her father because he was a â€Å"total abstainer† (Lucas 32). Her interests in temperance grew when she heard stories of the Women’s Crusades in Ohio. She joined a team of crusaders in Pittsburg and later became the president of the Chicago branch of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).

Building a Fire to Fight Nature Essay

Jack London’s title for the story â€Å"To Build a Fire† starts the reader off with a very basic idea; building a fire. Almost anyone can build a fire. All it takes is a match and some kindling. London’s story is about more then building a fire, though. This story is about a man’s belief in himself, self-confidence and even arrogance, to such an extent that he doesn’t recognize the power of nature around him. London’s story is more like a â€Å"Man against Nature† story. London’s â€Å"To Build a Fire† casts a clear image that in the ever long-lasting battle between man and nature, nature is not a force that should be reckoned with. The author’s characters are even very general. The main character of the story is never given a name except to be called a â€Å"chechaqua† or newcomer in the land. â€Å"The constant struggle of Man against the natural world and physical forces which threaten to undo him at any moment is expressed greatly by this story.†(Colin) This is not a story about one individual person or one isolated incident, but a story used to illustrate a larger continuous gamble or battle between man and nature. London spends the first few paragraphs setting the physical scene. The setting is in Alaska along the Yukon River. It is close to the end of winter but the sun is still not yet in the sky. It is mentioned that this does not bother the man. The rest of the setting is described around the man and the places he has passed on this current journey and where else the trail leads in other directions. The description of the scenery is one of the most intriguing aspects of this story. London had a way of almost making the reader feel cold for the man in the story just by his descriptions of the surrounding territory. â€Å"The Yukon lay a mile wide and hidden under three feet of ice. On top of this ice was as many feet of snow. It was all pure white, rolling in gentle undulations where the ice jams of the freeze-up had formed. North and south as far as his eye could see, it was unbroken white..†(Charters, 910) The scene is set as beautiful, peaceful and cold. The harshness of this physical setting begins to become more and more clear as the story  progresses. Later the man notices that his spit is cracking and freezing before it reaches the ground. He remembers that at fifty degrees below zero spit will freeze when it hits the ground. â€Å"Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty below.†(911) This also means that there is at least 107 degrees of frost if it is truly 75 degrees below freezing. To increase the readers awareness of the cold, London describes how the mans breath is freezing on his whiskers and beard, the man is also chewing tobacco and with the temperature as cold as it is his cheeks and lips are numb and his spit tends to just end up on his beard and freezes in seconds. This man must be out of his mind to be out in the wilderness in these extreme climate conditions. â€Å"Seeing a man that oblivious to the dangers of traveling alone in colder than fifty below weather, walking on ice, and making a fire under a snow covered tree should be enough to substantiate that he was not unlucky but just plain stupid!†(Wilson) The man starts to grow this â€Å"crystal beard of the color and solidity of amber.†(912) The surroundings are beautiful, peaceful and cold but the man did not see the danger that nature could bring upon him. That it was too cold out to travel or that it could get worse â€Å"was a thought that never entered his head.†(912) The man had a native of the land with him. â€Å"At the man’s heels trotted a dog.†(911) No name is ever given to the dog in the story. Another way for London to keep the story general and the focus on the theme. The dog is a big, native Husky, a brother to the wild wolf it had the instincts to respect nature. The dog knew the temperature was too cold to be traveling but stayed at the man’s heels. The dog plays a dual role in this story. He plays the man’s conscience and natures voice and personification. â€Å"Often a dog can reflect the same personality and character traits as it’s owner. Dogs are extremely intelligent creatures and will reflect and behavior that they are exposed to for lengthy periods of time.†(Feinson, 127) The man treats the dog the same way he treats nature; with no respect. The dog is just a tool, a sled dog and later considered expendable to possibly save the man’s life. The man treats nature much the same way. The dog also shows at  the end how nature moves on. The dog stays to watch the man as he dies and once the dog realizes the man is dead he runs off to the cabin where there are â€Å"other food providers and fire providers†(921) The protagonist in the story is the unnamed man. He’s a â€Å"newcomer† to this area of Alaska and it his first winter. He is on his way to a cabin at a claim where he will meet up with â€Å"the boys.† London refers to him as a man without â€Å"imagination† but, â€Å"quick and alert in the things of life.†(910) It is this lack of imagination that makes the man unable to believe or heed the warnings of the veteran Alaskan men who told him not to travel alone when it is fifty below. One needs to have a second person to try and start a fire if the first person should fail. But, the man in the story is over confident. He stops once and makes a fire without a problem to thaw his face so he can eat his lunch. The man doesn’t notice how much the dog wants to stay at the fire. He doesn’t respect the instincts of the native animal. The trail follows along a creek, which is frozen but has natural springs along it that create small pools of water with thin ice and coatings of snow to cover them up. The man almost prides himself on how well he can spot these warning signs of possible danger. He also is increasingly happy with the pace he is keeping. The man soon falls into one of nature’s little traps, a small pool of water, and has only a few minutes to build a fire and get warm and dry before he freezes to death. He tries to stay as calm as possible but in his haste doesn’t pick a good spot to build a fire. He realizes too late when the heat from the fire he has just built starts to melt the snow in the tree branches above him and drops down smothering the fire. â€Å"A man alone in the wilderness coupled with stupidity is a deadly combination. To deal with nature takes skill and know-how, this man seems to have neither, he was doomed from the moment he went off alone.†(website) When it is 75 degrees below freezing one person doesn’t have a second chance to build a fire. The temperature is just too cold and exposed parts of the body will start to freeze. The man still believes in his strength to overcome the power of nature and continues to try and build a fire. He doesn’t succeed and at the end accepts his fate and falls asleep thinking about the next day when â€Å"the boys† would find him. The  story is an illustration of what can happen to a person that doesn’t respect nature and its power. â€Å"This is the story of a man’s struggle against nature, trying to survive against impossible odds in a universe indifferent to an individuals fate.†(909) The man was so confident in himself that he traveled with nothing but his lunch and a few matches and birch bark to start a fire. â€Å"He has also been warned not to travel alone in such cold, but he goes anyway, with only his dog and confidence for a companion.†(Synopsis, 220) He has no company, or supplies for the possibility he may confront some type of danger. Whether the danger be with another animal or with his surroundings. The short version of the story was originally published in the Boy Scouts of America Handbook. Any Boy Scout might remember the story form when they were a kid and the lessons that were taught from it when they were younger. They were taught to respect nature for what it is, what it can do, and of course, to always be prepared. If you aren’t, nature will take it’s toll, and what a deadly toll it can be.

History of Economics Essay

Economics is the constituent of social sciences which studies the economy and its elements. The main elements of economics are production, distribution, and the consumption of certain goods and services. And its main objective is to allocate the scarce resources effectively and efficiently. Scarcity refers to the economic concept that reflects that the resources are insufficient to full fill the wants and needs of all the people. In this paper the concepts of surplus and its effects on the economy would be discussed. Surplus is the situation in which an excess of something is achieved. For example the value or the amount provided after the requirement for something is satisfied or the remainder of particular thing after the purpose is met (Danielson, 1994). The industrial take off in the 18th century was considered due to the need which was developed to produce in excess. The industrial revolution which was brought forward was the result of an influence made by the capitalists regarding the generation of sufficient surplus as the source. This idea developed the concept of producing more than one requires. Europe is considered as the leader for the revolution as it had the sufficient supply of resources to cope up with the increasing demand for the growing industries. The main purpose of developing industries was to produce and cope of with the demands of product by the people. Previously there was no concept of producing more than one required to satisfy the need for one self only. But as the people started to become more and more liberal the concept of producing more than required was built. Industries with there extensive research and resources started developing goods and services to gain more profits and to satisfy the needs and wants of the prospects. This reflects the role of surplus in the development of industries in the late 18th and the 19th century, which came out to be the main cause for the change in the methodology used previously for production. (Danielson, 1994) Francois Quesnay is another great scholar known to have made contributions in the economic studies in the era before the eighteenth century. He published the Economic Table which aided in explaining the working of the economy, and which is considered as one of the first attempts made to the economic thought. In the table he described three classes, landowners, farmers, and the sterile class which he assumed consumed everything the farmers produced with no left over surplus. Quesnay assumed that it was only the farmers that could produce a surplus, and which could be used in the next year to produce more and aid in growth, and he emphasized more on the agricultural sector than the manufacturing sector which has not yet developed. This point of view of Quesnay differed from that of Smith in regards to a surplus in the economy (Kurz & Salvadori, 1997). Proceeding to the history of economics, the person who is known as the father of modern economics was Adam Smith. The concept of the well being of the society and the economy by the description made upon rational self-interests. Smith addressed upon bringing nation’s prosperity through the means of improvement in the methods of production in his book. He claimed that the surplus in production could be in general and not only in the agricultural sector. And to conceive higher profits it is required by the industries to gain surplus as profit is to be considered as the second component of it. For which achieving surplus would result in recovering cost effectively (Kurz & Salvadori, 1997). Jean-Baptiste Say was a French business man and an economist in the early eighteenth century. He was the originator of the Say’s Law which describes that the supply creates its own demand, and the supply is not influenced by demand and supported the free trade and competition, and the lifting of restraints levied on the businesses. Say emphasized upon the concept that the supply creates its own demand, because he believed that the person’s ability to demand products is dependent on his disposable income which he generates from his own attributes in production. His point of view regarding surplus was similar to of Adam Smith in context that he accepted the concept that the surplus could be achieved in any product. Insufficient demand could be due to a misdirected production and result in an excess of a product in the market known as surplus. This perception of Say made his views different from that of Smith and Quesnay. Wood & Kates, 2000) Proceeding to the conclusion to the different view presented by the three scholars Francois Quesnay, Adam Smith and Jean-Baptiste Say, it can be deduced that all had different perspectives according to their era with reference to surplus. Quesnay had a different set of mind and assumed his theories based upon the industries present at his time. Smith and Say were present in the similar time but had different aspects surrounding them. For which their theories differed from each other, but had similarities, because of being situated in identical time period.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 25

Chapter 25 Philip, who was called the new guy, asked that we go to Cana by way of Bethany, as he had a friend there that he wanted to recruit to follow along with us. â€Å"I tried to get him to join with John the Baptist,† Philip said, â€Å"but he wouldn't stand for the eating-locusts, living-in-pits thing. Anyway, he's from Cana, I'm sure he'd love to have a visit home.† As we came into the square of Bethany, Philip called out to a blond kid who was sitting under a fig tree. He was the same yellow-haired kid that Joshua and I had seen when we first passed through Bethany over a year ago. â€Å"Hey, Nathaniel,† Philip called. â€Å"Come join me and my friends on the way to Cana. They're from Nazareth. Joshua here might be the Messiah.† â€Å"Might be?† I said. Nathaniel walked out into the street to look at us, shading his eyes against the sun. He couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen. He barely had the fuzz of a beard on his chin. â€Å"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?† he said. â€Å"Joshua, Biff, Bartholomew,† Philip said, â€Å"this is my friend Nathaniel.† â€Å"I know you,† Joshua said. â€Å"I saw you when we last passed through here.† Then, inexplicably, Nathaniel fell to his knees in front of Joshua's camel and said, â€Å"You are truly the Messiah and the Son of God.† Joshua looked at me, then at Philip, then at the kid, prostrating himself on camel's feet. â€Å"Because I've seen you before you believe that I'm the Messiah, even though a minute ago nothing good could come out of Nazareth?† â€Å"Sure, why not?† said Nathaniel. And Josh looked at me again, as if I could explain it. Meanwhile Bartholomew, who was on foot along with his pack of doggie followers (whom he had disturbingly begun to refer to as his â€Å"disciples†), went over to Nathaniel and helped the boy to his feet. â€Å"Stand up, if you're coming with us.† Nathaniel prostrated himself before Bartholomew now. â€Å"You are truly the Messiah and the Son of God.† â€Å"No, I'm not,† Bart said, lifting the kid to his feet. â€Å"He is.† Bart pointed to Joshua. Nathaniel looked to me, for some reason, for confirmation. â€Å"You are truly a babe in the woods,† I said to Nathaniel. â€Å"You don't gamble, do you?† â€Å"Biff!† Joshua said. He shook his head and I shrugged. To Nathaniel he said, â€Å"You're welcome to join us. We share the camels, our food, and what little money we have.† Here Joshua nodded toward Philip, who had been nominated to carry the communal purse because he was good at math. â€Å"Thanks,† said Nathaniel, and he fell in behind us. And thus we became five. â€Å"Josh,† I said in a harsh whisper, â€Å"that kid is as dumb as a stick.† â€Å"He's not dumb, Biff, he just has a talent for belief.† â€Å"Fine,† I said, turning to Philip. â€Å"Don't let the kid anywhere near the money.† As we headed out of the square toward the Mount of Olives, Abel and Crustus, the two old blind guys who'd helped me over Maggie's wall, called out from the gutter. (I'd learned their names after correcting their little gender mistake.) â€Å"Oh son of David, have mercy on us!† Joshua pulled up on the reins of his camel. â€Å"What makes you call me that?† â€Å"You are Joshua of Nazareth, the young preacher who was studying under John?† â€Å"Yes, I am Joshua.† â€Å"We heard the Lord say that you were his son with whom he was well pleased.† â€Å"You heard that?† â€Å"Yes. About five or six weeks ago. Right out of the sky.† â€Å"Dammit, did everyone hear but me?† â€Å"Have mercy on us, Joshua,† said one blind guy. â€Å"Yeah, mercy,† said the other. Then Joshua climbed down from his camel, laid his hands upon the old men's eyes, and said, â€Å"You have faith in the Lord, and you have heard, as evidently everyone in Judea has, that I am his son with whom he is well pleased.† Then he pulled his hands from their faces and the old men looked around. â€Å"Tell me what you see,† Joshua said. The old guys sort of looked around, saying nothing. â€Å"So, tell me what you see.† The blind men looked at each other. â€Å"Something wrong?† Joshua asked. â€Å"You can see, can't you?† â€Å"Well, yeah,† said Abel, â€Å"but I thought there'd be more color.† â€Å"Yeah,† said Crustus, â€Å"it's kind of dull.† I stepped up. â€Å"You're on the edge of the Judean desert, one of the most lifeless, desolate, hostile places on earth, what did you expect?† â€Å"I don't know.† Crustus shrugged. â€Å"More.† â€Å"Yeah, more,† said Abel. â€Å"What color is that?† â€Å"That's brown.† â€Å"How about that one?† â€Å"That would be brown as well.† â€Å"That color over there? Right there?† â€Å"Brown.† â€Å"You're sure that's not mauve.† â€Å"Nope, brown.† â€Å"And – â€Å" â€Å"Brown,† I said. The two former blind guys shrugged and walked off mumbling to each other. â€Å"Excellent healing,† said Nathaniel. â€Å"I for one have never seen a better healing,† said Philip, â€Å"but then, I'm new.† Joshua rode off shaking his head. When we came into Cana we were broke and hungry and more than ready for a feast, at least most of us were. Joshua didn't know about the feast. The wedding was being held in the courtyard of a very large house. We could hear the drums and singers and smell spiced meat cooking as we approached the gates. It was a large wedding and a couple of kids were waiting outside to tend to our camels. They were curly haired, wiry little guys about ten years old; they reminded me of evil versions of Josh and me at that age. â€Å"Sounds like a wedding going on,† Joshua said. â€Å"Park your camel, sir?† said the camel-parking kid. â€Å"It is a wedding,† said Bart. â€Å"I thought we were here to help Maggie.† â€Å"Park your camel, sir?† said the other kid, pulling on the reins of my camel. Joshua looked at me. â€Å"Where is Maggie? You said she was sick?† â€Å"She's in the wedding,† I said, pulling the reins back from the kid. â€Å"You said she was dying.† â€Å"Well, we all are, aren't we? I mean, if you think about it.† I grinned. â€Å"You can't park that camel here, sir.† â€Å"Look, kid, I don't have any money to tip you. Go away.† I hate handing my camel over to the camel-parking kids. It unnerves me. I'm always sure that I'm never going to see it again, or it's going to come back with a tooth missing or an eye poked out. â€Å"So Maggie isn't really dying?† â€Å"Hey, guys,† Maggie said, stepping out of the gate. â€Å"Maggie,† Joshua said, throwing his arms up in surprise. Problem was, he was so intent on looking at her that he forgot to grab on again, and off the camel he went. He hit the ground facedown with a thump and a wheeze. I jumped down from my camel, Bart's dogs barked, Maggie ran to Josh, rolled him over, and cradled his head in her lap while he tried to get his breath back. Philip and Nathaniel waved to people from the wedding who were peeping through the gate to see what all the commotion was about. Before I had a chance to turn, the two kids had leapt up onto our camels and were galloping around the corner off to Nod, or South Dakota, or some other place I didn't know the location of. â€Å"Maggie,† Joshua said. â€Å"You're not sick.† â€Å"That depends,† she said, â€Å"if there's any chance of a laying on of hands.† Joshua smiled and blushed. â€Å"I missed you.† â€Å"Me too,† Maggie said. She kissed Joshua on the lips and held him there until I started to squirm and the other disciples started to clear their throats and bark â€Å"get a room† under their breaths. Maggie stood up and helped Joshua to his feet. â€Å"Come on in, guys,† she said. â€Å"No dogs,† she said to Bart, and the hulking Cynic shrugged and sat down in the street amid his canine disciples. I was craning my neck to see if I could see where our camels had been taken. â€Å"They're going to run those camels into the ground, and I know they won't feed or water them.† â€Å"Who?† asked Maggie. â€Å"Those camel-parking boys.† â€Å"Biff, this is my youngest brother's wedding. He couldn't even afford wine. He didn't hire any camel-parking boys.† Bartholomew stood and rallied his troops. â€Å"I'll find them.† He lumbered off. Inside we feasted on beef and mutton, all manner of fruits and vegetables, bean and nut pastes, cheese and first-pressed olive oil with bread. There was singing and dancing and if it hadn't been for a few old guys in the corner looking very cranky, you'd never have known that there wasn't any wine at the party. When our people danced, they danced in large groups, lines and circles, not couples. There were men's dances and women's dances and very few dances where both could participate, which is why people were staring at Joshua and Maggie as they danced. They were definitely dancing together. I retreated to a corner where I saw Maggie's sister Martha watching as she nibbled at some bread with goat cheese. She was twenty-five, a shorter, sturdier version of Maggie, with the same auburn hair and blue eyes, but with less tendency to laugh. Her husband had divorced her for â€Å"grievous skankage† and now she lived with her older brother Simon in Bethany. I'd gotten to know her when we were little and she took messages to Maggie for me. She offered me a bite of her bread and cheese and I took it. â€Å"She's going to get herself stoned,† Martha said in a slightly bitter, moderately jealous, younger sister tone. â€Å"Jakan is a member of the Sanhedrin.† â€Å"Is he still a bully?† â€Å"Worse, now he's a bully with power. He'd have her stoned, just to prove that he could do it.† â€Å"For dancing? Not even the Pharisees – â€Å" â€Å"If anyone saw her kiss Joshua, then†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"So how are you?† I said, changing the subject. â€Å"I'm living with my brother Simon now.† â€Å"I heard.† â€Å"He's a leper.† â€Å"Look, there's Joshua's mother. I have to go say hello.† â€Å"There's no wine at this wedding,† Mary said. â€Å"I know. Strange, isn't it?† James stood by scowling as I hugged his mother. â€Å"Joshua is here too?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Oh good, I was afraid that you two might have been arrested along with John.† â€Å"Pardon me?† I stepped back and looked to James for explanation. He seemed the more appropriate bearer of bad news. â€Å"You hadn't heard? Herod has thrown John in prison for inciting people to revolt. That's the excuse anyway. It's Herod's wife who wanted John silenced. She was tired of having John's followers refer to her as ‘the slut.'† I patted Mary's shoulder as I stepped away. â€Å"I'll tell Joshua that you're here.† I found Joshua sitting in a far corner of the courtyard playing with some children. One little girl had brought her pet rabbit to the wedding and Joshua was holding it in his lap, petting its ears. â€Å"Biff, come feel how soft this bunny is.† â€Å"Joshua, John has been arrested.† Josh slowly handed the bunny back to the little girl and stood. â€Å"When?† â€Å"I'm not sure. Shortly after we left, I guess.† â€Å"I shouldn't have left him. I didn't even tell him we were leaving.† â€Å"It was bound to happen, Joshua. I told him to lay off Herod, but he wouldn't listen. You couldn't have done anything.† â€Å"I'm the Son of God, I could have done something.† â€Å"Yeah, you could have gone to prison with him. Your mother is here. Go talk to her. She's the one that told me.† As Joshua embraced Mary, she said, â€Å"You've got to do something about this wine situation. Where's the wine?† James tapped Joshua on the shoulder. â€Å"Didn't bring any wine with you from the lush vineyards of Jericho?† (I didn't like hearing sarcasm being used by James against Joshua. I had always thought of my invention as being used for good, or at least against people I didn't like.) Joshua gently pushed his mother away. â€Å"You shall have wine,† he said, then he went off to the side of the house where drinking water was stored in large stone jars. In a few minutes he returned with a pitcher of wine and cups for all of us. A shout went through the party and suddenly everything seemed to step up a level. Pitchers and cups were filled and drained and filled again, and those who had been near the wine jars started declaring a miracle had been performed, that Joshua of Nazareth had turned water into wine. I looked for him, but he was nowhere to be found. Having been free of sin all of his life, Joshua wasn't very good at dealing with guilt, so he had gone off by himself to try to numb the guilt he felt over John's arrest. After a few hours of subterfuge and guile, I was able to get Maggie to sneak out the back gate with me. â€Å"Maggie, come with us. You talked to Joshua. You saw the wine. He's the one.† â€Å"I've always known he was the one, but I can't come with you. I'm married.† â€Å"I thought you were going to be a fisherman.† â€Å"And I thought you were going to be a village idiot.† â€Å"I'm still looking for a village. Look, get Jakan to divorce you.† â€Å"Anything he can divorce me for he can also kill me for. I've seen him pass judgment on people, Biff. I've seen him lead the mobs to the stonings. I'm afraid of him.† â€Å"I learned to make poisons in the East.† I raised my eyebrows and grinned. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"I'm not going to poison my husband.† I sighed, an exasperated sigh that I'd learned from my mother. â€Å"Then leave him and come away with us, far from Jerusalem where he can't reach you. He'll have to divorce you to save face.† â€Å"Why should I leave, Biff? So I can follow around a man who doesn't want me and wouldn't take me if he did?† I didn't know what to say, I felt like knives were twisting in fresh wounds in my chest. I looked at my sandals and pretended to have something caught in my throat. Maggie stepped up, put her arms around me, and laid her head against my chest. â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said. â€Å"I know.† â€Å"I missed both of you, but I missed just you too.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"I'm not going to sleep with you.† â€Å"I know.† â€Å"Then please stop rubbing that against me.† â€Å"Sure,† I said. Just then Joshua stumbled through the gate and crashed into us. We were able to catch ourselves and him before anyone fell. The Messiah was holding the little girl's pet bunny, hugging it to his cheek with the big back feet swinging free. He was gloriously drunk. â€Å"Know what?† Josh said. â€Å"I love bunnies. They toil not, neither do they bark. Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around. So it shall be written. Go ahead Biff, write it down.† He waved to me under the bunny, then turned and started back through the gate. â€Å"Where's the friggin' wine? I got a dry bunny over here!† â€Å"See,† I said to Maggie, â€Å"you don't want to miss out on that. Bunnies!† She laughed. My favorite music. â€Å"I'll get word to you,† she said. â€Å"Where will you be?† â€Å"I have no idea.† â€Å"I'll get word to you.† It was midnight. The party had wound down and the disciples and I were sitting in the street outside of the house. Joshua had passed out and Bartholomew had put a small dog under his head for a pillow. Before he had left, James had made it abundantly clear that we weren't welcome in Nazareth. â€Å"Well?† said Philip. â€Å"I guess we can't go back to John.† â€Å"I'm sorry I didn't find the camels,† Bartholomew said. â€Å"People teased me about my yellow hair,† said Nathaniel. â€Å"I thought you were from Cana,† I said. â€Å"Don't you have family we can stay with?† â€Å"Plague,† said Nathaniel. â€Å"Plague,† we all said, nodding. It happens. â€Å"You'll probably be needing these,† came a voice out of the darkness. We all looked up to see a short but powerfully built man walking out of the darkness, leading our camels. â€Å"The camels,† said Nathaniel. â€Å"My apologies,† said the man, â€Å"my brother's sons brought them home to us in Capernaum. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get them back to you.† I stood and he handed the camel's reins to me. â€Å"They've been fed and watered.† He pointed to Joshua, who was snoring away on his terrier. â€Å"Does he always drink like that?† â€Å"Only when a major prophet has been imprisoned.† The man nodded. â€Å"I heard what he did with the wine. They say he also healed a lame man in Cana this afternoon. Is that true?† We all nodded. â€Å"If you have no place to stay, you can come home with me to Capernaum for a day or two. We owe you at least that for taking your camels.† â€Å"We don't have any money,† I said. â€Å"Then you'll feel right at home,† said the man. â€Å"My name is Andrew.† And so we became six.