Monday, December 23, 2019

Achieving the Goals of the French - 955 Words

The French Revolution is known to be the bloodiest and most violent revolution humankind has experienced. The French Revolution was started with the following three goals in mind: a change in government, a change in economy, and the delivery of equality for all. An extensive effort was used to correct these problems; however, it came at the cost of people’s freedom. Authoritarian revolutionaries intended to solve France’s struggles and drove the revolution in hope to improve the lives of the people. By looking at the evolution of France, through the years of 1781 to 1815, in terms of politics, economics, and social class structure, it becomes evident that although the French Revolution did not meet all goals, the majority of the goals were met. The French succeeded in bringing economic stability to the country. A massive accumulation of debt and financial struggle plagued the country, ruining the lives of the common people. Revolutionaries were later able to recover slowly from these troubles and improve the common person’s life. The misuse of French money greatly troubled the economy. The luxurious lives of the royal family used up a large fraction of the French budget. Millions of dollars of French treasury were spent yearly for the royal family to continue their extravagant lives. After the revolution was fought, Napoleon created a new system of French finance and closely monitored the flow of money. This shows that the revolution succeeded in gaining controlShow MoreRelatedTo What Extent Was Pitts Repressive Policy the Main Reason for His Success in Resisting the Radical Challenge to 1801?935 Words   |  4 PagesTo what extent was Pitt’s repressive policy the main reason for his success in resisti ng the radical challenge to 1801? 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Fostering this will make the institution have motivated and capable people who are all working towards achieving the common goal of the institution. The success of this requires the leaders and managers to have the right tools and environment to improve and innovate. Effective Communication An active listener is one who gives the speaker their undivided attention

Sunday, December 15, 2019

The Chinese Wedding Day Free Essays

Chinese Marriage Custom 1. The Proposal. The process starts with an elaborate marriage and acceptance. We will write a custom essay sample on The Chinese Wedding Day or any similar topic only for you Order Now This process was placed in the hand of go-between, who acted as a buffer between two parties. The important parties in proposal and betrothal negotiations were the parents of the bride and groom, rather than the bride and the groom. When the boy’s parents identified a future bride, they would send the go-between to present gifts to the girl’s parents and to express their feelings about the match. If the proposal was well-received, the go-between would obtain the date and hour of the girl’s birth recorded on a formal document. The groom’s family would place this document on the ancestral altar for three days. If no suspicious omens, e. g. quarrels between the parents or a loss of property, took place within that time, the parents would give the information to an astrological expert to confirm that the young woman and their son would make a good match. If the boy’s family found the horoscope to be favourable, they gave the boy’s birth date and birth hour to the go-between to bring to the girl’s family, who would go through the same process. Only after both outcomes were favourable, the two families will arrange to meet. Finally after discussion, each family evaluated the other in terms of appearance, education, character, and social status. If both were satisfied they would proceed to the betrothal. 2. The Betrothal. First both parents exchanged family credentials as tokens of intention. Then, after extensive bargaining, the two families would arrive at the amount of money and goods that would make up the gift to the girl’s family. After presenting engagement tokens, the go-between would ask the bride’s family to choose among several wedding dates suggested by the boy’s family and also set a date for presenting betrothal gifts. The boy’s family presented betrothal gifts of money and significant items such as tea, â€Å"Dragon (male) and Phoenix (female)† bridal cakes, pairs of male and female poultry, sweetmeats and sugar, wine and tobacco, accompanied by an itemized statement of these gifts. Tea was such a primary part of these gifts in some areas that they were known collectively as cha-li, that is, â€Å"tea presents. † The girl’s family reciprocated with gifts of food and clothing. It was customary for the girl’s family to distribute the bridal cakes they received from the boy’s family to friends and relatives as a form of announcement and invitation to the wedding feast. The boy’s family’s gifts acknowledged the parents’ efforts in accepting the girl, and by accepting the gifts, the girl’s family pledged her to the boy’s family. Several days after the presentation of the betrothal gifts, the girl’s family sent porters with an inventoried dowry to the boy’s house. The dowry consisted of practical items, including a chamber pot, filled for the occasion with fruit and strings of coins. This procession gave the girl’s family the opportunity to display both their social status and their love for their daughter, and wealthy parents often included serving girls to attend their daughter in her new home. The betrothal generally lasted for a year or two, although the betrothal would last until the children had grown to marriageable age. 3. Before The Wedding. In preparation for her departure, the future bride retreated from the ordinary routine and lived in seclusion in a separate part of the house with her closest friends. During this moment, the young women sang and mourning the bride’s separation from her family and vowing in front of the go-between and as well as the groom’s family and the girl’s parents. Since this sleep-over often took place in the cock loft, the bride’s emergence on her wedding day is sometimes referred to as â€Å"coming of the cock loft†. The preparation on the part of the groom involving the installation the bed on the day before the wedding. A man or women with many children and living mates, were selected to install a newly purchased bed. After the bed was in place, children were invited onto the bed as an omen of fertility. For the same reason, the bed was scattered with red dates, oranges, lotus seeds, peanuts, pomegranates and other fruits. 4. The Wedding Day. At dawn on her wedding day (or the night before), the bride bathed in water infused with pumelo, a variety of grapefruit, to cleanse her of evil influences. A ‘good luck woman’ attended the bridal preparations. She spoke auspicious words while dressing the bride’s hair in the style of a married woman. After the hair is styled, the bride emerged from her retreat. She was carried to the main hall on the back of the ‘good luck’ woman or her most senior sister-in-law. There she donned a jacket and skirt and stepped into a pair of red shoes, placed in the center of a sieve. The bride’s face was covered with either a red silk veil or a ‘curtain’ of tassels or beads that hung from the bridal Phoenix crown. (The photo below was taken at the mock wedding at a prior year’s Chinese Summer Festival. After completing her wedding preparations, the bride bowed to her parents and to the ancestral tablets and awaited the arrival of the bridal procession from the groom’s house. Dressed in a long gown, red shoes and a red silk sash with a silk ball on his shoulder, the groom knelt at the family altar while his father placed a cap decorated with cypress leaves on his head. The groom bowed first before the tablets of Heaven and Earth and his ancestors, then to his parents and the assembled family members. His father removed the silk ball from the sash and placed it on top of the bridal sedan chair. Next is the process to obtain the bride. The firecrackers start to play, the loud gong and also drums marked the starting process. The groom starts the procession led by the kids as a sign of his future kid. The groom would to the bride’s house to fetch her, taking with him the bridal chair, which was completely covered with red satin and fresh flowers. On arriving at the bride’s house, the groom’s party was met by the bride’s friends, who would not ‘surrender ’the bride until they were satisfied by red packets of money, ang pau from the groom’s representative. This was the occasion of much good-natured haggling before the two parties could reach an agreement. In some cases, the groom would take dinner with the bride’s family, and receive a pair of chopsticks and two wine goblets wrapped in red paper, symbolic of his receiving the joy of the family in the person of their daughter. In some regions, he would be offered sweet longan tea, two hard-boiled eggs in syrup and transparent noodles. Another variation was the groom’s partaking of soup with a soft-boiled egg, the yolk of which he was expected to break, arguably symbolic of breaking the bride’s ties with her family. The ‘good luck woman’ or a dajin, employed by the bride’s family to look after the bride, carried the bride on her back to the chair. Another bridesmaid might shield the bride with a parasol while a third tossed rice at the sedan chair. Sometimes the bride was borne out in a wooden ‘cage’ with her feet padlocked –; presumably a remnant from rougher times with extremely reluctant brides. A sieve, shai-tse, which would strain out evil, and a metallic mirror, king, which would reflect light, were suspended at the rear of the bride’s sedan to protect her from evil influence. The bride might also attach a special mirror to her garment, which she would not remove until she was safely seated upon the marriage bed. Firecrackers were set off to frighten away evil spirits as the bride departed in the sedan chair. The physical movement symbolized the transfer of the bride from her parent’s family to her husband’s. Great care was taken to ensure that no inauspicious influence would affect the marriage. The female attendants who escorted the bride to her new home were chosen with particular care that the horoscope animals of their birth years were compatible with that of the bridegroom. The sedan chair itself was heavily curtained to prevent the bride from inadvertently glimpsing an unlucky sight, e. g. a widow, a well, or even a cat. Attendants scattered grain or beans, symbols of fertility, before her. Once again, firecrackers were set off just before the procession arrived. A red mat was placed before the sedan chair for the bride lest her feet touch the bare earth as she dismounted. The entire household would be waiting to receive her. The bride was required to step over a saddle or a lit stove to cross the threshold, since the words for â€Å"saddle† and â€Å"tranquillity† sounds the same and the fire would cast out of evil influences. An attendant might immediately place a heap of rice in a sieve over or near the bride. If the bride did not wear a lucky mirror, one might be used at this time to flash light upon the bride. In some regions, a grain measure and a string of of copper coins were laid out as talismans of prosperity. After these rituals took place, the groom could finally raise the red scarf and view the bride’s face. 5. The Wedding Day. In contrast to the elaborate preparations, the wedding ceremony itself was simple. The bride and groom were conducted to the family altar, where they paid homage to Heaven and Earth, the family ancestors and the Kitchen God, Tsao-Chun. Tea, generally with two lotus seeds or two red dates in the cup, was offered to the groom’s parents. Then the bride and groom bowed to each other. This completed the marriage eremony, except in some regions, where both also drank wine from the same goblet, ate sugar moulded in the form of a rooster, and partook of the wedding dinner together. Immediately after the ceremony, the couple were led to the bridal chamber, where both sat on the bed. In some areas, honey and wine were poured into two goblets linked by a red thread. The bride and groom took a few sips and then exchanged cups and drank it down. On the day of th e wedding (and sometimes for the next three days), the bed chamber was open to visitors, who were given to teasing the young couple with ribald remarks. Generally, separate wedding feasts were given by the parents of the bride and the groom for their respective friends and families. Even at the feast, men and women sat separately. There could be a single feast for each or a series of feasts over several days. However, the most important feast was that given the groom’s family on the day of the wedding. It was generally considered as public recognition of the union. On the day after the wedding,  the bride awoke early to attend honor the ancestors at dawn. It was only then that she was then formally introduced to the groom’s relatives and friends. As she knelt before each of the older relatives, she received a small gift. The bride’s parents-in-law gave her a title according to her husband’s seniority in the family hierarchy. On the day after the wedding,  the bride awoke early to attend honor the ancestors at dawn. It was only then that she was then formally introduced to the groom’s relatives and friends. As she knelt before each of the older relatives, she received a small gift. The bride’s parents-in-law gave her a title according to her husband’s seniority in the family hierarchy. How to cite The Chinese Wedding Day, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Debunking the Bermuda Triangle free essay sample

Jorge Thompson Debunking the Bermuda Triangle The Bermuda Triangle is a triangular area in the Atlantic Ocean right off of the southeast coast of the United States. Legend has it that many people, ships, and planes have mysteriously vanished in this area because of the area’s mystical properties. These properties have formed several theories for the disappearances. They carry little validity and fail to take into account simple scientific and logical facts. The Bermuda Triangle can be easily explained by simple facts and there is no mystery that needs to be solved. The Bermuda Triangle legend began when several Navy planes vanished on a training mission during a severe storm in 1945. The legend continued to grow over the years as many more vehicles disappeared in the area. Instead of attributing the accidents to natural storms or instrument error, believers explain the incidences as the acts of evil extraterrestrials, residue crystals from Atlantis, magnetic fields, or methane gas. The easiest way that the Bermuda Triangle can be disproven is by investigating the assumptions of the believers. Some of the explanations for the Bermuda Triangle seem to be scientific in nature. The magnetic disturbance and methane gas explanations both use scientific language in order to assert the claims. The theories are not substantiated by the mere use of scientific language. In fact, they are discredited after finding that there is not any evidence behind them. The magnetic theory is easily disproven. The Bermuda Triangle is claimed to be one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass points toward true (and not magnetic) north. The difference between true and magnetic north is known as compass variation and can cause variations as much as 20 degrees. The area where true and magnetic north are equal is called the Agonic Line. This line is supposedly the cause of the anomalies in the triangle. The Agonic Line moves slowly over time as it responds to the Earth’s rotation. At present, the line is now on the west side of the Florida panhandle while the disappearances continue to happen in the triangle area. The second â€Å"scientific† theory is the methane explanation. This theory was introduced by Monash University in the American Journal of Physics and stated that methane deposits on the ocean floor produced vast gas bubbles which were capable of sinking ships and crashing airplanes. This theory has some validity to it, but only in limited situations. â€Å"For a large methane bubble to be produced quickly, it would probably have to be released by a catastrophic drop in pressure† (Deming). This dramatic drop in pressure is possible if a submarine landslide occurs, but these slides are few and far in between, making this theory unlikely. Scientific language does not make a science. Arguments â€Å"†¦mean nothing without evidence, experimental testing, and corroboration† (Shermer 49). The claims simply do not meet the burden of proof. The extraterrestrial argument is easily debunked by this fallacy as well. There is simply no evidence to support the claims of extraterrestrial interference. Believers may say that there is no evidence to support these skeptical arguments. There may not be evidence to support the skeptical arguments, but this does not make the claims of the believers true. The Bermuda Triangle has another simple and non-mysterious explanation. There is some dispute about the exact area that comprises the triangle. The general consensus is that the points on the triangle are Miami, the island of Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. Some estimates include the Andes and the Gulf of Mexico in the triangle. The area is about the size of Texas. An exact number of incidents that have occurred in the area is unknown. A rough estimate is about 200 to 1,000 incidents in the past 500 years. A more conservative estimate is given by Howard L. Rosenberg. â€Å"During the past century more than 50 ships and 20 aircraft sailed into oblivion in the area known as the Devils Triangle, Bermuda Triangle, Hoodoo Sea, or a host of other names† (Rosenberg 13). This estimate was published in 1974 and it is reasonable to assume that traffic has increased since then. However, according to the Navy, the incidences in the Bermuda Triangle are not more numerous than any other area. â€Å"To see how common accidents are at sea, you can examine some of the recent accident reports of the National Transportation Safety Board for  ships  and  aircraft† (The Bermuda Triangle). The reports show hundreds of incidents occurring all over the world. Few take place in the triangle area and those that do take place in the area are easily explainable by such things as engine failures or running out of fuel. One of the aircraft accident reports concerns an in-flight engine failure and subsequent ditching of a Cessna aircraft This is the type of accident that would likely have been attributed to mysterious causes in the Bermuda Triangle†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (The Bermuda Triangle). The accidents in the triangle happened because of human error, meteorological factors, or instrument failure, not because of mystical properties. Facts are important to reinforce a ny argument or claim. The facts surrounding some of the stories about the disappearances or crashes in the Bermuda Triangle do not exactly correspond on all points. Some of the crashes do not have any surviving witnesses to explain exactly what happened. The public has relied on speculation and superstition to fill a need for an explanation where that need could have just as easily been filled with logical and scientific reasoning. Natural events such as hurricanes and tropical storms can crash airplanes and ships and are much more easily proved than aliens planning to destroy humanity. Some of the basic facts and supposed evidence that support the Bermuda Triangle phenomenon do not make logically sound arguments, but they do make sensational stories.