World War 1 Essays (914 words) - Bulgaria In World War I

World War 1 W.W.I World War I was the first major war that included a country from almost every part of the world. It was the second bloodiest war second only to W.W.II. The greatest destruction that humankind had ever previously experienced began on a calm and beautiful August day. It was a senseless slaughter that no nation benefited from. It lasted from 1914-1918. America was involved from April of 1917 to November of 1918. It ended with the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed on November 11 at 11:11 a.m. in 1918. World War I started because of the assassination of Franz Josef Ferdinan and his wife Sophie while they were in a motorcade in the capitol city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Franz Ferdinan was next in line for the thrown of Austria-Hungry. Principe, a member of the Black Hand terrorist organization, shot them. Preceding the shot that started the war, tension was created though out Europe when Germany's Kaiser Wilhelm II increased the size of his army. The Kaiser had a disturbed childhood. He was born with a bad arm that he couldn't use. Germans valued perfection in humans and it would be kind of hypocritical for the future leader of Germany to speak of perfection and not be perfect himself. His parents put him through hell and back trying to fix his arm. Nothing worked and the constant medical experiments on his body left him messed-up for life. At age 29 Kaiser Wilhelm II became the youngest emperor of Germany. The Kaiser had a personality all to himself. He knew that he had all the power, and he let everyone know about it. The British Royal Navy had long fascinated him, and he wanted one for his own. He got his wish and fulfilled his militaristic dream of having a large and powerful military. The rest of Europe became alarmed at the sudden increase of German military activity. This made every European country look more closely at Germany in fear that they would try to start something. Another source of tension in Europe was the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire. Austria-Hungry and Russia both wanted to control the disintegrating Ottoman Empire. With all of this tension already in Europe, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinan was all that was needed to spark the start of the war. Serbia firmly denied any compensation to Austria for the death of the Archduke, so Austria declared war on Serbia. Germany was an ally to Austria, and Russia was an ally to Serbia. Because of this connection those two countries, Germany and Russia entered the war. Germany quickly declared war on Russia and Russia's ally France. Germany then brutally invaded the neutral country of Belgium. The invasion of Belgium made Great Britain so mad that they too declared war on Germany. Europe was now divided into two separate powers, the Allied Powers and the Central Powers. The Allies would eventually consist of Great Britain, France, Japan, Russia, in 1915 Italy, and the United States in 1917. The Central Powers were made up of Germany, Austria-Hungry, Turkey, and in 1915 Bulgaria. The United States followed the Global War Policy that allowed neutral nations to trade with both sides in a war. President Wilson urged the American people to be neutral in thought and in deed. This meant that Americans were not supposed to support either side in the war. The United States was doing business with the Allies and the Central Powers. Germany felt that any ship carrying supplies for the Allies was fair game to sink. Germany started sinking US supply ships headed for Britain. Wilson cut off all ties with Germany and began viewing Germany as an outlaw after a U-boat sank the Lusitania. Wilson also found out about a plan that Germany was trying to get Mexico to enter the war and invade the United States from the south. This was too much for Wilson to ignore and he declared war. At first when war was declared men lined up at recruiting offices and volunteered to fight. To them war was a noble thing to do and they were excited to go. Over 130,000 people volunteered, but in the end over 4,000,000 Americans went. Theodore Roosevelt called the Great War The Great Adventure. The first American soldiers to arrive in Europe were young and inexperienced. The French wanted to put them in the front line

The Relationship between Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in reducing poverty in LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries). The WritePass Journal

The Relationship between Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in reducing poverty in LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries). Introduction The Relationship between Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in reducing poverty in LEDC (Less Economically Developed Countries). IntroductionTheoretical FrameworkEmpirical EvidenceCritique of The LiteratureConclusionsReferencesRelated Introduction Theoretical Framework According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Microfinance can be defined as â€Å"the provision of a broad range of financial services such as deposits, loans, payment services, money transfers, and insurance to the poor and low-income households and their microenterprises† (ADB, 2000).   Another definition is provided in Ledgerwood (1999) who contends that microfinance is â€Å"the provision of financial services (like savings, credit, insurance and payment services) to low-income clients (the poor) including the self-employed†. The aforesaid suggests that there is a positive relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship or microenterprises. Microenterprises promote income generating activities thus promoting repayment. Being able to repay microfinance loans by income generated from microenterprises enables microfinance to be sustainable. Microfinance is specifically designed to offer financial services to microentrepreneurs. Microfinance enables microentrepreneurs to expand and run their businesses. The foregoing shows that microfinance and entrepreneurship are mutually beneficial to each other. Microfinance witnessed an evolution in the 1970s. This evolution has been regarded as a means of breaking the barricade of access to capital by poor people who are interested in carrying out development projects. Microfinance empowers the entrepreneurial spirits that exist among small-scale entrepreneurs worldwide (Olu, 2009). It facilitates the establishment of microenterprises and encourages best practices among individuals involved in small and medium size enterprise (SMEs) (Olu, 2009).   Governments in developing countries have over the last two and half decades formulated great programmes to promote economic development. Lack of access to finance has been cited in developing countries as one of the major reasons behind the relative absence of SMEs in less developed economies.   Large firms can obtain finance from banks because they have an asset base that can serve as collateral. SMEs on the other hand do not have such and asset base and as such cannot gain access to large b anks. Rather, SMEs rely on small scale financing in the form of microfinance to finance small scale development projects (Olu, 2009). Approximately 90 percent of people in less developed economies do not have access to financial services from banks and other financial institutions. Most people neither save nor have access to credit facilities (Marguerite, 2002). The foregoing suggests that people in less developed countries have limited capacity to invest. Limited investment capacity results in restricted productivity which in turn limits incomes, domestic savings and productivity growth.   The lack of access to financial services reduces the ability of entrepreneurs to engage in new business ventures which in turn limits economic growth. The sources and consequences of entrepreneurial activities are therefore neither financially nor environmentally sustainable. Microfinance serves as a means of empowering the poor and is considered as a valuable means of enhancing the economic development process. Despite the importance of microfinance in development, it has been argued that microfinance; entrepreneurship and su stainability tend not to have a great effect on alleviating poverty in less developed economies. Accordingly, microfinance they say can only successfully alleviate poverty if it is combined with entrepreneurial skills. This means that one should expect a positive link between microfinance and SME development or entrepreneurship. Despite this relationship, microfinance and entrepreneurship may have a negative relationship or may even have no relationship. In addition, some people with entrepreneurial skills tend to be risk-averse. This group of entrepreneurs may not use microfinance credit because they may not be willing to take on high levels of risk. As such their projects may remain unfunded even in the presence of microfinance loans. In addition, the poorest of the poor including the sick, the mentally ill and the destitute cannot adequately handle microfinance projects which means that microfinance cannot be used as a means of alleviating poverty for this group of the population . This group of the population would prefer direct basic assistance to microfinance. They are mostly interested in meeting their daily needs of shelter, food, clothing and food. Empirical Evidence Two competing theories have been advanced with respect to the relationship between entrepreneurship and microfinance. One school of thought advocates that lack of credit hinders the growth of microenterprises, indicating that microfinance and entrepreneurship have a positive relationship. The second school of thought on its part suggests that microfinance has a negative effect on the poorest in society. The first school of thought believes that lack of credit is a major constraint to the development of microenterprise and believes that microfinance plays a positive role in enabling a society achieve   its larger goal of deriving social and economic benefits (Hashemi et al., 1996; 1994; Schuler et al., 1997). According to the International Finance Corporation, more than 500 million poor people across the world are engaged in microenterprises (IFC, 2002). When asked what their major constraint is, most of them conclude that the main constraint to business growth is lack of credit. This evidence suggests that microfinance has a positive impact on entrepreneurship. Similar evidence is provided in Sen (1999) who argue that the greater the financial security of an entrepreneur, the higher is his probability of becoming more successful. Furthermore, Eversole (2000) contends that credit is important for the success of micro businesses. The impact of microfinance on poverty alleviation has also been studied. Nair (1998) identifies two schools of thought regarding the effect of microfinance on poverty alleviation. On the one hand, it has been argued that credit is one of the most important tools for alleviating poverty. This school of thought believes that microfinance credit is always invested in a productive investment which will help in poverty alleviation. However, this school of thought is flawed on because it makes the unrealistic assumption that microfinance credit is always invested in a productive investment. The theory ignores the fact that some investments may not be productive which indicates that not all microfinance credit can actually result in poverty alleviation. Rangarajan (2005) observes that microfinance is important for the evolution of â€Å"Self-Help Group† at three basic levels. These include: Level 1 where microfinance is used by households to satisfy their survival requirements by using small savings and loans as a buffer in emergencies; Level 2 where households use microfinance is used to meet subsistence needs; and Level 3 where households become mature enough to take on a higher degree of risk; at this level, microfinance can be employed in setting up enterprises or facilitating the creation of employment in one way or another thus promoting the sustainability of households. The aforesaid shows that the argument that microfinance cannot help the poorest of the poor lacks empirical support. This argument is further weakened by evidence from India, which shows that a large portion of the Indian population falls in the â€Å"poorest of the poor† category. Despite this, microfinance has had a significant positive impact on this group of the population in India. A study based on 20 microfinance institutions in India provide evidence that microfinance has made a significant contribution to both the savings and borrowings of the poor in India (Sinha, 2005). Kuzilwa (2005) provide evidence that credit has been very instrumental in the success of microenterprises in Tanzania. The study provides evidence that most business start-ups have been financed by own sources while expansion has mainly been finance by microfinance credit. The study further observes that inadequate credit resulted in the abandonment or postponement of entrepreneurial projects. Some st udies have concluded that microfinance credit contributes to the growth of enterprises although the impact of finance has not been very significant. Empirical evidence shows that after receiving finance, the firm’s output increased by 40 percent. This evidence shows just how important microfinance is for the growth and expansion of enterprises and thus emphasises the positive relationship between microfinance and entrepreneurship in poor countries. In order for microfinance to help foster entrepreneurial activity, the activity must be sustainable. This means that only enterprises with the potential to evolve from micro to small and to medium enterprises can be considered entrepreneurial businesses (Harper, 1998; Kuzilwa, 2005). Businesses that are merely surviving to sustain a family cannot be considered entrepreneurial (Harper, 1998). The operating cycle of microenterprises is relatively short compared to that of large enterprises. Microenterprises are therefore in need of short term loans in small amounts. Due to their short-term operating cycles, microenterprises are in constant need of small scale loans to finance their business. Consequently, sufficient and timely capital is necessary for the success of microenterprises. According to Alagappan and Nagammai (2003), any entrepreneur’s main problem is finance. Adequate finance is required at reasonable cost to meet the expectations of any entrepreneur (Alagappan and Nagammai, 2003). Small scale entrepreneurs find it difficult to access large financial institutions. This is mostly because of information asymmetries between large financial institutions and small scale businesses. Moral hazard and adverse selection bias often make it difficult for small firms to gain access to finance from large institutions. The process is often complex and may result in delays. Consequently, the only hope for small scale businesses is microfinance. According to a study by Vincent (2004), an initial loan of approximately $100 helped in reintegrating entrepreneurs into formal networks as well as promoting structural and sustainable development in communities. However, the study observed that only 5% of entrepreneurs in these communities were able to obtain micro credit thus hindering the growth and development potential of communities in less developed economies (Vincent, 2004). Vincent (2004) concludes based on this evidence that sustainable entrepreneurship and microfinance can c ontribute tremendously to poverty alleviation in less developed countries. While credit is important, it is not the only factor that can facilitate entrepreneurship in less developed economies. According to a study by Roy and Wheeler (2006) on 12 microfinance institutions in four West African economies, growth of microenterprises is not restricted only by poor access to credit. Rather, other factors such as poor training, lack of trust and corporation as well as risk aversion are other factors that must be taken into account when evaluating the factors that restrict the growth and expansion of microenterprises in less developed economies (Roy and Wheeler, 2006). While microfinance can help in stimulating growth of microenterprises, its availability is only an important part of the story (Roy and Wheeler, 2006). Microfinance needs to be provided only to entrepreneurs who satisfy a host of other requirements such as adequate training, risk tolerance, trust and corporation. While other factors may affect the growth and expansion of microenterprises in less developed countries, Adams and Pischke (1992) believe that lack of funds is the most important problems facing microenterprises. Adam and Pischke (1992) argue that access to small and short-term credit is more beneficial for poor microenterprises than large long-term credit. The evolution of microfinance has been very important because it has enabled microfinance institutions to handle small scale transactions efficiently as well as establish long lasting links with borrowers. The main focus of microfinance institutions is on small and short-term loans which can help small scale entrepreneurs finance short-term investment projects and thus alleviate poverty in the community as a whole. As mentioned earlier, a second school of thought believes that microfinance has a negative impact on the poorest in society (Adams and Von Pischke, 1992; Buckley, 1997). While microfinance programs can create a positive impact on the poor, these programs often fail to reach the poorest people when trying to achieve sustainability. While the programs can serve the poor, they do not necessarily help the poorest of the poor (Copestake et al., 2001; Hulme 2000; Hulme and Mosely 1996; Mosely and Hulme 1998). While superficial analysis shows that microfinance can foster entrepreneurial growth and thus reduce poverty in society, deep analysis suggests that microfinance credit does not create opportunities. Rather the ability of the community to generate income and thus alleviate poverty depends heavily on the entrepreneurial nature of people in the community (Kulziwa, 2005). This does not amount to saying that credit is not important for entrepreneurship. Credit certainly plays a significan t role in improving the competence of the entrepreneur to make use of the opportunity available. However, the entrepreneurial skills must be there to fully realise the benefits of microfinance. Empirical evidence suggests that microfinance has not had a positive impact on entrepreneurship in very poor countries. Shaw (2004) investigated the impact of microfinance on poverty in Sri Lanka. The study provides evidence that not all microfinance projects have been able to alleviate poverty in Sri Lanka. The study contends while microfinance can work well for those very close to the poverty line, it can only help those who are interested and able to engage in high-value entrepreneurial activities (Shaw, 2004). According to Shaw (2004) microfinance loans are not sustainable in that they only serve to protect current consumption levels while offering limited opportunity for exiting poverty. For microfinance programs to be successful, they must be complemented by investment in physical and social infrastructure. Another argument against microfinance programs is that these programs are capable of pushing the poor into a debt trap. This is because the programs often turn out to be unsustainable if the poor are not able to engage in an activity that can generate enough income for repayments (Mead Liedholm, 1998). A study was conducted on NGO led microfinance programs in several developing countries. The objective of the study was to evaluate the performance of microfinance programs in these countries using a set of four indicators including their ability to target the poor, their ability to increase assets of the poor, their ability to generate income and their ability create skill employment and financial viability. Comparisons were made with state-led credit based poverty alleviation programs such as the Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP) and the Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in India (Chavan Ramakumar, 2002).   The study provides evidence that microfinance programs have helped in achieving a marginal improvement in the income of their beneficiaries. However, the evidence suggests that the beneficiaries have not obtained any significant benefits in terms of technological improvements because the programs focus primarily on survival skills (Chavan Ramakumar, 2002). Focusing on Ban gladesh, the study observes that microfinance programs which are designed to help customers repay Grameen Bank loans through fresh loans from moneylenders has resulted in the creation debt cycles (Chavan Ramakumar, 2002). Anand (1994) examine the performance of microenterprises in Botswana the balance between lending and borrowing activities of microfinance institutions. The study observes that Microfinance institutions focus more on lending than borrowing. Lending activity constituted 75% while borrowing constituted only 10% of their total activity (Anand, 1994). This clearly shows that finance cannot be considered a constraint for entrepreneurs in Botswana. The foregoing shows that in order for microfinance to be sustainable, it has to be complemented by savings and other factors. There is a common misconception that the poor cannot save. However, the evolution of microfinance has proven that this is a misconception. Microfinance loans are often made based on the saving capacity of the borrower (Stemper, 1996). Savings are used as a means of establishing the history of the borrower and serves as a important input to evaluating the loan application (Stemper, 1996). Savings can also serve as collateral for borrowers who do not have landed property. This view has been reinforced by Buckley (1997) who views savings as the means of achieving financial independence and self sufficiency for micro enterprises. India created Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) which serve as microfinance institutions in the country. These associations support the need of financial services for the small scale entrepreneurs in India. They are popular because of their simplicity and the freedom that they provide on using funds (Buckley, 1997). Guha and Gupta (2000) provide evidence suggesting microfinance institutions improve the saving habit of the poor by creating income generating activities and improving their loan repayment habits. Critique of The Literature The empirical evidence above suggests that microfinance institutions play an important role in alleviating poverty in developing countries. This is achieved through their impact on entrepreneurship. Microfinance institutions are sustained by promoting savings and investment schemes for the poor. This suggests that microfinance institutions. A key short-coming with the studies above is that most of the studies focus on the relationship between entrepreneurship and microfinance, with little emphasis on sustainability. Sustainability of entrepreneurship and microfinance are important if they have to be used as a means of alleviating poverty in the long run.   Despite the importance of sustainability, the existing literature has not exploited it in great detail. Togo has witnessed significant developments in its microfinance industry. Microfinance was initiated in Togo by the Association for Community-Based Self-Promotion (ACOMB), which operates in two very low-income districts that have experienced excessively high levels of HIV/AIDS with very little government or foreign support (Parker, 2000). The goal of the association was to provide health education, information, and referrals to clients as an important complement to financial services (Parker, 2000). In addition, the Faà ®tià ¨re des Unità ©s Coopà ©ratives dEpargne et de Crà ©dit (FUCEC) is a Togolese-based Microfinance institution which comprises of credit unions aimed at offering credit with eduction as one of its financial products (Dunford, 2002). FUCEC provides underprivileged people (especially poorer women) to join a credit union. The Microfinance institution provides members with the opportunity to save and obtain credit to finance local projects. This means that most me mbers of FUCEC and net borrowers (Dunford, 2002). Despite these developments, the role of microfinance in alleviating poverty in Togo has not been exploited. Likewise, the relationship among microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability are yet to be exploited in Togo. It is against this backdrop that this study aims at investing the relationship among microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability in Togo. This will help in the formulation of policies regarding microfinance, entrepreneurship and sustainability in future. This paper will look at two hypotheses as follows: Microfinance programs have a positive impact on entrepreneurship in Togo; Entrepreneurship has a positive impact on the sustainability of Microfinance in Togo. Conclusions Based on the literature above, it can be concluded that there is a significant link between entrepreneurship and microfinance. Despite the apparent importance between sustainability and microfinance, very limited research has been conducted to explore this relationship. In addition, most studies on microfinance in less developed countries have focused on other countries thus ignoring Togo altogether.   This study extends the paper by incorporating sustainability into the relationship between entrepreneurship and microfinance using Togo as a case study. References Adams, D.W. Pischke, J.D. V. (1992). â€Å"Microenterprise credit programmes: Dà ©j vu†,  World Development, 20(10), pp. 1463-1470. ADB (2000).  Finance for the Poor: Microfinance Development Strategy.  Manila: Asian Development Bank. Alagappan, V. Nagammai, R.M. (2003). â€Å"Entrepreneurs response to Financial assistance from Institutions†,  SEDME, 30(4). Anand,V. (1994).  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Performance of Microenterprises  in  Botswana: A case study of selected urban and semi urban locations†,  Indian  Journal  of  Economics, 75(296). Buckley, G. 1997. â€Å"Microfinance in  Africa: Is it Either the Problem or the Solution?†Ã‚  World Development  25:1081-93. Chavan, P. Ramakumar, R. (2002). â€Å"Micro-Credit and Rural Poverty: An Analysis of Empirical Evidence†Ã‚  Economic and Political weekly, March 9, 2002. Christen, R.P. (1997). Issues in the regulation and supervision of microfinance in a transforming economy. Paper presented at the 10th  conference of financial Institutions in  Tanzania, Arusha, 7-9. Dunford, C. (2002), Microfinance as a vehicle for educating the poor, Development Bulletin, vol. 57 Eversole, R. (2000). â€Å"Beyond Microcredit- The Trickle Up Program†,  Small  Enterprise  Development, 11(1). Guha, S. Gupta, G. (2005). â€Å"Microcredit for income generation: The role of ROSCA†,  Economic and political weekly, April 2, 2005. Harper, M. (1998). Microenterprise or growth? Which do we want, and which bring development? Paper presented at the conference on the growth of small and medium enterprises in Africa, theKenya  institute of management,  Nairobi, 23-28 March 1998 Hashemi, S., S.R. Schuler, and A.P. Riley. 1996. â€Å"Rural Credit Programs and Women’s Empowerment in  Bangladesh.†Ã‚  World Development  24:635-653. International Finance Corporation (IFC), 2004. Sustainable Financial markets facility.  www.ifc.org Kuzilwa, J.A. (2005). â€Å"The role of credit for small business Success: A study of the national entrepreneurship development fund in  Tanzania†,  Journal of entrepreneurship, Vol. 14 , No.2. Nair,  T.S.,(1998),â€Å"Meeting  the  credit  needs  of  the  micro  enterprise  sector issues   in  focus†Ã‚  Ã‚  Indian  Journal  Of  Labour  Economics,  Ã‚  41(3). Rangarajan, C. (2005). â€Å"Microfinance and its future directions† High level Policy Conference on microfinance in India- May 3, 2005- New Delhi, Keynote Address by Dr. C. Rangarajan Chairman Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Roy, M.A. Wheeler, D. (2006).â€Å"A survey of microenterprise in urban  West Africa: Drivers shaping the sector†Ã‚  Development in Practice, 16(5). Schuler, S.R., S. Hashemi, and A.P. Riley. 1997. â€Å"The Influence of Women’s Changing Roles and Status in  Bangladesh’s Fertility Transition: Evidence from a Study of Credit Programs and Contraceptive Use.†Ã‚  World Development  25: 563-575. Sen, A. (1999). Development as Freedom,  Oxford:  Oxford  University  Press. Shaw, J. (2004). â€Å"Microenterprise occupation and poverty reduction in microfinance programs: Evidence from  Sri Lanka†.  World Development, 32(7), pp.1247–1264. Olu, O. (2009) Impact of Microfinance on Entrepreneurial Development: The Case of Nigeria, The International Conference on Administration and Business. Marguerite, R. S., (2002), â€Å"The Microfinance Revolution: Sustainable Finance for the Poor†. Sinha, F. (2005). â€Å"Access, Use and Contribution of Microfinance in  India: Findings from a National Study†,  Economic and Political Weekly, April 23, 2005. Stemper, G.A. (1996). â€Å"Commercial banks and Microentrepreneurs in  Latin America†,  Small Enterprise Development, 7(3). Vincent, G. 2004. â€Å"Sustainable Microentrepreneurship:  The Roles of Microfinance, Entrepreneurship and Sustainability in Reducing Poverty in Developing Countries†, www.gdrc.org/icm/micro/guy_sustmicro.pdf Parker, J. (2000) The role of microfinance in the fight against HIV/AIDS, A report to The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI) Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Greek Mythology - Bible vs Biblos

Greek Mythology - Bible vs Biblos The Bible is sometimes called the Good Book, which is fitting since the word Bible comes from the Greek word for book, biblos. For the Greeks, the bible was Homer, particularly, The Iliad, and Hesiod. The Father of History, the Greek Classical period traveler Herodotus (c. 484-425 B.C.) writes: Whence the gods severally sprang, whether or no they had all existed from eternity, what forms they bore - these are questions of which the Greeks knew nothing until the other day, so to speak. For Homer and Hesiod were the first to compose Theogonies, and give the gods their epithets, to allot them their several offices and occupations, and describe their forms; and they lived but four hundred years before my time, as I believe.~ Herodotus Book IIYou can find a religious world view, morals, customs, genealogy, and more in Homer and Hesiod. However, The Iliad, The Odyssey, and Theogony were not sacred texts. (Depending on your definition, the Greeks had other sacred texts, like hymns and responses of the oracles.)The Opening of The IliadThe Iliad begins, not with the creation of the world in 6 days, but with an invocation of the goddess or muse:Sing, O goddess,followed by the story of the wrath of the great Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles:the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, t hat brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another....and his anger at the expeditions leader, Agamemnon, who has strained relations with his best man by stealing his beloved concubine and committed sacrilege:And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto [Apollo]; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest.(Samuel Butler translation)The Place of Gods in Mans LifeGods in Homers ancient heroic age walked among men, but they were much more powerful than humans and could be prevailed upon by prayer and sacrifice to help human beings. We see this in the opening of The Iliad where the rhap sode (the composer/singer of the story) Homer seeks divine inspiration to create a great epic, and where an old man seeks the return of his abducted daughter.There is nothing in this Greek great book (The Iliad) about taking clay and forming it in a certain likeness or taking a rib from said animated clay, although the latter, the story of the creation of woman (Pandora) by a craftsman, does appear differently elsewhere in the canon of Greek mythology.Next Page: Creation Stories Introduction to Greek Mythology Myth in Daily Life What Is Myth? Myths vs. Legends Creation Stories Titanomachy Olympian Gods and Goddesses Five Ages of Man Philemon and Baucis Prometheus Trojan War Bulfinch Mythology Myths and Legends Kingsley Tales from Mythology | Golden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne Confusing Creation Stories Creation StoriesUranos Revenge Titanomachy Philemon and Baucis Prometheus Version 1: Genesis 1.27 King James27: So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Version 2: Genesis 2.21-2321: And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22: And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.... the story of the 5 Ages Also see Jewish Legends - Creation Genealogy Shows Mans Relationship to God(s) The stories one polis told about its divine connection might or might not contradict the stories of another polis about its connection with the same god. Sometimes what looks like an effort to smooth out one set of inconsistencies seems to have created others. It might serve those of us coming to the Greek stories from a Judaeo-Christian tradition to remember that there are plenty of apparent inconsistencies in the Bible, too. Reference: [url formerly www.rpgclassics.com/quotes/iliad.shtml] Interesting Quotations from the Iliad Introduction to Greek Mythology Myth in Daily Life What Is Myth? Myths vs. Legends Gods in the Heroic Age - Bible vs. Biblos Trojan War Bulfinch Mythology Myths and LegendsGolden Fleece and the Tanglewood Tales, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hiring Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Hiring Process - Essay Example This can be simplified by use of mobile phones or via email so that finally they will have gotten the right information and have a good list of potential candidates from which to chose from. The major advantage is that interviewees are able to know in a better way the job they wait for and the salary that awaits them .To the manager, it an easier way to evaluate the candidate’s communication skills by listening to how well they establish rapport (Erling, 2010).This is later effected by physical face to face so as to make a better assessment based on grooming , character and evaluation of documents to see if there is additional thing they can do other than just the work they qualify for .For instance are they talented in other fields like sports .This may act as an additional benefit to the employing firm in terms of social services (Erling, 2010). It is therefore important to make an all-round assessment to ensure that no element of bias is left and that the firm gets the best employee from among many so that it can leap the benefits of a good hiring

Mobile Device Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Mobile Device Management - Essay Example Mobile device management has the capacity to remotely upgrade itself by changing a bit of its system's settings; it ensures security, data transfer, user friendliness and discourages sensitive information theft, fabrication or any other illegal act of company's policy. The most useful and advanced invention of the century is Computer and Information Technology. This technology is something that advances everyday and never becomes idle. Since its invention, computers have helped mankind to do their work with more flexibility, easiness, efficiency and time saving. The two main fastest growing aspects of Computers are Data Communications and Networking. Data communication is used for transferring information whereas networking is the medium through which the information could be transferred. These days, the electronic medium has grown with the new technology and the work pace has fastened its speed to cover time efficiency by lessening down the work load manually (Hossein, 2000, p#159). The information needs a medium to travel from one place to another. ... The modern age use binary signals instead of analog, the binary signals are used universally and known to every system. The binary signals are also known as digital signals, which is easy and flexible for the system to understand and process. Data is transferred through Data transmission and data switching techniques. The data can be sent via coaxial cables, optical fibers, telephone lines, modem, radio, and others. Group of data bytes are usually send to the receiver by the sender in shape of data packets to ensure secure and compact information. Data communication looks after the while process of how the information is being transferred from the sender to the receiver. This technique is of very importance since it holds the root value for the whole cycle. Data communication can be listed further into numerous techniques and holds control of uncountable devices. Such a technique is known as Mobile Device Management. Mobile device management: Mobile device management is a technique driven from data communications. It basically is the set of tools through which distribution of applications, configuration settings and data can be made easy for mobile devices such as mobile phones. As the time passes and technology grows, the enterprise and communications are going mobile. It helps individuals, companies, and even employees to access their work virtually from anywhere in the world without handling the connectivity manually or additional plug-ons. Mobile device management enables to perform security support, policy management, inventory, backup and device locking system and let the other users to choose their own devices. It not only provides efficient productivity, but also enhances flexibility and saves cost.

Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie Essay Example for Free

Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie Essay How is language and structure used within Vultures and one other poem to bring the message across to the reader? Vultures by Chinua Achebe and Night of the scorpion by Nissim Ezekie, both use lunguistic and structural techniques to relay the message being brought forward by the poem. Within Vultures we are presented with an active comparison between the evil of an human and the evil of a vulture. Similarly within Night of the scorpion we are also presented with an animal personifying evil bringing forward true feelings and beliefs of an community. Within Vultures Achebe uses Language in order to carry the message being brough forward, pathetic falacy is used in order to create a atmosphere for the reader, this is shown through greyness..drizzle this creates an eiry atmosphere creating a sense of danger fior the reader, this enhances the message being brough forward by this poem; pathetic falacy is also used within Night of the Scorpion for a similar purpose, the fact that the steady rain is present it shows it is a tense atmosphere for the reader foreshadowing upcoming events in the poem. In addition through Ezekiel using the word night at the beginning of the poem this adds to the atmosphere as at this time is mostly associated with unawarness and also a time of fears coming to life, this may alert the reader adding to affect brought forward by the upcoming pathectic falacy, thus amplifying the message being brough forward to the reader. Achebe describes the vultures in a gastly way with them holding features such as gross feathers/ telescopic eyes and with the vultures picking eyesof corpse this disgusts the reader, with it creating a horrendous images in the reader mind, On the otherhand the reader is giving another disgusting description of the comandent this is shown through him being described with having: hairy nostrilsstench of human roast clinging to him this also creates a negetive image in the readers imagnation creating links between the two showing the similarities, the use of this increases the readers understanding if the message. Within Night of the scorpion the repetition of the word they said also amplifys the message as it shows the mothers son is not being heard and the fact that the mother is in the chentre shows the sons annoyaance towards the community showing they are shutting him out, this showcks the reader as as his mom is on the death bed he is sill not given the chance to see her. The structure within Night of the Scorpion also holds a great importance in order to relay the message being brough forward, the structure is free verse which backs up the point that was stated above the use of free verse shows the lack of structure within the communuty and how their believes can clash under stressfull circumstances, this signifficantly contributes to the message being brough forward to the reader. Vultures is also written in free verse with the vultures and the comandant being on seoerates sides this symobolises the diffeence in their appearences ; aksi their similarities in the way they act with them bith commiting fellenous acts, however the vultures do this for survuval whereas the comandent has a choice in the matter but still shooses to do this. The use of all these linguistic and structural techniques used by the pots make the poems messages clearly understood by the reader.

My Grandmother Essay -- English Literature

My Grandmother This poem explores the relationship between the speaker and her grandmother. It focuses on the remorse and guilt she felt - and perhaps does still feel - about the way she behaved towards her on one occasion, and can be seen as an attempt to exorcise this. The poem is divided into four parts: the first stanza describes her grandmother working in the shop; the second the incident which causes her guilt; the third stanza shows her in retirement. In the final stanza, after her grandmother has died, the speaker reflects on herself and her grandmother's life. The first stanza sets the scene - the antique shop reflects the character and life of the grandmother. The words 'it kept her' suggest that it seems, to the speaker, her only reason for living; the grandmother's concern is with surface appearance ('polish was all') not with deep human feelings ('there was no need of love'). Her solitariness is suggested in the fact that it is only 'her own reflection' she sees reflected in the antiques; it is these she lives 'among', not people. The antiques themselves create an oppressive atmosphere - they are 'faded' and 'heavy' in this stanza, and in the final stanza the 'tall/ Sideboards and cupboards' in the 'long, narrow room' take on the air of coffins. Even the sounds of the words the speaker uses contribute - the sibilants in 'the brass/ Salvers and silver bowls' are unwelcoming to the reader, and perhaps betray her disapproving attitude to the shop. But to the grandmother the antiques have great importance. They are 'needed', though never 'used' - they are a substitute for human company, a replacement for love. She takes pride in her possession of them; the speaker's 'wish not to be used/... ...think that the women is treating the girl like she was an antique; "It was perhaps I think a wish not to be used like antique objects ...." In stanza three I think that you can see all the memories actually being revealed to the grandchild; "All her best things in one tong narrow room" It gives us the sense that after she had passed away now the guilt is just kicking in and the old women's life has just began to open. In the very last stanza I think that the very last chapter in the old women's life is beginning to come to an end. Nothing is left in memory of her: "..and no finger marks were there" I think that now her life is over and that her family have been excluded, their lives have had a fundamental change and new dust had just began to settle over the rather cold possessions she seemd to value over her children and grandchildren.