Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Antonio Luna, Hero of the Philippine-American War

Antonio Luna, Hero of the Philippine-American War Antonio Luna (October 29, 1866–June 5, 1899) was a soldier, chemist, musician, war strategist, journalist, pharmacist, and hot-headed general, a complex man who was, unfortunately, perceived as a threat by  the Philippines  ruthless first president  Emilio Aguinaldo. As a result, Luna died not on the battlefields of the Philippine-American War, but he was assassinated on the streets of Cabanatuan. Fast Facts: Antonio Luna Known For: Filipino Journalist, musician, pharmacist, chemist, and general in the fight for Philippine independence from the U.S.Born: October 29, 1866 in the Binondo district of Manila, PhilippinesParents: Laureana Novicio-Ancheta and Joaquin Luna de San PedroDied: June 5, 1899 in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, PhilippinesEducation: Bachelor of Arts from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1881; studied chemistry, music, and literature at the University of Santo Tomas;  licentiate in pharmacy at the Universidad de Barcelona; a doctorate from the Universidad Central de Madrid, studied bacteriology and histology at the Pasteur Institute in ParisPublished Works: Impresiones (as Taga-Ilog), On Malarial Pathology (El Hematozorio del Paludismo)Spouse(s): NoneChildren: None Early Life Antonio Luna de San Pedro y Novicio-Ancheta was born on October 29, 1866, in the Binondo district of Manila, the youngest child of seven of Laureana Novicio-Ancheta, a Spanish mestiza, and Joaquin Luna de San Pedro, a traveling salesman. Antonio was a gifted student who studied with a teacher called Maestro Intong from the age of 6 and received a Bachelor of Arts from the Ateneo Municipal de Manila in 1881 before continuing his studies in chemistry, music, and literature at the University of Santo Tomas. In 1890, Antonio traveled to Spain to join his brother Juan, who was studying painting in Madrid. There, Antonio earned a licentiate in pharmacy at the Universidad de Barcelona, followed by a doctorate from the Universidad Central de Madrid. In Madrid, he fell obsessively in love with local beauty Nelly Boustead, who was also admired by his friend Jose Rizal. But it came to nothing, and Luna never married. He went on to study bacteriology and histology at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and continued on to Belgium to further those pursuits. While in Spain, Luna had published a well-received paper on malaria, so in 1894 the Spanish government appointed him to a post as a specialist in communicable and tropical diseases. Swept Into the Revolution Later that same year, Antonio Luna returned to the Philippines where he became the chief chemist of the Municipal Laboratory in Manila. He and his brother Juan established a fencing society called the Sala de Armas in the capital. While there, the brothers were approached about joining the Katipunan, a revolutionary organization founded by Andres Bonifacio in response to the 1892 banishment of Jose Rizal, but both Luna brothers refused to participate- at that stage, they believed in a gradual reform of the system rather than a violent revolution against Spanish colonial rule. Although they were not members of the Katipunan, Antonio, Juan, and their brother Jose were all arrested and imprisoned in August 1896 when the Spanish learned that the organization existed. His brothers were interrogated and released, but Antonio was sentenced to exile in Spain  and imprisoned in the Carcel Modelo de Madrid. Juan, by this time a famed painter, used his connections with the Spanish royal family to secure Antonios release in 1897. After his exile and imprisonment, understandably, Antonio Lunas attitude toward Spanish colonial rule had shifted. Due to the arbitrary treatment of himself and his brothers and the execution of his friend Jose Rizal the previous December, Luna was ready to take up arms against Spain. In his typically academic fashion, Luna decided to study guerrilla warfare tactics, military organization, and field fortification under the famous Belgian military educator Gerard Leman before he sailed to Hong Kong. There, he met with the revolutionary leader-in-exile, Emilio Aguinaldo, and in July 1898 he returned to the Philippines to take up the fight once more. General Antonio Luna As the Spanish/American War came to a close and the defeated Spanish prepared to withdraw from the Philippines, Filipino revolutionary troops surrounded the capital city of Manila. The newly-arrived officer Antonio Luna urged the other commanders to send troops into the city to ensure a joint occupation when the Americans arrived, but Emilio Aguinaldo refused, believing U.S. naval officers stationed in Manila Bay would hand over power to the Filipinos in due course. Luna complained bitterly about this strategic blunder, as well as the disorderly conduct of American troops once they landed in Manila in mid-August 1898. To placate Luna, Aguinaldo promoted him to the rank of Brigadier General on September 26, 1898, and named him chief of war operations. General Luna continued to campaign for better military discipline, organization, and approach to Americans, who were now setting themselves up as the new colonial rulers. Along with Apolinario Mabini, Antonio Luna warned Aguinaldo that the Americans did not seem inclined to free the Philippines. General Luna felt the need for a military academy to properly train the Filipino troops, who were eager and in many cases experienced in guerrilla warfare but had little formal military training. In October 1898, Luna founded what is now the Philippine Military Academy, which operated for less than half a year before the Philippine-American War broke out in February of 1899 and classes were suspended so that staff and students could join the war effort. The Philippine-American War General Luna led three companies of soldiers to attack the Americans at La Loma, where he was met with a ground force and naval artillery fire from the fleet in Manila Bay. The Filipinos suffered heavy casualties. A Filipino counterattack on February 23 gained some ground but collapsed when troops from Cavite refused to take orders from General Luna, stating that they would obey only Aguinaldo himself. Furious, Luna disarmed the recalcitrant soldiers but was forced to fall back. After several additional bad experiences with the undisciplined and clannish Filipino forces, and after Aguinaldo had rearmed the disobedient Cavite troops as his personal Presidential Guard, a thoroughly frustrated General Luna submitted his resignation to Aguinaldo, which Aguinaldo reluctantly accepted.  With the war going very badly for the Philippines over the next three weeks, however, Aguinaldo persuaded Luna to return and made him commander-in-chief. Luna developed and implemented a plan to contain the Americans long enough to construct a guerrilla base in the mountains. The plan consisted of a network of bamboo trenches, complete with spiked man-traps and pits full of poisonous snakes, which spanned the jungle from village to village. Filipino troops could fire on the Americans from this Luna Defense Line, and then melt away into the jungle without exposing themselves to American fire. Conspiracy Among the Ranks However, late in May Antonio Lunas brother Joaquin- a colonel in the revolutionary army- warned him that a number of the other officers were conspiring to kill him. General Luna ordered that many of these officers be disciplined, arrested, or disarmed and they bitterly resented his rigid, authoritarian style, but Antonio made light of his brothers warning and reassured him that President Aguinaldo would not allow anyone to assassinate the armys commander-in-chief. To the contrary, General Luna received two telegrams on June 2, 1899. The first asked him to join a counterattack against the Americans at San Fernando, Pampanga and the second was from Aguinaldo, ordering Luna to the new capital, Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, about 120 kilometers due north of Manila, where the Philippines revolutionary government was forming a new cabinet. Ever ambitious, and hopeful of being named Prime Minister, Luna decided to go to Nueva Ecija with a cavalry escort of 25 men. However, due to transportation difficulties, Luna arrived in Nueva Ecija accompanied only by two other officers, Colonel Roman and Captain Rusca, with the troops having been left behind. Death On June 5, 1899, Luna went alone to the government headquarters to speak with President Aguinaldo but was met by one of his old enemies there instead- a man he had once disarmed for cowardice, who informed him that the meeting was canceled and Aguinaldo was out of town. Furious, Luna had started to walk back down the stairs when a rifle shot went off outside. Luna ran down the stairs, where he met one of the Cavite officers he had dismissed for insubordination.  The officer struck Luna on the head with his bolo and soon Cavite troops swarmed the injured general, stabbing him. Luna drew his revolver and fired, but he missed his attackers. Still, he fought his way out to the plaza, where Roman and Rusca ran to help him, but Roman was shot to death and Rusca was severely injured. Abandoned and alone, Luna sank bleeding to the cobblestones of the plaza where he uttered his last words: Cowards!  Assassins!  He died at 32 years old. Legacy As Aguinaldos guards assassinated his most able general, the president himself was laying siege to the headquarters of General Venacio Concepcion, an ally of the murdered general. Aguinaldo then dismissed Lunas officers and men from the Filipino Army. For the Americans, this internecine fighting was a gift. General James F. Bell noted that Luna was the only general the Filipino army had and Aguinaldos forces suffered disastrous defeat after disastrous defeat in the wake of Antonio Lunas murder. Aguinaldo spent most of the next 18 months in retreat, before being captured by the Americans on March 23, 1901. Sources Jose, Vivencio R. The Rise and Fall of Antonio Luna. Solar Publishing Corporation, 1991.Reyes, Raquel A. G. Antonio Lunas Impressions. Love, Passion and Patriotism: Sexuality and the Philippine Propaganda Movement, 1882–1892. Singapore and Seattle : NUS Press and University of Washington Press, 2008. 84–114.Santiago, Luciano P.R. â€Å"The First Filipino Doctors of Pharmacy (1890–93).† Philippine Quarterly of Culture and Society 22.2, 1994. 90–102.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Which Font Should You Use on Your Resume

Which Font Should You Use on Your Resume Individuals who are writing their resumes are swamped with a variety of fonts to choose from, including italic fonts, fonts with fancy curlicues and plain block fonts. Added to that confusion, the font size has to be chosen and resume writers want to find that perfect font that will impress the recruiter but is easy to read. Since you expend enough effort writing your resume and searching job classifieds, you don’t need to stress over what font to use. By using the following tips for the worst and best fonts to use, you can find an appropriate font to use for your resume and spend more time concentrating on that perfect content. CalibriCalibri may be a good choice for a resume for several reasons. It isn’t as commonly used as Arial and using Calibri 12-point will give you an easily read resume that is nicely laid out. Since a good-looking resume is your aim, Calibri may be a good choice.RELATED:Â  Revamp Your Resume: How to Choose FontsHelveticaHelvetica is a Swiss fon t that is highly favored by typographers and designers. It’s clean lines and clarity can be found in a number of corporate logos, including Microsoft. While it comes with Mac, you will have to purchase it as an extra font to use with your Windows program.GeorgiaThis is a traditional looking font and a good change from Times New Roman, which has been overused. Georgia gets a high score for readability, and it was designed to be read on a computer screen and works with both Windows and Mac.GaramondAnother good alternative to Times New Roman, Garamond looks like a classic style with a modern edge to it. It also lets you fit more onto a page without looking like the text is forced into too small a space. Garamond is definitely a good choice for a resume.CambriaIf you have Word, you may have noticed that Cambria is one of the fonts included with the program. Cambria is another font that was designed to be easily read on a computer screen and because of the letter construction, it works well for both printed and online resumes.Gill SansThis English font has been around for many years but was rediscovered and became popular again around 2000. The classic yet modern styling looks good in a resume and is available for Mac OS X and offers several versions in Microsoft Word.Times New RomanThis font is commonly used, but there are reasons to steer clear from it on a resume. One reason is that so many other people use it. Because they do, it won’t stand out from the rest of the applications. That’s reason enough to not use it. In addition, it can be difficult to read when you use a smaller type size.CourierSince Courier was designed to look like you typed it, that is reason enough to stay away from it. In addition, because of its monospacing, it can look a little strange when reading it since all the letters are spaced equally.Comic SansUnless you are applying for a job with a comic book company, leave Comic Sans to use another time. Comic Sans falls i nto the flashy, over-the-top category you should stay away from.Brush ScriptScript is a no-no to start with, but Brush Script is the worst. This font, designed in 1942, is sadly out of date compared to many other fonts and may date you as well if you use it.Choosing the right font can be an important consideration when writing a resume since you want your resume to look neat and easily readable without being too flashy. Searching for a job itself also requires consideration and there are numerous ways to conduct a job search such as checking out daily job ads. TheJobNetwork does the work for you, freeing your time for other pursuits while you search. After you fill out a list of your job interests and qualifications, TheJobNetwork goes to work around the clock to find job listings that might interest you and sends them to you as email alerts. Sign up with TheJobNetwork to get started.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

SHORT STORY QUESTIONS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SHORT STORY QUESTIONS - Assignment Example In the lines â€Å"and thinking nothing of it† (lines 45-46), the poem expresses how the author seems to want to have that innocence of a child, wondering how it is to be an adult, without any idea of the hardships. 2. Sexton’s life and death can make a reader view the poem as an expression of her unspoken sentiments. It seems Sexton relates to the time when she was young and carefree. Since she went through depression stages in her life, the poem could also be an expression of her thoughts on how she, like a child, tried to overcome the obstacles in her life and take giant steps to attain her goals. II. â€Å"To My Dear and Loving Husband† by Anne Bradstreet 1. In this poem, the line â€Å"If ever two were one, then surely we† is a personal favorite because it denotes the happiness and satisfaction of the wife in her married life. She considers herself one with her husband, which means her daily decisions are based on what is good for the household and th e family, and not merely for a specific individual. It also portrays how effectively the spouses are able to work on their marriage since the wife seems to know that her husband is also as happy as she is. It is a personal favorite because this bliss is a widely-coveted feeling in several unions. 2.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Critical assessment, Case Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 352750 words

Critical assessment, Case Law - Essay Example Critical assessment, Case Law Local or domestic authorities involved can assume parental obligations via an administrative protocol. Children, folks and other siblings were not able to pose a challenge to local authority choices on contact with the children during care, say in scarce scenarios which presented themselves. There were unfair accesses to the jurisdiction of the courts. Most of these issues and injustices became handled by the Children Act in a way to attain a better comprehension between the requirements of the children for safeguarding and the rights of folks to be involved wholly in the proceedings, even though certain new issues did emerge (Brayne & Cart 2008, p.12). Therefore, under section 31(1), only the domestic authority or a mandated individual, or any of its offices can draft an application for a care or supervising order and the domestic authority can no longer apply or follow the apparent jurisdiction from the High Court for such motives. Folks are able to challenge the domestic authority choices, children can be independently represented, the guardian may review the task undertaken by the domestic authority with the children and folks and hence makes a recommendation in regards to the sole welfare of the children, and where relatives of the extended household have a unique interest in the proceeding, they can make an application to the court to be adjoined in the proceedings (Dorothy 1991, p.20).

Saturday, November 16, 2019

English Literature Essay Example for Free

English Literature Essay Hannam University Department: English Language and Literature. Degree: Masters of English Language Literature. Title: The Kite Runner: The novel presents the story of a country and people in turmoil. An abridgment of a THESIS Presented to Professor Kim Ilgu, the Faculty of the Department of English Language Literature of the Hannam University in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of English Language Literature. By Uttam Mallick Student ID: 20114012 An brief overview of Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner—Stories Views on education: Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician. He is a citizen of the United States where he has lived since he was fifteen years old. Khaled Hosseini is the first Afghan-American writer to publish a work of fiction in English in the United States. The Kite Runner is Hosseini’s first novel, and his book has achieved a significant amount of success since its publication in 2003-now in its seventeenth printing with over 1. 4 million copies sold-and has repeatedly appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List over the last three years. Even though bookstores and libraries have been inundated with literature about Afghanistan and Iraq, none appear to have achieved the same amount of recognition or success as The Kite Runner. Since the nineteenth century, critics have called into question the literary merits of sentimental fiction for its seemingly unskilled rhetoric and inauthentic sentiment. Although the aesthetic purpose of sentimental literature has been repeatedly trivialized by literary critics, sentimental imagery, language and themes have been effectively utilized by various authors in the past to critique controversial social, historical and political practices of the times, such as slavery in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852), and continue to be effectively utilized by contemporary authors, such as perceptions of Afghanistan and its people in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner. To complete my final thesis, I will use books and reviews or published by scholarly journals as well as major and minor newspapers to analyze the popularity of the novel, including its literary strengths and weaknesses. I will try to use my own knowledge and criticism about the country and people in turmoil. Some scholarly articles on Afghanistan published shortly after 9/11 will be used to provide a social and historical context for Hosseini’s novel. Lastly, I will use both scholarly articles and books to explain the concept of â€Å"sentimentality† and â€Å"emotional narratives,† and their cultural importance, which will help me further articulate my critical approach to Hosseini’s text. Source of Data: For the research must be my own idea with some paper secondary data will be used.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

My Philosophy of Education Essays -- Education Educating Teaching Essa

My Philosophy of Education Education is a major component of our society. Each culture has its own traditions on education, and there are many different philosophies on education. There are so many people that are involved in the educational system, and I feel that it is important to express my own philosophy on education. Of course, one purpose of education is to help to develop children emotionally. In the educational setting students learn manners, how to respect their peers and their elders. In fact, I feel that this is one of the more important purposes of the schools. Children learn how to interact with other students, and teachers. Especially in the early years, students are taught to be honest, and to share. While these are lessons that might also be taught at home, it is important to reinforce proper behavior at schools. Similarly, the educational system also teaches basic skills that will be necessary in life. These lessons aren’t always taught in classes or planned in lessons, however, certain things, like time management is taught through school. Students are required to balance their life, with homework, sports practices, clubs, friends and family. This is an important skill that the educational system helps to develop. Clearly another purpose of schools is to teach students different subject areas. The purpose of education is to expand your knowledge, and your world. I believe that the pu...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Animal Farm Essay

In the movie, I began to see examples of collectivism and individualism. For instance, in collectivism the group comes before the individual. The â€Å"experts† do all the thinking for the people. Which in this case, the pigs, Napoleon and snowball were the experts. They made the rules that the farm animals had to abide: all animals were equal, no animal shall be killed by another, no sleeping on beds or drinking alcohol ect. As the revolution went on, the animals helped one another,like we as people do in the everyday world. Napoleon soon felt as if snowball was getting in the way of his dictatorship and had him killed. Napoleon now became the leader, and even spread the word to other farms so other pigs could start the same revolution. The weaker animals were sacrificed the laws that were set soon changed, the farm animals became more and more like slaves , they ate less, worked dawn to dusk and no longer were equal. The law now was some animals were equal but some more than others. While the farm animals did all the hard work, the pigs got to sit back, relax and eat all the food for themselves. With that said, Collectivism is a lot like communism, the pigs had control of the farm animals, made the laws, even everything the farm animals made soon belonged to the pigs. It’s like how the world is today, part of the hard earned money and things we make go to the government. The government and the corporations are the pigs. On the individualistic side of things, in individualism the individual comes before the group. They only worry about their family and close friends. Towards the end of the movie, the horse was sold off and later killed, because he was no more use for the pigs. The donkey who is a close friend to the horse took that as a final straw and recognized what the pigs were really doing. Compared to individualism they fought with what they believed in. That no individual should work for pigs like them. That’s how it is with humans we fight with what me believe in.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Master of German Opera – Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner is the master of German opera. He molded opera according to his own creative definition with revolutionary zeal (Richard Wagner Biography, Arizona Opera). Adolph Hitler and his Nazi party enjoyed many of Wagner's works; this negative publicity has caused people hate Wagner and his music. Today Wagner is accepted, but his music is still outlawed in Israel. The youngest of nine children, Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany to a blue-collar family, on May 22, 1813. His father, Friedrich Wagner, a police clerk, died when Richard was only six months old. His mother soon remarried to an actor and playwright named Ludwig Geyer and the family moved to Dresden. Some historians believe that Geyer was Richard's actual biological father; there is evidence that shows that Wagner may have believed this too. Egocentric from childhood, Wagner loved literature. He was especially fascinated by the works of Shakespeare. With his head always in the books, he tried writing tragedies but that never came to anything. He also began piano lessons, but unlike many other well-known composers, he never became skilled on this or any other instrument. Through his teens composing attracted him. In 1829, at age sixteen, he wrote his first compositions, which were not received well by the public. Then he took six months of formal training Theodor Weinlig, cantor of the Thomasschule, in 1831. Those studies resulted in the composition of a Wagner symphony, which was well received in Leipzig and Prague. He began work on an opera, Die Hochzeit, and tossed it aside unfinished. After that he completed Die Feen, but it was not performed until five years after his death. At 20, he began keeping journals in hopes of writing an autobiography in the future. He got a job as the chorus master for the Wurzburg Theatre when he was only 20 years old. He also started to write operas. In 1836, he got married to the actress, Minna Planner, this marriage was to last only until 1862. He was very unhappy with Minna, and regretted this marriage almost as soon as it came to be. In 1837, he and his wife escaped creditors to Paris. Wagner struggled to establish himself in Paris. Most of the time they were living on the verge of starvation; he was arrested and imprisoned on a few different occasions due to his debts. Producers rejected his preliminary ketches of the operas La Rienzi and Das Liebesverbot. Wagner stopped writing all together because of the embarrassment of being rejected. Then Wagner had a new idea and started work on The Flying Dutchman, even though he was impoverished and unknown he felt victorious at its completion in 1841. La Rienzi opened in Dresden in 1842 to enormous success. A success followed the next year for The Wagner became Kapellmeister of the Dresden opera and had financial security at last. However, he continued his poor money management, accumulating impossible debts. Within the five years that followed, he had completed Tannhauser, and Lohengrin. However, Lohengrin, which he considered his greatest effort to date, was rejected by Dresden opera and, in anger, Wagner helped to start a revolution. He wrote letters to Dresden rioters who were creating a growing rebellion in the state of Saxony. In 1849, when the revolution failed, Wagner was exiled, and forced to flee to Switzerland. In Zurich, 1851, he completed his furiously anti Semitic Jewishness in Music. During his thirteen-year exile, he concentrated on writing essays, which told his theories on musical drama. He also began work on his giant creation, a cycle of four musical dramas titled Der Ring es Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelungs). This cycle was made up of these four dramas Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Die Gotterdammerung . Der Ring des Nibelungen took 22 years to complete, and stands as one of the most remarkable and extremely influential achievements in music. During the many years of Wagner's exile, Lohengrin was presented in Weimar and was received slowly just as Tannhauser had been. However, in the decade that followed, German audiences loved both operas. In fact, at the time his exile ended in 1860, Wagner was one of the few Germans who had never seen a performance of Lohengrin. During the long period of work on The Ring of the Nibelungs, Wagner's life went through some major changes. He wrote, maybe, his most popular opera, Tristan und Isolde in 1859, and another major work, Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg in 1867. In 1864, the King of Bavaria, Ludwig II, brought Richard to Munich to provide financial support. There Wagner fell deeply in love with a daughter of Franz Liszt, Cosima von Bulow, who was married at the time to one of Wagner's associates. Eventually they got married. They began a project that would prove Wagner's biggest legacy to future generations (Richard Wagner, classicalmus. m), the building of an opera house that was devoted to only Wagner's works. Set in the Bavarian town Bayreuth, the Festspielhaus was the location for the first complete performance of the Ring cycle, in 1876. This was probably Wagner's biggest achievement, to have his greatest work performed in his own opera house. I don't personally listen to classic music; I don't enjoy a whole lot. I did, though, like Wagner's music. I didn't think that I would but I did. My favorite song was Lohengrin because it moves from very calm and quiet to very exciting and loud throughout the whole piece. Wagner has been classified politically as an anarchist and socialist, and simultaneously, a fascist, nationalist, and anti-Semite. His name has been connected to almost all the major trends in German history of the 19th and 20th centuries (Richard Wagner, Bena. com). Some people don't like him or his music just because some of the ideas that has been associated with his name. People need to look past the controversy and just listen to his music, and until people can do this, his wonderful music will never be fully enjoyed.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Understanding How the Earths First Forests Developed

Understanding How the Earth's First Forests Developed The vascular plant emerged around 400 million years ago and started Earths forest-building process during the Silurian geologic period. Although not yet a true tree, this new member of the terrestrial plant kingdom became the perfect evolutionary link (and the largest plant species) with developing tree parts and considered the first proto-tree. Vascular plants developed the ability to grow large and tall with massive weight needed for the support of a vascular internal plumbing system. The First Trees The earths first real tree continued to develop during the Devonian period and scientists think that tree was probably the extinct ​Archaeopteris. This tree species followed later by other tree types became the definitive species comprising a forest during the late Devonian period. As I have mentioned, they were the first plants to overcome the biomechanical problems of supporting additional weight while delivering water and nutrients to fronds (leaves) and roots. Entering the Carboniferous period around 360 million years ago, trees were prolific and a major part of the plant life community, mostly located in coal-producing swamps. Trees were developing the parts that we immediately recognize today. Of all the trees that existed during the Devonian and Carboniferous, only the tree fern can still be found, now living in Australasian tropical rainforests. If you happen to see a fern with a trunk leading to a crown, you have seen a tree fern. During that same geologic period, now extinct trees including clubmoss and giant horsetail were also growing. Evolution of the Gymnosperms and Angiosperms Primitive conifers were the next three species to appear in ancient forests around 250 million years ago (the late Permian to Triassic). Many trees, including the cycads and monkey-puzzle tree, can be found around the world and are easily recognized. Interestingly, the very familiar ginkgo trees ancestor appeared during this geologic period and the fossil record shows the old and the new to be identical. Arizonas petrified forest was a product of the rise of the first conifers or gymnosperms, and exposed fossilized logs are crystallized remains of the tree species Araucarioxylon arizonicum. There was another type of tree, called an angiosperm or hardwood, making headway during the early Cretaceous or about 150 million years ago. They appeared at about the same time geologists think the earth was breaking up from a single continent called the Pangaea and dividing into smaller ones (Laurasia and Gondwanaland). Early into that Tertiary period, hardwoods exploded and diversified themselves on each new continent. That is probably the reason hardwoods are so unique and numerous across the globe. Our Present Evolutionary Forest Few dinosaurs ever made a meal on hardwood leaves because they were rapidly disappearing before and during the beginning of the new age of hardwoods (95 million years ago). Magnolias, laurels, maples, sycamores, and oaks were the first species to proliferate and dominate the world. Hardwoods became the predominant tree species from mid-latitudes through the tropics while conifers were often isolated to the high-latitudes or the lower latitudes bordering the tropics. Not a lot of change has happened to trees in terms of their evolutionary record since the palms made their first appearance 70 million years ago. Fascinating are several tree species that simply defy the extinction process and show no indication that they will change in another dozen million years. I mentioned ginkgo earlier but there are others: dawn redwood, Wollemi pine, and monkey puzzle tree.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Facts and History of Turkey

Facts and History of Turkey At the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Turkey is a fascinating country. Dominated by Greeks, Persians, and Romans in turn throughout the classical era, what is now Turkey was once the seat of the Byzantine Empire. In the 11th century, however, Turkish nomads from Central Asia moved into the region, gradually conquering all of Asia Minor. First, the Seljuk and then the Ottoman Turkish Empires came to power, exerting influence over much of the eastern Mediterranean world, and bringing Islam to southeast Europe. After the Ottoman Empire fell in 1918, Turkey transformed itself into the vibrant, modernizing, secular state it is today. Capital and Major Cities Capital: Ankara, population 4.8 million Major Cities: Istanbul, 13.26 million Izmir, 3.9 million Bursa, 2.6 million Adana, 2.1 million Gaziantep, 1.7 million Government of Turkey The Republic of Turkey is a parliamentary democracy. All Turkish citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote. The head of state is the president, currently Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan. The prime minister is head of government; Binali YÄ ±ldÄ ±rÄ ±mis the current prime minister. Since 2007, presidents of Turkey are directly elected, and the president appoints the prime minister. Turkey has a unicameral (one house) legislature, called the Grand National Assembly or Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi, with 550 directly elected members. Parliament members serve four-year terms. The judicial branch of government in Turkey is rather complicated. It includes the Constitutional Court, the Yargitay or High Court of Appeals, the Council of State (Danistay), the Sayistay or Court of Accounts, and military courts. Although the overwhelming majority of Turkish citizens are Muslims, the Turkish state is staunchly secular. The non-religious nature of Turkish government has historically been enforced by the military since the Republic of Turkey was founded as a secular state in 1923 by General Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Turkeys Population As of 2011, Turkey has an estimated 78.8 million citizens. The majority of them are ethnically Turkish - 70 to 75% of the population. Kurds make up the largest minority group at 18%; they are concentrated primarily in the eastern portion of the country and have a long history of pressing for their own separate state. Neighboring Syria and Iraq also have large and restive Kurdish populations - the Kurdish nationalists of all three states have called for the creation of a new nation, Kurdistan, at the intersection of Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. Turkey also has smaller numbers of Greeks, Armenians, and other ethnic minorities. Relations with Greece have been uneasy, particularly over the issue of Cyprus, while Turkey and Armenia disagree vehemently over the Armenian Genocide carried out by Ottoman Turkey in 1915. Languages The official language of Turkey is Turkish, which is the most widely-spoken of the languages in the Turkic family, part of the larger Altaic linguistic group. It is related to Central Asian languages such as Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, etc. Turkish was written using the Arabic script until Ataturks reforms; as part of the secularizing process, he had a new alphabet created that uses the Latin letters with a few modifications. For example, a c with a small tail curving beneath it is pronounced like the English ch. Kurdish is the largest minority language in Turkey  and is spoken by about 18% of the population. Kurdish is an Indo-Iranian language, related to Farsi, Baluchi, Tajik, etc. It may be written in the Latin, Arabic or Cyrillic alphabets, depending upon where it is being used. Religion in Turkey: Turkey is approximately 99.8% Muslim. Most Turks and Kurds are Sunni, but there are also important Alevi and Shia groups. Turkish Islam has always been strongly influenced by the mystical and poetic Sufi tradition, and Turkey remains a stronghold of Sufism. It also hosts tiny minorities of Christians and Jews. Geography Turkey has a total area of 783,562 square kilometers (302,535 square miles). It straddles the Sea of Marmara, which divides southeastern Europe from southwestern Asia. Turkeys small European section, called Thrace, borders on Greece and Bulgaria. Its larger Asian portion, Anatolia, borders Syria, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. The narrow Turkish Straits seaway between the two continents, including the Dardanelles and the Bosporus Strait, is one of the worlds key maritime passages; it is the only access-point between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. This fact gives Turkey enormous geopolitical importance. Anatolia is a fertile plateau in the west, gradually rising to rugged mountains in the east. Turkey is seismically active, prone to large earthquakes, and also has some very unusual landforms such as the cone-shaped hills of Cappadocia. Volcanic Mt. Ararat, near the Turkish border with Iran, is believed to be the landing-place of Noahs Ark. It is Turkeys highest point, at 5,166 meters (16,949 feet). Climate of Turkey Turkeys coasts have a mild Mediterranean climate, with warm, dry summers and rainy winters. The weather becomes more extreme in the eastern, mountainous region. Most regions of Turkey receive an average of 20-25 inches (508-645 mm) of rain per year. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Turkey is 119.8 ° F (48.8 ° C) at Cizre. The coldest temperature ever was -50  °F (-45.6 ° C) at Agri. Turkish Economy: Turkey is among the top twenty economies in the world, with a 2010 estimated GDP of $960.5 billion US and a healthy GDP growth rate of 8.2%. Although agriculture still accounts for 30% of jobs in Turkey, the economy relies on industrial and service sector output for its growth. For centuries a center of carpet-making and other textile trade, and a terminus of the ancient Silk Road, today Turkey manufactures automobiles, electronics and other high-tech goods for export. Turkey has oil and natural gas reserves. It is also a key distribution point for Middle Eastern and Central Asia oil and natural gas moving to Europe and to ports for export overseas. The per capita GDP is $12,300 US. Turkey has an unemployment rate of 12%, and more than 17% of Turkish citizens live below the poverty line. As of January  2012, the exchange rate for Turkeys currency is 1 US dollar 1.837 Turkish lira. History of Turkey Naturally, Anatolia had a history before the Turks, but the region did not become Turkey until the Seljuk Turks moved into the area in the 11th century CE. On August 26, 1071, the Seljuks under Alp Arslan prevailed at the Battle of Manzikert, defeating a coalition of Christian armies led by the Byzantine Empire. This sound defeat of the Byzantines marked the beginning of true Turkish control over Anatolia (that is, the Asian portion of modern-day Turkey). The Seljuks did not hold sway for very long, however. Within 150 years, a new power rose from far to their east  and swept toward Anatolia. Although Genghis Khan himself never got to Turkey, his Mongols did. On the 26th of June, 1243, a Mongol army commanded by Genghiss grandson Hulegu Khan defeated the Seljuks in the Battle of Kosedag  and brought down the Seljuk Empire. Hulegus Ilkhanate, one of the great hordes of the Mongol Empire, ruled over Turkey for about eighty years, before crumbling away around 1335 CE. The Byzantines once more asserted control over parts of Anatolia as the Mongol hold weakened, but small local Turkish principalities began to develop, as well. One of those small principalities in the northwestern part of Anatolia began to expand in the early 14th century. Based in the city of Bursa, the Ottoman beylik would go on to conquer not only Anatolia and Thrace (the European section of modern-day Turkey), but also the Balkans, the Middle East, and eventually parts of North Africa. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire dealt a death-blow to the Byzantine Empire when it captured the capital at Constantinople. The Ottoman Empire reached its apogee in the sixteenth century, under the rule of Suleiman the Magnificent. He conquered much of Hungary in the north, and as far west as Algeria in northern Africa. Suleiman also enforced religious tolerance of Christians and Jews within his empire. During the eighteenth century, the Ottomans began to lose territory around the edges of the empire. With weak sultans on the throne  and corruption in the once-vaunted Janissary corps, Ottoman Turkey became known as the Sick Man of Europe. By 1913, Greece, the Balkans, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia had all broken away from the Ottoman Empire. When World War I broke out along what had been the boundary between the Ottoman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Turkey made the fatal decision to ally itself with the Central Powers (Germany and Austria-Hungary). After the Central Powers lost World War I, the Ottoman empire ceased to exist. All of the non-ethnically Turkish lands became independent, and the victorious Allies planned to carve Anatolia itself into spheres of influence. However, a Turkish general named Mustafa Kemal was able to stoke Turkish nationalism  and expel the foreign occupation forces from Turkey proper. On November 1, 1922, the Ottoman sultanate was formally abolished. Almost a year later, on October 29, 1923, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed, with its capital at Ankara. Mustafa Kemal became the first president of the new secular republic. In 1945, Turkey became a charter member of the new United Nations. (It had remained neutral in World War II.) That year also marked the end of single-party rule in Turkey, which had lasted for twenty years. Now firmly aligned with the western powers, Turkey joined NATO in 1952, much to the consternation of the USSR. With the republics roots going back to secular military leaders such as Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the Turkish military views itself as the guarantor of secular democracy in Turkey. As such, it has staged coups in 1960, 1971, 1980 and 1997. As of this writing, Turkey is generally at peace, although the Kurdish separatist movement (the PKK) in the east has been actively trying to create a self-governing Kurdistan there since 1984.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

In terms of child protection critically examine the policy Essay

In terms of child protection critically examine the policy developments that have been introduced to facilitate collaboration of - Essay Example 2006, p.67). On the other hand, Mattessich and Monsey defined collaboration as ‘a mutually beneficial and well-designed relationship entered into by two or more individuals or organizations to achieve common goals’ (Mattessich and Monsey, in Raspa et al. 2000, p.23). Moreover, Hamric et al. (2005) explained that collaboration is ‘a dynamic process which focuses on the sharing of goals, values and commitment’ (Hamric et al. 2005, p.91), while Haussler (2006) highlights the voluntary character of collaboration as an activity developed in the context of social relationships or of commercial partnerships. Current paper is based on collaboration as defined by Hamric et al. (2005) – which emphasizes on the necessity of shared values and commitment – for explaining and evaluating the child protection initiatives in England and Wales, especially regarding the level at which these initiatives have managed to facilitate the collaboration among relevant b odies in England and Wales. 2. ... tive text on which the protection of children in UK is based is the Children and Young Persons Act 1933; the above law is used jointly with the main law on child protection in England and Wales, the Children Act 1989 – as updated through the Children Act 2004. The above law establishes the principle of the parental responsibility (section 3) for the protection of the child but also the right of the Court to intervene and make an Order – if necessary – for ensuring the protection of the child (section 1). Moreover, the power of local authorities to intervene and take measures for the protection of the child is clearly defined (section 47, NSPCC, 2011). In Children Act 2004 (section 10) ‘a duty has been set for agencies to cooperate in order to improve the well being of children’ (Children Act 2004, Surrey community). The above legislative text is followed by two guidance texts (published in 1991), which establish the cooperation among the agencies for increasing the protection provided to children; furthermore, guidelines are given for assessing the needs of children within their families; the first of the above guidelines, under the title ‘Working together to safeguard children: a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children’ (DCSF 2010 in NSPCC fact sheet, 2010, p.2), is of key importance, setting the framework of the collaboration among agencies operating in the particular sector. Other legislative texts have been published, after the Children Act 2004, aiming to address specific needs of children: for example, the Children and Adoption Act 2006, the Children and Young Persons Act 2008, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 (NSPCC fact sheet, 2010, p.5-7). The key agencies