...Correlation vs. Causation from the High- to the Late- Middle Ages (1000-1500) A comparative book review of Castles, Battles and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History by Jurgen Brauer and Hubert van Tuyll and Battle: A History of Culture and Combat by John Lynn Nicole Campagnola 0774953 HIST*2040 (DE) W13 Professor Davison March 31, 2013 Despite proven facts and primary sources, historical investigation always has an element of subjectivity. Each historian has a different perspective, and focuses on different events and principles. Different historians and authors will often reflect upon the work of their peers, so an educated reader has the opportunity to decrease bias by expanding the list of sources that information comes from. Information that is accurately cited from appropriate sources does not always have a concrete and inarguable conclusion. There will always be differentiations based on the perspective that the author is striving to communicate, and the original intent behind their research. Castles, Battles and Bombs: How Economics Explains Military History by Jurgen Brauer (an economist) and Hubert van Tuyll (a historian) focuses on historical events with the foundation of economic principles, and uses these principles to explain past military decisions and strategies. Battle: A History of Culture and Combat by John Lynn argues that most historians have mistakenly defined styles of warfare and resulting successes based on technological...
Words: 3169 - Pages: 13
...Name: Tanvi Verma Guide: Prof. Ashok B. Lall Title: ‘ .’ The role of patrons in the attempt to correct the breaking continuity in Indian architecture INTRODUCTION Architecture has a history of over 5000 years, there is an important role played by the patrons of architecture. Over the years, there has been a shift in the style of architecture with the shifting patronage. It is the patron of architecture who brings about historical changes, other developments in architecture lead to evolutionary changes. In earlier times, the patrons where the kings or the rulers, the architecture that time was autocratic and power centric in nature. When India was colonized, British rulers gained dominance and the role of the older patrons got diluted with time. Colonial architecture was power centric and showed dominance. Post independence the patrons became the government agencies who wanted a modern national identity for the country. Later, this shifted to the private agencies and the nature of architecture also shifted from public sponsored to private. With the advent of globalization in the 1990’s, rapid socio cultural changes started taking place. With social, cultural and economic changes, the patronage also shifted to the ever increasing public sector that brought about a major change in the architecture, both its style and functions. The architecture of today is based on economy, efficiency, modern and progressive lifestyle and aspirations of people. With the...
Words: 3134 - Pages: 13
...synthesis of camera work and the use of props. The low budget of the film had compelled them to use props consisting of condoms, oatmeal etc. together with filming techniques to replicate certain scenes like the tunnels or the heat-ray effect. These innovative methods of mixing prop-use and camera tricks, have mostly been replaced by digital technology. Poor representations of what we would come to expect of advanced technology, these special effects back then would have been the acceptable visual standard of portraying the scientific fantasies of the 1950s era. These different special-effects standards notwithstanding, the genre-function of science-fiction is to represent a sort of fantasy with hyper-real elements, while concurrently being a parody of contemporary issues. Hence, with the normative expectations of that genre in mind, it is interesting to see how cinematic expectations have changed, for example, to see how boiled-oatmeal coupled with camera tricks could pass off as a heat-ray’s effect then. However, a judgment regarding the proximity to reality between past and present visual effects can be passed while avoiding anachronisms. Hence, where hyper-real elements – successful exaggerations of reality where representation fades into reality – that are achieved through special effects become backgrounded items not to be focused on, the other aspects of film like theme and plot can become foregrounded within the framework of Science-fiction genre. What are some of the...
Words: 1383 - Pages: 6
...In Ian W. Toll’s Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy, Toll avidly depicts the tumultuous circumstances that led to and followed the forming of the United States Navy, particularly through the diverse perspectives of historical figures surrounding the issue. In this way, the strength in adversity of the military leaders and Founding Fathers in support of the military endeavor, despite the divisive political atmosphere of the waking nation, is highlighted using gruesome firsthand encounters of war and the personal struggles of those spearheading the project. Toll does not simply provide a comprehensive retelling of history, but rather a broader lesson on the human perseverance in the face of seemingly impossible odds....
Words: 1003 - Pages: 5
...By considering the connections between the texts, we gain an insight into the way values have changed over time. To what extent is this true of the two texts you have studied? (Minimum any 2 scenes, 4 quotes and roughly 1200 words) It is the relationship between context, text and responder that helps the audience to create meaning from a text. Through Pacino recontextualising Shakespeare’s Richard III, the audience is able to develop a better understanding and newfound appreciation of Shakespeare’s text. By comparing the structure and language of both texts the responder is able to go on their own journey of understanding and interpretation. Pacino builds a bridge that enables us to cross over and understand Shakespeare’s context. Pacino develops our understanding of ‘Richard III’ and helps us to recognize how values can be encoded within a text. This can be seen through the different values, beliefs and attitudes towards women reflected in Richard III texts in Act 1 scene 2. The wooing of Lady Anne demonstrates the climax of Richard’s role as a villain. The stichomythic language engages the audience which allows us to be seduced by Richard, for example when Lady Anne say, ‘‘o wonderful, when devils tell the truth’ and Richard replies ‘More wonderful, when angels are so angry’. This short declarative verbal exchange creates momentum in the scene resulting in the audience being in a state of anticipation. It reveals the power of language to persuade and Richard is able to capture...
Words: 1097 - Pages: 5
...written in English by Afghan writer. Hosseini's works reflect a wide range of important current events and contemporary issues about ethnic tension, women, family ties, Afghan immigrant, political and social transformation of Afghanistan from 1970s to 2013. Certainly, the war of Afghanistan are encompassing in all three novels. Hosseini had received many awards for his work, all of his novels became bestsellers and the first two novels The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns had been adapted into movies. In this thesis, I will analyze the abuse of power in Khaled Hosseini's novels. The first novel is The Kite Runner (2003). This novel presents a story of strained family relationships between a father and a son, and between two brothers. How they deal with the guilt and forgiveness. The novel sets the interpersonal drama of the characters against the backdrop of Afghanistan, sketching the political and economical toll of the instability of various regimes in Afghanistan from the end of monarchy to the Soviet –backed government of the 1980s to the fundamentalist Taliban government of the 1990s.it also includes the events of September 11,2011. The second novel is A Thousand Splendid Suns (2007) traces socio- political and cultural history of Afghanistan, and illustrates excesses and abuse of government and family itself against women. Through Feminist viewpoint, the novel provides problems of struggle of Afghan female in a patriarchal male dominated society to find their identity...
Words: 1043 - Pages: 5
...Beshears, Laura: Honorable Style in Dishonorable Times: American Gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s Journal of American Culture (33:3) [Sep 2010] , p.197-206. Honorable Style in Dishonorable Times: American Gangsters of the 1920s and 1930s Laura Beshears. The Journal of American Culture. Malden: Sep 2010. Vol. 33, Iss. 3; pg. 197, 10 pgs Abstract (Summary) Prohibition, which came into effect in July of 1920 with the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment, also illustrated the progressives' idealism, as many believed that the elimination of alcohol, because it allegedly created "poverty, marital distress, and negligence," would cleanse society (Mordden 141). [...] the birth of the radio and the movies as well as the development of flight induced excitement and fostered a vision of a society engaged in perpetual technological advancement (Mordden 47). [...] Horatio Alger, Jr. and his late nineteenth-century books- portraits of men who, born underprivileged, rose to wealth and success through hard work, honesty, self-confidence, commitment, and a bit of luck (Weiss 53-54) - characterized the progressive spirit, as it encouraged people to work hard for a better future and for the fulfillment of the American dream. Full Text (5892 words) Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Sep 2010 "You don't need to be ordering fancy duds," Frankie Rio advised his boss as a tailor took measurements of Capone's swollen physique at the Lexington Hotel. "You're going to prison. Why don't you...
Words: 6179 - Pages: 25
...College and his M.A., Certificate of the Russian Institute, and Ph.D. from Columbia University. He edited The Essential Works of Anarchism (New York: Bantam Books, 1971; Quadrangle Books, 1972) and is the author of Soviet Dissent in Historical ¥erspective (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 1980). He is Professor of History, University of Massachusetts at Boston. 1 STALIN; THE GREAT PURGE; AND RUSSIAN HIsroRY: A NEW IOOK AT '!HE • NEW CLASS' Though nearly fifty years in the past; Stalin •s Great Purge of the 1930s still loans as one of the nost enigmatic events of the twentieth century. Whether we think of the Great Purge as a IOOre or less continuous process fran the assassination of Kirov in 1934 to Ezhov's replacement by Beria as head of the secret police at the em of 1938; or limit it to the EzhoVshchina of 1937 and 1938; When the terror reached its peak; operation is astounding. the sheer nagnitude of the The nuniber of arrests; deportations; imprisonments; and lives lost in these years is impossible to measure; and attempts to do so have varied wildly. Even the lOi/est estimates; however; are staggering.l It is not merely the size of the Great Purge that makes it such a historical puzzle; however; but the fact that it tcx>k place in peacetime; in a society publicly and officially ccmnitted to rational values and the hllITaIlistic ideals of Marxism and the Russian revolutionary tradition. In its controlled...
Words: 13189 - Pages: 53
...of the main character before and after the Holocaust. The film chronicles the experiences of a Jewish pianist and his survival through the Holocaust with determination and the help of others, while millions of other Jews perish. The theme is portrayed effectively throughout the movie. The merciless treatment of the Jewish people convinces the audience to empathize with the characters in the movie. The movie begins with the pianist, Szpilman, in the studio playing the piano while the community of Warsaw is being bombed. The first scene in the film is a montage of grainy black and white scenes of Polish life before the Nazi invasion of Poland. The footage shows a dated world with old European style building and technology, people are shown walking around the town in aged clothing. The grainy dated look of the film also makes the scenes appear gloomy but relaxed at the same time. These images are used to drive the notion that it is set in a time long ago, in a different era. This scene is a critical part in the film as it refines the time and emotion, in which the film is set, so the audience can relate better to the characters and what is happening to them. Wladyslaw Szpilman is shown in almost every scene at the beginning of the film. This helps us get a better understanding of Szpilman as we can see how he reacts to the violent situations, which were caused by a group of individuals from a different culture . When the Szpilman family got notices of rules they would react to the...
Words: 1001 - Pages: 5
...instructors, starting with the colors we decide for their nursery, the apparel we dress them in and the way that we treat them, all add to the sexual orientation parts those kids interpretation. Youngsters will inevitably build up their predispositions about gender roles and what it implies in our general public. Those inclinations add to how the tyke, and in the long run the youthful grown-up, will see the world and decipher the pictures around him/her. I need to take a look at how perception or interpretation...
Words: 1712 - Pages: 7
...Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucal. . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. University of California Press, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Mexican...
Words: 6812 - Pages: 28
...© Academy of Management Journal 1996, Vol. 39, No. 3. 519-543. THE RESOURCE-BASED VIEW OF THE FIRM IN TWO ENVIRONMENTS: THE HOLLYWOOD FILM STUDIOS FROM 1936 TO 1965 DANNY MILLER Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales, Montreal, and Columbia University JAMAL SHAMSIE New York University This article continues to operationally define and test the resourcehased view of the firm in a study of the major U.S. film studios from 1936 to 1965. We found that property-hased resources in the form of exclusive long-term contracts with stars and theaters helped financial performance in the stable, predictable environment of 1936-50. In contrast, knowledge-based resources in the form of production and coordinative talent and budgets boosted financial performance in the more uncertain (changing and unpredictable) post-television environment of 1951-65. The resource-based view of the firm provides a useful complement to Porter's (1980) well-known structural perspective of strategy. This view shifts the emphasis from the competitive environment of firms to the resources that firms have developed to compete in that environment. Unfortunately, although it has generated a great deal of conceptualizing (see reviews by Black and Boal [1994] and Peteraf [1993]), the resource-based view is just beginning to occasion systematic empirical study (Collis, 1991; Henderson & Cockburn, 1994; Montgomery & Wernerfelt, 1988; McGrath, MacMillan, & Venkatraman, 1995). Thus, the concept of resources remains an...
Words: 11277 - Pages: 46
...Social Construction of Whiteness The concept of whiteness, or white privilege, for centuries has been ignored as a potential area of study because it has been widely accepted as the societal norm. Many whites have benefited socially, economically and politically without understanding that most of the privileges they have historically received are solely due to their race and/or gender. The purpose of this review is to analyze the social construction of whiteness from a theoretical perspective, whites understanding themselves and their social status, in addition to the evolution of whiteness. Many studies have been undertaken on the social construction of whiteness. These studies shed a lot of light on the different perceptions on whiteness, gaps in research, areas of highest research interest, strengths and weaknesses of the various methodologies, and direction for future studies. In the study done by Hartmann, Gerteis, and Croll, the focus was on the theoretical aspects of whiteness studies. The findings led the researchers to estimate that in the United States, 15% of the population exhibit what may be called ‘categorical whiteness’ (404). The study by Hartmann, et.al, was carried out using data obtained during a recent national survey, which helped provide an empirical assessment of the theoretical underpinnings of whiteness studies (Hartmann, et.al 404). Three propositions regarding the awareness and conception of whites about their own racial status were analyzed. The...
Words: 3906 - Pages: 16
...become apparent as the drama’s main “villain,” Creon, is making it his priority to keep his control over Antigone and the state. In doing this he is also trying to retain his dominance over the female kind. After the death of her brothers, Antigone deliberately violates Creon’s law by burying her brother who was viewed as a traitor. Not only is she breaking state laws but also breaking the barriers of women in this time period. Women in this time period were required to be obedient, loyal, and viewed as feeble. However, Antigone shows acts of courage, which was unheard of for women of this era. When her sister, Ismene, worries for Antigone, she pledges that the king “has no right to keep me from my own” (58-59). Another prime example of the secondary conflict being expressed is when Ismene responds, “Remember we are women” (74). This reiterates their attitude towards how they are seen in the era they live in. She continues with, “we’re not born to contend with men” (75). Ismene, contrary to Antigone, serves as a comparison and represents the common woman of the Theban kind. She is reverent, submissive, and timid. Although Ismene loves her sister, she cannot be persuaded to abandon her male-ruled lifestyle. Ismene shows her civil obedience when she says, “I must obey the ones who stand in power.” Ismenes inactiveness is compensated when the king spares her...
Words: 1091 - Pages: 5
...Inclusion, or organized placement of children with disabilities in mainstream classrooms (Cook, 2001), has certainly been one of the major topics in education for the last two decades (Avramidis, Bayliss, & Burden, 2000). However, it was not until quite recently that teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) became the focus of extensive research (Avramidis & Kalyva, in press; Jobe & Rust, 2006). The major reason for this change in research interest could perhaps be traced to more contemporary approaches to education, which claim that in order to gain valuable insight into the practice as well as the dynamics of the inclusive classroom, there is perhaps no better method than to evaluate the attitudes of those who form an important part of that dynamic system; namely, the teachers (Rose, 2001). Indeed, teachers’ attitudes have been found to affect the process and the outcome of inclusion to a great extent (e.g., Avramidis et al., 2000; Richards, 2009). More specifically, teachers’ positive attitudes towards the inclusion of children with SEN could facilitate inclusion in a mainstream setting (e.g., Cook, 2001; Richards, 2009), since positive attitudes are closely related to motivation to work with and teach children with SEN. Teachers’ motivation in this case is of utmost importance because inclusion demands time, organisation, and cooperation with a pupil with SEN who is not customarily willing or able to participate...
Words: 1510 - Pages: 7