Environmental Degradation Essay

The deterioration of the environment by natural or human forces is known as environmental degradation. Natural happenings like heavy rain, floods, storms, earthquakes, volcanoes etc. are not under human control and they play havoc with environment time to time by making the land unfit lor cultivation. Here man is helpless. He can do nothing except to see the havoc. But when man himself plays a vital role in degrading the environment in which he lives, and then the problem becomes more serious. Needless to say that environmental degradation is one of the major global issues. The overuse of resources is it land or water and the industrialisation process are the major causes of this phenomenon. Man has been felling the tress for his various purposes. He never minds if this process goes on without check it will lead to soil erosion, floods, silting of irrigation canals and cultivated lands, which finally degrade our environment. Our population is increasing fast, which has also degraded the environment to a great extent. Man’s insatiable needs and distress have disturbed the whole environmental equilibrium. The race of armament among countries is no less responsible for this global issue. Apart from these our industries emit smoke and discharge liquids including polluted water. The smoke contains many undesirable gases such as carbon monoxide and sulpher dioxide. All borne particles in solid, liquids and gaseous form. The pollution in atmosphere has tendency to form their layers and sinks in atmosphere. The chlorofluorocarbons which come from aerosol sprays nuclear weapons, refrigerators etc., have caused a hole in the ozone layer of atmosphere. This hole is allowing increased amount of ultraviolet radiation reaching our earth. The above mentioned factors have really degraded the environment and if ways to check it are not applied we will have face serious consequences. We must put an end to our ir satiable needs and desires. There must not be indiscriminate cutting of trees because it will lead to ecological imbalances. Instead, we should know the value of tree plantation and should plant trees as many as we can in our surrounding area. Next, our ever growing population must be checked because it puts an extra burden .on our natural resources. Last but not the least, factories should not be allowed to emit large quantities of harmful effluents into air through their chimneys. They should discharge them into the rivers aid other water bodies because this dirty water can be treated aid recycled to be used again. Our environment must be protected by all means. We must realise the fact that so long environment is there, our life is there. The day, when there is no environment, there will be a complete doom.

Faces of Aids: Gender Inequality and Hiv/Aids

Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS 1 Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS Introduction The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which eventually develops into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a devastating disease that has reached pandemic levels, affecting all populations worldwide. Since the first reported case of HIV/AIDS in the early 1980s, HIV/AIDS has become one of the leading causes of mortality across the globe in the history of mankind (U. S.Global Health Policy [USGHP], 2010). While HIV/AIDS has contributed significantly to the global burden of disease; amongst those living with HIV/AIDS, it has had devastating impacts on women and girls. Amid 40 million people living with HIVAIDS globally, virtually half of them are women (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). In addition, new infection rates have been escalating dramatically worldwide, with most centralized in developing countries (The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS [GCWA], n. d. ).In su b-Saharan Africa, women account for almost 60% of all infected adults, while girls account for approximately 75% of all infected young people between ages of 15 and 24 (Brijnath, 2007; Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). In developing countries such as sub-Saharan Africa, the proportion of women infected with HIV/AIDS is also on the rise, for every ten men infected with HIV/AIDS, 13 women are diagnosed HIV-positive (Brijnath, 2007). In developed countries such as United States, the incidence of HIV/AIDS had increased by 15% compared with 1% that of men from 1999 to 2003 (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005).These alarming statistics imply an ominous future for women and girls affected by the disease – feminization of HIV/AIDS. This paper will highlight the burden of disease implications on gender inequality in developing nations. Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS 2 Feminization of HIV/AIDS When HIV/AIDS cases were first reported, it was viewed that HIV/AIDS was a disease a mongst homosexual men, and the main modes of transmission were through men who have sex with men (MSM).Presently, however, 80% of infections were contracted through heterosexual sex while 19% were through drug injections (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005). It is evident that women and girls are bearing a hefty portion of the burden of HIV/AIDS. Women and girls are socially, physically, and biologically more vulnerable to HIV/AIDs transmissions and stigma associated with the disease. On the societal level, women in developing countries are perceived as being inferior, which is the root cause of gender profiling and stigma towards this group (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005).The society have set the stage for women and girls to be more susceptible to means for HIV/AIDS transmission; furthermore infringing on their freedom of choice. Due to cultural structure and gender norms, women and girls are deprived of education, thus they grow to be economically dependent on men. This limits their autonomy to re fuse sexual liaisons with their intimate partner. For instance, the practice of safe sex through condom usage is mainly the males’ choices, while women have restricted negotiation power (Mulligan, 2006). The minority status of women in developing countries thus exposes them to high rates of HIV/AIDS infections.Gender norms impacts of HIV/AIDS are discerning and even more harmful towards women and girls because they face stigmatization and discrimination on a greater magnitude than men. An ethnographic study conducted by Carr et al. (2004) reported that women were more concerned about the psychosocial insinuations affiliated with being HIV-positive, rather Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS 3 than the adverse health outcomes of the disease. The fear of stigmatization accompanying disclosure of HIV-positive status has hindered women from reaching out for appropriate and necessary medical and mental support.Stigma and discrimination have shown to have neg ative effects on women’s mental and physical wellbeing because they suffer from social isolation and low self-esteem (Carr & Gramling, 2004). This has not only resulted in the under-representation of HIV-positive women, it has also created barriers for women to attain better health (Carr & Gramling, 2004). Being physically inferior to men, women are prone to be coerced and being victims of sexual violence. These factors contribute to escalating infection rates because there is an increasing likelihood for survival sex work (Brijnath, 2007).Attributable to poverty and lack of education, women resolve to prostitution for survival. The combination of lack of knowledge regarding practices of safe sex and frequent encounters of sexual partners further enhance women and girls’ vulnerabilities to contracting the disease. Sexual violence is also a common theme among women living with HIV/AIDS (Rountree & Mulraney, 2008). Moreover, it has also been suggested that women are biol ogically more susceptible to disease progression of HIV/AIDS when taking hormonal contraceptives (Quinn & Overbaugh, 2005).The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS The feminization of HIV/AIDS is evident, and requires serious attention. Gender inequality in developing countries has placed significant burden of disease on women, and has been the propelling force for feminization of HIV/AIDS pandemic. In recognizing and fully comprehending the severity of this pandemic, The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS (GCWA) has taken initiative towards fighting for a brighter future for women on a national level. Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS 4GCWA is an UNAIDS collaborative effort, which involves diverse networks of organizations and political bodies to alleviate this burden of disease on women and girls (GCWA, n. d. ). The objectives of GCWA are to provide necessary medical attention to those in need, raising awareness, mitigate violence against women, and promote gender equality. GCWA tackles issues concerned with gender inequality and the adverse impacts it has had on women. Public Health Intervention Recommendation Gender inequality and inferiority are the undertow that has deteriorated the feminization trend of HIV/AIDS.Public health initiatives should focus on empowering women and improving their independence. This can be achieved through specialized support systems that educate and raise public awareness of the roots and gravity of the situations. Furthermore, this should be complemented with employment referencing and acquisition support programs to enrich their economic autonomy. Conclusion HIV/AIDS has become a feminizing pandemic, resulting in disproportionate burden of disease on women and girls. Traditional subordination of women as minorities has exacerbated the severity of the issues.Global Coalition on Women and AIDs is a comprehensive initiative that targets the root of this problem. Future initiatives for decreasing this gap of gender inequality should emphasize on empowering women and promoting their autonomy. Running Head: Face of AIDS: Gender Inequality and HIV/AIDS 5 References Brijnath, B. (2007). It’s about time: Engendering AIDS in Africa. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 9(4), 371-386. Carr, R. L. , & Gramling, L. F. (2004). Stigma: A health barrier for women with HIV/AIDS. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 15(5), 30-39. Mulligan, S. (2006). Women and HIV/AIDS.The Furrow, 57(4), 232-238. Quinn, T. C. , & Overbaugh, J. (2005). HIV/AIDS in women: An expanding epidemic. Women’s Health, 308, 1582-1583. Rountree, M. A. , & Mulraney, M. (2008). HIV/AIDS risk reduction intervention for women who have experienced intimate partner violence. Clinical Social Work Journal, 38, 207-216. The Global Coalition on Women and AIDS. (n. d. ). About GCWA. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www. womenandaids. net/about-gcwa. aspx U. S. Global Health Policy. (2010). AIDS deaths (adults an d children) 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2011, from http://www. globalhealthfacts. org/topic. jsp? i=7

Global Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Global Communication - Essay Example 2.1 Validation of Geert Hofstede’s broad classification is the main purpose of this report, and interviews were conducted to collect specific data that either supports or rejects his research work and to draw appropriate conclusions. 2.2 Two Indian and one American students have been selected for this project since their cultural background is significantly different from my native Kazakhstan as well as that which obtains in England, the place of my studies and where I am already exposed to the local culture. Further, India was under the influence of England for nearly two centuries and this opportunity will help to understand if it left a lasting influence on the culture of Indians. 2.4 Keeping in mind the four broad cultural classifications formulated by Geert Hofstede, the questions have been framed. These broad classifications are summed up as follows (Geert Hofstede, cyborlink, 2008): 2.4.3 Masculinity (MAS): High and low masculinity. Aggressive attitudes and high belief in one’s abilities characterise male behaviour in a society with high MAS, while females tend to believe more in destiny, religion and belief in the traditional wisdom. 2.4.4 Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI): High or low UAI, denoting the level of tolerance to unstructured situations, ambiguity and uncertainties. Low denotes higher tolerance for variety of opinions, less rule-oriented and greater risk taking appetite. 2.5 For each of the Hofstede dimensions as briefly noted above, three main questions have been framed and the three students were interviewed with the same set of questions in order to eliminate any bias on my part in conducting the research work. These questions are designed to draw out not only broad opinions but also individual preferences since culture is a common denominator of individual behaviours only. The PDI examines the individual in the broader

Lit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Lit - Essay Example In the early days, those schools not attached to a church were primarily intended for the sons of nobility as a means of preparing them for future leadership and, by the seventeenth century, many schools had opened that were supported by private foundations with positions being offered to the poor. The earlier schools catered to specific social classes, frequently requiring students to live within the grounds during the instructional period and sometimes functioning as full-service orphanages. Schools were structured to admit both boys and girls, only boys or only girls depending upon the proprietor and the method of instruction was also left to the discretion of the proprietor. There was widespread concern, however, that educating the masses would lead to large-scale uprisings, so these early attempts at the formation of a national education system began to fade replaced by trade schools, apprenticeships and a general apathy on the parts of the wealthy and the poor alike regarding f ormal education. By the early nineteenth century, the period classified as the Georgian period, curriculum at these schools had been mostly structured to provide appropriate instruction for the particular social class to which it catered (Gillard, 2004). Although this was almost universally true, there was no national curriculum, no standardized block of subjects to be taught and methods of instruction varied as widely as the reputations of said schools. This lack of a formalized national curriculum or even basic curriculum guidelines made it easier for the other form of education system in England to flourish as well. Those families who could afford it often hired governesses for daughters or tutors for sons to instruct their children upon the family grounds, instructing the children in those subjects the family felt important and the educator was qualified to teach. These qualifications were

The attraction and retention of older workers presents opportunities Research Paper

The attraction and retention of older workers presents opportunities and problems for many employers. Critically evaluate the ma - Research Paper Example Based on literature findings, the present study highlights some of the most significant positive and negative implications for HRM. The main point that stands out in the minds of employers while employing older workforce is their contribution or performance. Considering the changing trends in businesses, competition, customer expectations etc, most organisations favour younger workforce that are more energetic and innovative. Other perspectives that point at choosing younger workers include lesser productivity from older workers and loss of knowledge due to higher turnover of older workers (Ashworth, 2008). The main HR challenges that haunt contemporary organisations, according to the CIPD report on Healthy Working Lives (2012) include sustainable employee motivation and commitment, employee turnover, knowledge retention, performance improvement and sustenance, and employee development. Engaging older workers in learning activities and skill development has been a challenge for manag ers (Gray & McGregor, 2003); however, it should also be noted that older workers’ immense experience makes them the knowledge bank that can be effectively used through appropriate practices (Ranzijn, 2004; Murray & Syed, 2005), and this positive attribute can be of great assistance in difficult situations that would otherwise be challenging for younger workforce. Employing older workforce presents critical implications to the HR function from diversity perspective. Of the many findings from their study on diversity programs employed by Fortune 500 companies, Ryan, Hawdon and Branick (2002) identified that most of the Forture 500 companies put significant efforts towards adopting diversity, which eventually fails or is not up to the expected standards, i.e, the number of aged workforce is proportionately low compared to other groups. This study suggests the need for enhancing diversity programs for older workers. This lag could be two-folded, one being company’s lack of interest in hiring older workforce and lack of interest from the older workforce to join jobs/companies that do not provide flexibility and ergonomics conducive to their working requirements. Yet, efforts to employ older workforce are being adopted by many organisations, which also provide various benefits and facilities for this group (Feinsod & Davenport, 2006). From cost/economic implications perspective, investment in older workers could be high in certain spheres but also low in others. For instance, Encel’s (1998) studies identified that older workers were more punctual and had less absenteeism besides their higher commitment, loyalty, knowledge, and ability to handle pressures. These aspects certainly provide greater advantage to managers in terms of cost reduction due to absenteeism and turnover. However, it is a general perception that older workers tend to require greater medical care and hence would incur higher expenses in terms of insurance and other compensatio n benefits; but, studies indicate that these costs also depend on other factors (Feinsod & Davenport, 2006). Based on their research, Guest and Shacklock’s (2005) viewpoint is that older workers

Six Sigma Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Six Sigma - Term Paper Example In this respect, a manufacturer produces products that are of the same quality standards and which do not have defects that could lender them unusable and inefficient in performance of the intended services. Conclusively, Six Sigma enables manufacturers to produce products that are within a level of quality that is not extremely different from each other so long as they have a similar brand name. Introduction In the initial implementation of Six Sigma, the aspects that manufacturers considered were focused on the defects and products without defects. These manufacturers set some platform for measuring the standards according to outlined parameters. With Six Sigma, many manufacturers were able to establish parameters to moderate their production of commodities in the market so that the products were able to compare to the earlier produced having similar brand name. However, with time, some parameters that were related to time were developed to measure quality in the process of product ion so as to indicate the importance of efficiency. ... This means that efficiency in production is an aspect that is essential to measure the quality of production that could be experienced in any manufacturing company because it plays an essential role (Eckes, 2003, p53). Due to the numerous benefits associated with this management approach, its acceptance by various fields/organizations s been positive. This has been due to the fact that it effectively addressed problems experienced in the use of traditional management approaches. Other aspects of the Six Sigma included customer satisfaction, reduction in cost, increase in profit and reducing the pollution effects resulting from the use of a product. According to these values, people ensure that they improve the quality of production by ensuring that they are no issues/properties that cause defects while maintaining lowest levels of variability in manufacturing and business processes. This ensures that all people using the strategy are able to moderate the various things in the process of production so that they can ensure that they can sustain high quality or raise it, which would be beneficial to the company in terms of the sales level. The process uses some aspects of quality management to ensure that all the people are able to analyze the process of production so that it is acceptable in production. In this aspect, various things are put into consideration in the course of production to ensure that production has met some quality standards and are within some standards of production. On the other hand, according to the standards used in Six Sigma strategy, the producers are categorized in relation to their level of expertise on the production process (Schonberger, 2008, p.15). Aspects of Six Sigma In the

The Changed Face of the New Colossus in the New Millennium Essay

The Changed Face of the New Colossus in the New Millennium - Essay Example been affected by these immigrations This essay shall envisage finding the answer to these questions, and shall compare the trends as described in three articles by Portes and Rumbaut (1996), Reed Ueda (1994), George J. Sanchez (1993) as a part of the analysis. It shall be argued that, there are clear differences in the emerging immigration patterns of present day, from the early immigrations in the nineteenth century; and discuss briefly, some of the factors like 1) Economic 2) Opportunities/aspirations 3) Cultural and Educational Background of immigrants, with a special mention on the Mexican immigration, shall conclude with a note on the shortcomings as well as the significance of such analysis. The 'old' and the 'new' immigration: Portes and Rumbaut (1996) have given one of the best classifications of immigrant patterns. Classified as 'old inflow' and 'new inflow' immigration, the former has taken place in the late nineteenth century and the latter in early twentieth century-the "contemporary immigration". There are unmistakable differences in the pattern and people, between the two. The "old immigration overwhelmingly European and white, but the present inflow is to a large extent non-white and comes from the countries of the Third World" (Portes and Rumbaut, 1996:404). The authors have given four classifications of immigrants: 1) Labor Immigrants: who were largely low-skilled, low literacy and who willingly accepted low-paid jobs, and were in great demand in the industrial, manufacture-oriented America. Coming in from Mexico, Jamaica, and the Caribbean etc. this group of immigrants constituted both legal and illegal. The employers had to pay far less wages to this divers e, non-white ethnic groups, and for the employee the approximate earning of $4.25 per hour was six times higher then the wages in Mexico and other such 'sending countries' (Portes and Rumbaut, 1996:406-9). 2) Professional Immigrants: This group is the opposite of the former. The immigrants of this group were highly educated and brainy; "labeled as the 'brain-drain' in the countries of their origin" this group did not take up menial jobs in the U.S. (Portes and Rumbaut, 1996:412-13). They were particularly of Asian Origin, with Chinese, Philippinos, Indians, and Taiwanese, and significantly large numbers. The one exception was the British, who also were a part of this group. After the passing of new provisions under the Immigration Act of 1990, in the year 1992, the number of Visas granted to this group tripled (Portes and Rumbaut, 1996:411). It is significant that this group opted for immigration probably because of the better opportunities available to them in their host country, w hich they perceived to be in proportion to their education levels. The earnings, especially of the Indians, were among the highest in 1990. They were perceived in a positive light, generally, since they rarely were considered a problematic community or manifested any signs of "tightly-knit ethnic community" (Portes and Rumbaut, 1996:411-12). 3) Entrepreneurial Immigrants: Immigrants from Korea, Cuba, Jews and Japanese belong to this group, predominantly. They enter with small entrepreneurship businesses and as their business expands they bring in others of their community to man their expanding set-up. Thus, their concentration as a strongly-knit ethnic

Africa in the Global System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Africa in the Global System - Essay Example The legislature on the other hand is mandated to by the various constitutions governing the different states to dismiss the president by means of an impeachment. However such presidential dismissals are not commonplace as this is highly likely to contravene the canon of the presidency. A prominent feature of this governance is the cabinet heads who are referred to as ministers or secretaries depending on the country, serve at the mercy of the president and propagate the wishes of the president and the ruling party. The legislature has powers to approve their appointment once they have been selected by the president. In some cases, the cabinet heads are not members of the legislature in a presidential system. This system of governance appears to be popular in many African states and democracies. To understand the reason why this form of governance has become common in Africa and world over, this paper examines the main benefits and advantages of this form of governance. The presidential system of governance is commonly used in African states and elsewhere in the world and its application and acceptability in many nations could be due to factors that are closely linked to its advantages or ease of application. It should be noted that the most important aspect of a government that will make it acceptable to the people is the legitimacy of the same government. The presidential system has several advantages and ease of legitimacy due to the following factors that are discussed below. These factors make it one of the most popular systems of governance that is applicable in the world today. The discussion on legitimacy can be one of the reasons why presidential systems have been generally the most common form of governance in the African continent. In (Alagappa 1995), the debate of legitimacy of a government is advanced. It argues that in order for a government to achieve legitimacy, it must be based on shared norms and values of a

TUI Travel International Money and Finance Essay

TUI Travel International Money and Finance - Essay Example TUI Travel PLC is a leisure travel company that is leading in the world. The company operates in around 180 countries and has around 31 million customers of its services that reflect the company’s performances in 31 major market areas across the world (TUI Travel PLC, 2012). The company offers the best available holiday tours and services for its customers that include sun and beach, activities and adventures, luxuries, excursions and transfers, accommodations, oceans and rivers, and responsible travels (What we do, 2012).TUI Travel PLC being one of the leading companies in leisure travel services, its operations is spread across 180 countries that include 31 of the major market areas. The major source markets of the company include UK, Sweden, Germany, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Switzerland and Canada. â€Å"TUI Travel’s core markets account for  £388bn of global travel spend† with the three largest markets being Germany, France and the UK (Market Overview, 2012). The performance of the company has been in line with the company’s strategies and the company has reflected development in its business operations with the turnover of the company increased by 5 percent that accounts to around 3.5 billion Euros as recorded in the first quarter of the FY2012. The previous year results for the company had recorded 3.3 billion Euros. â€Å"This growth is principally attributable to a higher proportion of differentiated product sales† (Hanover, 2012).† (Hanover, 2012). The major competitors for TUI include Kuoni Travel Holding Ltd,. Thomas Cook Group plc, and Travelport Limited. The top industries for the company are travel agencies and services, transportation services sector, and business services sector (TUI Travel PLC Competition, 2012). Financial Trends of TUI Travel PLC in Last Five Years Time: The financial trends of the company reflect improvement in the performances of the company with the gross margin being recorded at 8.86 percent improving from revenue of  £13.51 billion in the year 2007 to  £14.69 billion in 2011. The net income recorded an improvement from a loss of  £123.00 in 2007 to  £89.00 million in 2011. The net profit margin of the company is 0.43 percent and the operating margin is at 0.97 percent. Increases have also been reflected over the years in the dividends per share and earnings per share of the company. While the dividends per share increased by 2.73 percent on an average over the last five years, the earnings per share reflected an increase of 171.65 percent year on year. This is a remarkable achievement for the company since not many companies in the industry are known to pay dividends (ft.com/marketsdata TUI Travel PLC, 2012). As far as the cash flow of the company is concerned, records reflect a fall in the cash reserves of TUI in 2011 by  £402.00 million. However, on the other hand, TUI gained from its operations  £613.00 million that reflects a cash flow margin of 4.17 percent. It is also of the record that the company has utilized

Harlem Renaissance Essay Example for Free

Harlem Renaissance Essay Emerging from the bonds of slavery the African American, for the first time, had the opportunity to identify and express himself as a character in the vast drama that is the United States. â€Å"The Harlem Renaissance began only fifty-six years after slavery had ended. † (Hardy, 16). Finally, an enormous portion of the nation that had been actively oppressed for centuries had the opportunity to articulate itself through art, music, and literature—as well as to define what it was to be black in America. The Harlem Renaissance was limited to Harlem for two reasons: first, the south remained an exceedingly difficult and dangerous place to live, where freedoms were limited and trampled by whites seeking to preserve their place in society; and second, the north, although promising utter equality, remained starkly segregated and economically grueling for African Americans. As a result, most blacks in New York City were quartered off into the worst sections of town; however, they remained free enough to explore themselves intellectually, spiritually, and creatively. The Harlem Renaissance was an important happening in the United States because it reflected the fundamental aspects of a culture that had been deliberately silenced since the first slave ship had arrived in Jamestown. The stream of black Americans crossing into the north from the southern states that had began since the Declaration of Independence exploded into a raging flood of migration between the years of 1920 and 1925. In this brief period alone â€Å"more than two million black people moved from the south to the north. There was a strong feeling of progress and the hope that life in the north would be sweeter. † (Hardy, 17). The north offered something that the south could not—in addition to the tradition of free blacks—black Americans could easily find and secure jobs working in factories and manufacturing plants. This allowed many rural African Americans to escape their ties to southern lands, and inhabit an urban area where their culture could be celebrated—at least locally—and their wages, slightly more substantial. This provided a unique environment to any cultural movement until that time. Specifically, this was because African American players in the Harlem Renaissance no-longer sought to ingratiate themselves into mainstream white American culture, but instead, to stake their own unique claim upon the traditions of this nation. They openly separated themselves, because they were separated. Rather than downplay their differences, they were celebrated. â€Å"Sterling Brown [a Renaissance writer], has identified five themes animating the movement: (1) Africa as a source of pride, (2) black American heroes, (3) racial political propaganda, (4) the black folk tradition, and (5) candid self-revelation. † (Beckman, 7). Taken together, all these themes are consequences of black America’s re-affirmation of itself. Famous editor of the NAACP magazine The Crisis, W. E. B. Du Bois attributed the movement to what he called the â€Å"talented tenth. † This was the elite one-tenth of the percent of the black community in Harlem that excelled in self expression and reflection. The duel-edged foundation of the northern black community—freedom and repression—seeded a reaction in this portion of the population, â€Å"The Talented Tenth of Harlem reacted by seeking to create the image of the ‘New Negro. ’† (Beckman, 8). Importantly, the leaders of the Renaissance recognized that the traditional pathways to social change were blocked by white America—they lacked wealth and political power. Consequently, the image of the â€Å"New Negro† needed to be expressed through the arts and literature. The movement itself took the form of three major phases. The first phase began in about 1920 and stretched into 1923; it drew strongly from white literary and artistic influences that had been sensitive to the black cause. â€Å"The second phase, from about 1924 to 1926, began when more blacks began to express their creativity and philosophy themselves. † (Beckman, 9). The third and final phase was dominated by what Zora Neale Hurston would later call the â€Å"Niggerati,† who were extremely prolific black writers and artists who stressed the importance of art for the sake of art. Partially, the last phase can be thought of as a negative reaction to the reliance of the second phase upon propaganda. Essentially, the Harlem Renaissance cannot be understood as an event, but a process—a vast progression of thought and expression from the black community. The creation of the New Negro, therefore, was a subject of constant debate. â€Å"What aspects of black culture should be celebrated was the subject of great argument during the Harlem Renaissance. † (Haskins, 14). This question is what spurred the progression of the movement into and out of each of its stages. But overall, â€Å"The art and literature of the Harlem Renaissance focus on proving the humanity and equality of African Americans. † (Hardy, 18). Despite the debates within the Renaissance, the elemental myths they aimed to dispel remained the same. The idea that blacks were naturally inferior to whites needed to be explicitly proven wrong for the framework of inequality and racism to be demolished. The Harlem Renaissance was truly the launch pad for the equal rights movements and American artistic movements that were to follow. Not only were the notions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X formed by the members of the Renaissance, but jazz and the blues came out of it as well. Its influence cannot only be felt in the intellectual conceptions of America, but in realms of art and entertainment as well. For this reason it is rather difficult to pinpoint when the movement ended. The convenient ending is to place it at the stock market crash of 1929. However, although it could be argued that the works to emerge out of the black community were fundamentally different after this time, it would be impossible to claim that everything since the Harlem Renaissance has not, in some way, drawn from or been a reaction to its core notions. Bibliography: 1. Beckman, Wendy Hart. (2002). Artists and Writers of the Harlem Renaissance. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers. 2. Hardy, P. Stephen and Sheila Jackson Hardy. (2000). Extraordinary People of the Harlem Renaissance. New York: Grolier Publishing. 3. Haskins, Jim. (1996). The Harlem Renaissance. Brookfield: Millbrook Press.

The Driving Forces Behind Crowdfunding Management Essay

The Driving Forces Behind Crowdfunding Management Essay How can you raise over 10,000,000 in funding for a consumer product, that is not yet produced, without any help from banks, angel investors or venture capitalists. How can you make hundreds of people pay for a meal they just might receive in a distant future? How is it possible to turn thousands of committed customers to also become shareholders without the process of an IPO? The answer is crowdfunding, which is a financing method that has exploded in popularity the last few years and that is changing the way many individuals, start-ups and businesses seek funding (kà ¤lla Forbes). The basic idea of crowdfunding is to raise external finance from a large audience (the crowd), where each individual provides a very small amount, instead of soliciting a small group of sophisticated investors (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 1). The individuals, investors, customers or consumers that make up the crowd are called crowdfunders (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 4) and usually pool their money together via the Internet (kà ¤lla) An example of how powerful crowdfunding can be is the Pebble E-paper Watch, a smartwatch for iPhone and Android, which raised $10,266,845 in investments during roughly one and a half months on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter (Kickstarter. 2012c). Another example is the Swedish hamburger restaurant Flippin Burgers, which got hundreds of individuals paying for a hamburger before the restaurant even existed and simultaneously financed the start-up of their now immensely popular venue in Stockholm (kà ¤lla). example of equity crowdfunding The crowdfunding market has grown with 557 % in the last five years and crowdfunding platforms raised a total of almost $1.5 billion in 2011, exceeding one million successful projects (Massolution, 2012). This number is predicted to double in 2012 with the current growth rate, which indicates that this nascent method of financing definitely has the potential to make a substantial change in the way individuals, start-ups and businesses seek financing (kà ¤lla). The long-term potential of crowdfunding is hard to predict, but currently the phenomena of crowdfunding looks promising. With scarce research on the subject, there are many aspects of crowdfunding that are still unexplored and with the projected industry growth, a demand will likely arise for a foundation of which entrepreneurs and managers can make informed decisions when hosting crowdfunding projects. 1.1. Background The background chapter will firstly cover the consumers involvement over time and its implications on crowdfunding, then a definition of crowdfunding will follow and lastly three different types of crowdfunding will be presented. 1.1.1. The Consumers Involvement Consumers have traditionally been positioned at the end of a firms value chain, but last decades their role have changed from not only being a target for marketing activities, to actually being a part of the value creation of a firms products or services (Hunt, Geiger-Oneto Varca, 2012, p. 347). The consumers have subsequently become key information sources, co-producers, partners for innovation and, finally, co-creators of value in the related literature (Ordanini, Miceli, Pizzetti Parasuraman, 2011, p. 444). This shift of focus on the role of the consumer has led to frequent activities by many firms to involve consumers and unidentified individuals in the process of product development and value creation (Zheng, Li, and Hou, 2011, p. 57). Involving consumers as co-producers and co-creators also provides value for the consumers and the process has been positively correlated with the consumers product satisfaction (Hunt et al., 2012, p. 347). This evolution of the consumers role was made possible initially by the rise of the Internet and later by technological innovations associated with Web 2.0 (Kleemann, Voß and Rieder, 2008, p. 5). Web 2.0 is a expression coined in 2004 noting a set of principles and practices that had emerged on the Internet, such as users being co-developers of open source development practices (OReilly, 2007, p. 19 30). Recently, the consumers role has also expanded to include investment support. This phenomenon of collective efforts by consumers and individuals to pool their money together via the Internet to invest in different projects is called crowdfunding (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 444). Kleemann et al. (2008) argue that we are witnessing an emerge of a new consumer type called the working consumer. Ordanini et al. (2011) also describes the idea of crowdfunding, when consumers and individuals pay for producing and promoting a product instead of buying it, as a further step in the evolution of the consumers role. In association with these initiatives of involving the consumers as investors, there are several issues in the boundaries between marketing and finance, that are not yet fully explored and explained (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 444). Zheng et al. (2011) have shown that consumers get involved in similar kind of initiatives to a great extent because of their intrinsic motivations. However, the field of crowdfunding is still unexplored when it comes to why and how consumers contribute with monetary investments, the selection of initiatives and what implications these behaviors within crowdfunding should have for firms and managers engaging in these kind of activities (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 444). 1.1.2. A Definition of Crowdfunding Crowdfunding is defined as: an initiative undertaken to raise money for a new project proposed by someone, by collecting small to medium-size investments from several other people (i.e. a crowd) (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 444) The actors involved in crowdfunding are the people who propose projects to be funded, the crowdfunding organization and the crowd itself. The crowdfunding organization serves as a form of hub, bringing together those who may want to invest in crowdfunding initiatives and those who seek investments for their projects via crowdfunding (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 444-445). These crowdfunding organizations typically conduct their business via a website, (compare: http://www.indiegogo.com/, http://www.kickstarter.com/ and https://www.sellaband.com/) in which actors can advertise their crowdfunding initiatives to the crowd. The crowdfunding phenomena is much like regular investments, some efforts are successful and some are not. A popular crowdfunding site at the time of writing, Kickstarter, reports that 43.81 % of the crowdfunding projects at their website are successful   (Kickstarter. 2012d). They also report that they do not accept just any crowdfunding request and that about 25 % of submitted projects are not accepted to the site (Kickstarter. 2012b). This means, in practice, given that their numbers are correct, that about one third (0,75*0,4381à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€ 1/3) of the attempted crowdfunding projects at the website in question are successful. One example of such a successful crowdfunding project in 2012 is Pebble E-paper Watch, which in total raised $10,266,845 in investments during roughly one and a half months (Kickstarter. 2012c). This demonstrates that it is indeed possible to obtain large investments from crowdfunding. 1.1.3. Different Types of Crowdfunding Crowdfunding can be divided into three different types of crowdfunding initiatives: (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13) Donations asking for donations rather than offering some kind of financial or remunerative incentive in exchange of an investment (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13). Example: Raising money for a good cause, like surgery of a diseased child. Passive investments giving some form of incentive in exchange for investments, these incentives can take many forms. In general a higher investments yields a higher incentive. Most crowdfunding like this does not offer any kind of possibility for the investor to participate in the project. This is in other words a form of crowdfunding where the entrepreneurs raise money without giving up control or having the customers actively involved (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13). Example: Pre-ordering of a product (such as a music CD). Active investments offering an active role in the initiative in exchange for investments. This could include offering shares of the profit or voting rights for features of the product. As in the case of passive investments, a higher investment in active investments generally yields a higher incentive. The entrepreneurs can in this way gain insight in their markets and receive valuable information of how the market thinks the product should be customized (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13-14). This type of investment with involvement in co-production, increases product satisfaction (Hunt, Geiger-Oneto Varca, 2012, p. 354). Example: Offering shares of profit from a concert, in proportion to how much money is invested. 1.2. Problem Discussion and Previous Research As a new emerging phenomena, crowdfunding and its consequences for businesses and consumers are not fully understood. For instance: what drives the engagement of consumers to invest in crowdfunding initiatives? (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 444) One interesting way of approaching this question is stated by Ordanini, Miceli, Pizzetti and Parasuraman (2011, p. 446): Some extant literature streams are helpful in providing an appropriate backdrop for understanding crowd-funding, although insights from each stream only address some but not all aspects of this emerging phenomenon. This method provides an helpful framework for approaching the problem. The actors that invest in crowdfunding projects can be seen as both customers and investors (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13 Ordanini et al., 2011). This, in combination with the statement above, suggests that it is interesting to investigate why people participate and invest in crowdfunding projects both from a customer behavior perspective and an investment behavior perspective. Crowdfunding is as mentioned in 1.1.2 conducted online. If crowdfunders are seen as customers, the act of participating in crowdfunding can be compared to customer behavior in online shopping. Research in online customer behavior suggest that customers are motivated by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations when shopping online (Shang, Chen, Shen,   2005, p. 401). Since crowdfunding is a relatively new phenomena, the literature in the subject is far from extensive. To demonstrate this, examples of searches in Scopus and Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge as of the 25th of October 2012 will be presented below. Scopus and Web of Knowledge are extensive databases tracking citations with 47 million (SciVerse, 2012) and 49,4 million (Web of Knowledge, 2011) records respectively. A search for the term crowdfunding in Scopus rendered 5 results when limiting the results to articles. The same search in Web of Knowledge rendered 9 articles. Out of all these articles the oldest one was from 2011 (Ley Weaven, 2011), and the rest were published in 2012. This demonstrates that crowdfunding is indeed a new phenomena, and from these quick searches it can be concluded that the literature in crowdfunding is scarce. In a review of the literature found during the literature study which laid the foundation to this thesis (and included broader search terms than the above mentioned) it was found that it was only Ordanini, Miceli, Pizzetti Parasuraman (2011) who have studied how and why people engage in crowdfunding initiatives. The authors did this by conducting interviews with employees at three major crowdfunding platforms. Their findings revealed that crowdfunding participants motivations were very dependent on the type of project. Their study showed that the main motivation is patronage for music projects, monetary return for financial loaning and social participation for charity. However, their findings are based on interviews with informants from the crowdfunding intermediates without including any individual investors in their study. It appears to be a knowledge gap from an investor perspective, investigating the investors motivations to participate in crowdfunding initiatives. Since the actors engaging in crowdfunding initiatives can be seen as both customers and investors (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13 Ordanini et al., 2011), it is interesting to research why individuals get involved in crowdfunding both from a customer behavioral perspective and an investment behavioral perspective. To the extent of our knowledge, this has not been covered in the literature so far.   In summary, the literature on crowdfunding is scarce and while some aspects of crowdfunding has been studied, others remain unexplored. The purpose of this study is to attempt to fill the mentioned knowledge gap about motivations in the literature of crowdfunding and contribute to widening the research on crowdfunding. This thesis will examine the factors that motivate customers/investors to engage in passive crowdfunding projects. 1.3. Research Questions The problem description has resulted in the following research questions: 1. How do crowdfunders intrinsic and extrinsic motivations affect their size of investment in passive crowdfunding projects? 2. How important is the influence of other crowdfunders investments? 1.4. Purpose The purpose of this study is to research the relatively new phenomena of crowdfunding and examine the motivational factors that make people invest in crowdfunding projects. By examining why consumers invest in crowdfunding projects this study is intended to contribute to fill the knowledge gap identified in the problem description. The literature in general about crowdfunding is scarce and to our knowledge this type of study about crowdfunding has not been conducted before. Praktiska tillà ¤mpningar 1.5. Disposition The disposition of the thesis will be as follows, after this section a chapter about the theory used in this thesis will be presented, followed by a chapter about the research design and methods used. After that, the results of our surveys will be presented and a critical discussion about the results will follow. At the very end, the conclusions from the study will be presented and after that a list of references and appendixes will finalize this essay. 2. Theory This chapter will present the theory that lays the foundation to the thesis. First, customer behavior and relevant motivation theory will described and related to crowdfunding, including the important distinction made in this thesis between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Second, relevant investment behavior theory related to crowdfunding and an explanation of the phenomena of momentum in crowdfunding will be explained. 2.1 Customer Behavior As mentioned in the problem discussion, the individuals participating in crowdfunding projects can be seen as both customers and investors (Schwienbacher Larralde, 2010, p. 13 Ordanini et al., 2011). The first research question of this thesis is What motivates crowdfunders to invest in crowdfunding projects?, therefore motivation theories will be presented below. In general, motivation research   is directed to finding motives for peoples behavior (Sheth Mittal, 2004, p. 234). Within customer behavior, motivation research is aimed at finding out the conscious or subconscious reasons that motivate people to buy or not to buy a particular product, service or brand, or to patronize or avoid a store, or to accept or reject a marketing communication (ibid.). In this study, the research will be aimed at finding out the reasons why customers engage in crowdfunding initiatives, in other words, why they purchased the incentive offered at a given investment level. 2.1.1. Motivation Ryan Deci describes to be motivated as the means to be moved to do something (2000a, p. 54). A person who is motivated is a person who is inspired, energized or activated to act, where as an unmotivated person, feels no drive, incentive or stimulus to act. Motivation can be measured in terms of the level of motivation and the orientation of the motivation. The level of motivation refers to how much motivation an individual has, for example when a potential customer is out shopping for a car, if the salesman who assists the customer get paid in terms of commission it could be expected that this salesman has a higher level of motivation to make the sale than if the same salesman would have a fixed salary and no commission. The orientation of motivation refers to the underlying motives, goals and attitudes of the motivation, in other words why someone is motivated. An example of orientation of motivation is that a student may do her homework because she finds it interesting and intrigu ing, or the student may do her homework because her teacher and parents require her to do it. The student in this example may have equal level of motivation in both cases, but the nature of the motivation is entirely different because of its origin (Ryan Deci, 2000a, p. 54-55). A basic distinction of orientations of motivation is the distinction between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation: (Ryan Deci, 2000a, p. 55) 2.1.1.1. Intrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation is an orientation of motivation that origins in doing something for its inherent satisfactions rather than doing something to achieve an outcome. An intrinsically motivated person is a person who is motivated because an activity is fun, challenging, novel, interesting or simply put satisfying psychological needs (Ryan Deci, 2000a, p. 56-57). This can be compared to that children from the date of birth are active, curious and playful in despite of rewards being absent. It is a natural motivation that encourages assimilation, mastery, spontaneous interest and exploration that is so essential to cognitive and social development and that represents a principal source of enjoyment   and vitality throughout life (Ryan Deci, 2000b, p. 70). In crowdfunding, examples of intrinsic motivation could be to fund a technological project of a gadget because it is fun, or funding a project raising money for surgery of a child out of compassion. An important concept in the case of charity is warm-glove giving. Warm-glove giving means that donors are egoistically motivated by the act of giving and not only the altruism  Ã‚  Ã‚   (Andreoni, 1990, p. FIXA). 2.1.1.1. Extrinsic Motivation Extrinsic motivation is in contrast to intrinsic motivation when the origin of motivation lies in obtaining a separable outcome from performing an activity. Satisfying psychological needs is not necessarily related to extrinsic motivation, instead extrinsic motivation covers the continuum between amotivation and intrinsic motivation (Ryan Deci, 2000b, p. 71-72). An illustration of this is that a student may do her homework because she fears sanctions from her parents or because the student sincerely believe that doing the homework will be valuable for her future career. In the latter case intrinsic motivation and feeling of choice is present, while in the prior case external control and compliance is imminent. Even though both cases involves intentional behavior, the types of extrinsic motivation is different because they vary in autonomy. In crowdfunding, examples of extrinsic motivation could be to fund a technological project of a gadget because an incentive given is the actual gadget, or funding an artists concert for a share of the profit. 2.1.2 Shopping experience 2.2. Investment Behavior According to Ordanini et al. (2011), the emerging phenomena of crowdfunding has transformed consumers into investors. The consumers are contributing financially to other peoples or organizations projects and expect either a monetary or non-monetary incentive for their support. Thus, the characteristics of crowdfunding are very similar to financial investments and the behavior of crowdfunders can thereby resemble the investment behavior of individuals in financial markets   (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 450). Herding Behavior in Online Shopping A large group (a crowd or mob) is likely to show examples of group behaviour 2.2.1. Herding Behavior in Financial Markets Crowdfunding projects seem to follow similar patterns where the financing of the crowdfunders triggers a chain reaction and facilitates rapid growth at a certain point (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 457-458). This kind of snowball effect in the crowdfunders behavior, of something small building upon itself and becoming larger, can be found and be explained in several investment situations and can be both positive and negative. This investment behavior can be found as a negative effect in bank runs (Iyer Puri, 2012, p. 1414) and as a positive effect in rational herding in financial economics (Devenow Welch, 1996, p. 603). Bank runs are situations when bank customers withdraw their deposits from banks because they dont believe that the bank can keep them safe. This phenomenon has been a recurrent case in the history, from the Great Depression in the 1930s, to the financial crisis recently (Iyer Puri, 2012, p. 1414). The same pattern can be found in rational herding in the financial mark ets, when investors act based on other investors decisions rather than information about the investment itself (Masson, Gotur Lane, 2001, p. 100). Imitation and mimicry are two of the humans most basic instincts, which could partly explain why investors are influenced by the decisions of other investors in financial economics (Devenow Welch, 1996, p. 603). Rational herding occurs because of payoff externalities and information externalities. Payoff externalities is when investors benefit from other investors following their actions and information externalities is when investors gain useful information from observing previous investors decisions to a level where they consider it to be more reliable than their own information (Masson, Gotur Lane, 2001, p. 100). 2.2.2. Investment Momentum in Crowdfunding Ordanini et al. (2011) have found that a similar momentum in crowdfunding occurs at a recurrent stage of the crowdfunding process and they have identified three distinct phases in the investment process that are applicable to most crowdfunding projects. The first phase includes the investments reaching approximately half of the projects target capital and mostly consists of investments from people who are directly connected to the project or the network of the creator of the project. The emphasis in this phase is the involvement of people related to the project or the creator to accumulate a start funding underlying the rest of the crowdfunding process (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 457-458). The second stage usually slows down in investment growth and is considered to be the most delicate and important phase, since it typically determines if a project fails or succeeds. Motivating and involving people in this phase is crucial to trigger the crowding process and the inability to do so is a very common reason for failure (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 457-458). The third and last phase is when a project triggers a chain reaction that facilitates rapid growth to reach and, in some cases, exceed the investment target. The crowdfunders in this phase are primarily people without any original connection to the project and the investment process usually speeds up when it comes closer to the accumulated target investment. Ordanini et al. (2011) claim that the reason for this is that in many cases, the opportunity to invest will disappear as the project reaches its target investment. In this situation, the crowdfunders act very similar to investors in the financial markets and nobody want to miss the opportunity to invest and be a part of the project, which results in a chain reaction triggering more and more people to invest (Ordanini et al., 2011, p. 457-458). Crowdfunding momentum graph? (Ordanini) 3. Method This chapter will explain the method used in this thesis. Firstly a broad perspecitve of the method used will be presented, the Research approach and Research design. After that a more narrow view and thesis specific details will be presented; the Research strategy using surveys, the conduction of the survey and the data analysis. Finally the reliability, validity and replicability of this study and the presentation of data will be presented. 3.1. Research Approach As shown, crowdfunding is a subject on which there is little existing literature and scarce knowledge. Because of the insufficient prior research on the topic, it is simply not possible to define a theoretical framework for a hypothesis, which precludes a deductive research approach (Saunders et al., 2007, p. 127). The research questions emphasizes on why something is happening, rather than being able to describe what is happening, which implies that a more inductive approach would be appropriate (Saunders et al., 2007, p. 126). Although, an inductive approach involves drawing generalizable inferences out of observations (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 14), which is not an accurate relationship between the theory and data in the study since the research questions are based on previous studies. The objective of the study is to discover new variables and relationships and to stress theory development, rather than theory generation or confirmation of existing theory. For such a study, Dubois G adde (2002) suggest an abductive approach which enables continuous interplay between theory and empirical observations. The abductive approach also allows the framework to be successively modified as a result of unanticipated findings and insights during the research process, which enables new conclusions when theoretical models and new concepts encounter the reality (Dubois Gadde, 2002, p. 559). 3.2. Research Design The research desigend is intended to generate evidence to answer the research questions that are established and to act as a framework for the research process (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 39-40). The study entails data from several cases at a single point in time in order to collect quantifiable data to detect patterns of associations. Because of this, this study is based on a cross-sectional design, which is the study of a phenomena in a given point in time (Saunders, 2007, p. 155).   A cross-sectional design enables examining several variables to explore potential variations, which suits the research questions of identifying motivations and distinguishing differences between different categories in crowdfunding. In cross-sectional design research, the data is also collected simultaneously, in contrast to experimental design, and the data is quantifiable by a systematic method for measurement and benchmarking. However, with the cross-sectional design it is only possible to examine rel ationships without being certain of the casual influence, in contrast to an experimental design where variables are manipulated (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 55). Although a cross-sectional research design is sufficiently adequate to serve as a foundation for drawing certain inferences (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 56). 3.3. Sampling This study has been conducted on the following crowdfunding websites: http://www.rockthepost.com/ http://www.sponsume.com/ http://www.helpersunite.com/ http://peerbackers.com/ https://www.sellaband.com/ The reason for choosing the above mentioned crowdfunding websites is that they permit contacting the participants in their crowdfunding projects via the websites respective internal mail systems. There are a few more crowdfunding websites in which it is possible to contact investors, but some require that you have invested in the same project as the users that you want to contact and others have no compulsory contact information, meaning that the users manually would have to post their contact information in their description to be contactable through the website. Worth noting is that even in the websites chosen for this study, there are some users that can not be contacted because of the option of being anonymous when investing. The study is also, as mentioned in the research questions, limited to passive investments in crowdfunding. Within passive investments this thesis is also limited to only successful crowdfunding projects, because the crowdfunding websites appear to remove the unsuccessful projects as to not discourage potential clients. This makes it impossible to access information about unsuccessful crowdfunding projects without the owners of the websites collaboration. Collaborating with the crowdfunding websites themselves has though been judged to be out of the scope for this study due to time restrictions. A consequence of studying only successful crowdfunding projects is that the participants in our study are asked about their motivations retrospectively. This means that the participants investment motivations rather are their retrospective rationalization of their investments, than their decision making process prior to the investment. Therefore, it is impossible to determine to what degree the customers/investors were affected by any post-purchase rationalization or dissonance to justify their investments. In an attempt to counter this problem, only crowdfunders that have participated in crowdfunding projects that have recently ended has been contacted. The time frame chosen for this was one week. Within the crowdfunding projects chosen within the different categories of crowdfunding no sampling were made, instead all participants that were not anonymous were contacted. 3.4. Research Strategy: Surveys The research strategy chosen for this thesis is surveys in the form of Internet questionnaires. This research strategy has been chosen because it is common in business and management research and allow for collection of large amounts of data to a relatively small cost (Saunders, 2007, p. 144). Given the quota sampling and the internal mail systems provided by the crowdfunding sites, Internet surveys provided us with a simple solution of reaching out to all participants in selected crowdfunding projects, seeing as it was fairly easy to contact the crowdfunders via the internal mailing system. This allowed for generating findings that are representative for the entire population in the chosen crowdfunding projects. In comparison to interviews this is also a less time consuming strategy and seeing as this is a bachelor thesis, time is of the essence. Surveys allows for collecting large amounts of data for statistical analysis. The data collected from surveys could for example be used for suggesting possible relationships between variables and produce models for these relationships (Saunders, 2007, p. 144) (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 56). This is much in line with our research questions.    3.4.1 Survey Design When designing a survey it is important to use standardized questions that will are likely to be interpreted in the same way by all respondents (Saunders, 2007, p. 393). The surveys sent out to the different crowdfunding projects where therefore identical. Language non native English speakers The questionnaire consists of XX questions in total, this because a questionnaire should not be longer than is necessary to meet the research objective and that it is generally believed that a shorter questionnaire has a higher response rate than a longer questionnaire (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2012, p. 436). Designing questions (Bryman Bell, 2007, p. 266-271)

Survival and Love in Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain Essay examples --

Survival and Love in Charles Frazier’s "Cold Mountain" I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. (ll. 19-24) Wordsworth’s famous and simple poem, â€Å"I wandered lonely as a cloud,† expresses the Romantic Age’s appreciation for the beauty and truth that can be found in a setting as ordinary as a field of daffodils. With this final stanza, Wordsworth writes of the mind’s ability to carry those memories of nature’s beauty into any setting, whether city or country. His belief in the power of the imagination and the effect it can have on nature, and vice a versa, is evident in most of his work. This small portion of his writing helps to illuminate a major theme of the Romantic poets, and can even be seen in contemporary writings of today. One such work is Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier. This story follows two characters, Inman and Ada, who barely know each other and are forced apart by the Civil War. As Ada waits in North Carolina Appalachia for Inman to return home from three years of battle, Inman decides to abandon the war effort and journey across the Southern states to reach his beloved. Although this may seem like a simple love story, the changes each lover goes through in their journey of survival and love shows the romantic ideals of the beauty of nature and appreciation for the present time and reality. Frazier uses several themes prominent in the Romantic Age, significantly by the poets Wordsworth, Keats, and Coleridge, in order to show the power of the human imagination in extraordinary situations and everyday living as well. Inman and Ada each learn through their diffe... ...cal Tradition. 11 (2004): 232-243. Edgecombe, Rodney Stenning. â€Å"Wordsworth’s ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud.† ANQ. 16 (2003): 23-27. Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain. New York: Vintage, 1998. Gifford, Terry. â€Å"Terrain, Character and Text: Is Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier a Post- Pastoral Novel?† Mississippi Quarterly. 25 (2001):87-96). Heddendorf, David. â€Å"Closing the Distance to Cold Mountain.† Southern Review. 36 (2000): 188-9. Inscoe, John C. â€Å"Cold Mountain: Appalachian Odysseus.† Appalachian Journal. 25 (1998): 330-337. Schoemaker, Jacqueline. â€Å"Travel, Homecoming and Wavering Minds in Lyrical Ballads and other Poems.† 'A Natural Delineation of Human Passions': The Historic Moment of Lyrical Ballads. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004. Wordsworth, William. â€Å"The Prelude: Book Fifth.† Abrams 341-2. - - - â€Å"I wandered lonely as a cloud.† Abrams 254-5.

Humanism :: essays research papers fc

1 Humanism The Renaissance, which began in Italy in 1300s, was one of the largest periods of growth and development in Western Europe. The increase in trade caused an abundance in wealth that resulted in the focusing of the arts. Such things as literature, paintings, sculptures and many more works are known to have blossomed from the period known as the Renaissance. The Renaissance was started by many rich Italian cities, such as Florence, Ferrara, Milan, and Venice (Bram 274). Because these cities were very wealthy, many merchants started to spend money on different things, such as painting, learning, new banking techniques, and new systems of government. These things gave rise to a new type of scholar, the humanist, and a new philosophy, humanism. To understand the term humanism, one must first know what some assume humanism to be. Many definitions are widely proclaimed by different groups and organizations. The American Humanist Association(AHA) defines humanism as 2 a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values--be they religious, ethical, social, or political--have their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny. (Schafersman) Humanism is also defined as "a democratic and ethical" point of view on life that reiterates the fact that human beings have the right to and responsibility of giving meaning to and shaping one's own life, according to the International Humanist and Ethical Union (Schafersman). The Union also believes their philosophical view on humanism "stands for the building of a 3 more humane society through ethics" based upon the reason and the inquisitive capabilities of the human nature. The Bristol Humanist Group's view on their ideology is much simpler. It states, "Humanism is an approach to life based on reason and our common humanity, recognizing that moral values are properly founded on human nature and experience alone" (Schafersman). This new word, humanist, and the principal practice became more prevalent during the late 15th-century in Italy and was used to describe a tutor or teacher of the "humanities".

The Great Gatsby in the American Classroom :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Great Gatsby in the American Classroom      Ã‚  Ã‚   In determining why The Great Gatsby is so frequently assigned at various education levels, my thoughts reverted to our discussion on the Vendler text and the premise that teachers may be attempting to seduce their students into learning. In connection to this discussion, I reflected on my own classroom and what I hope to achieve with my students. I find the "seduction" of students to be an integral component in teaching students to appreciate the learning process. Not all learning is "fun," but I attempt to teach my students that it can at least be an interesting process.    Do I teach Gatsby in my own classroom? No. Do I think it is a significant text to be taught? Yes. Do I think Gatsby should be included in the literary canon? I think that question is irrelevant. This is because teachers, if educated well, should be able to determine the needs of the classroom Sometimes these needs go beyond or outside of the literary canon. I understand the relevance of the literary canon to English studies, but I also perceive the canon primarily as a tool or resource for the teaching of English. The canon also helps to preserve works of literature, but mere usage also helps to preserve. If works of literature are continually used in the classroom because of their relevance and usefulness, then there is not truly a need to encapsulate that work of literature in the canon to preserve it. That preservation occurs through popular use. Being exposed daily to the challenge of engaging minds in a discourse on literature, I believe it is possible, and sometimes necessary, for teachers to structure their material to fit the needs of their students. Gatsby is one such novel that appears to be filling this role.    In the preface to The Great Gatsby, Matthew J. Bruccoli asserts that    The Great Gatsby is a classic-a novel that is read spontaneously by pleasure-seekers and and under duress by students. A popular classroom fallacy holds that classics are universal and timeless. Literature has staying power, but it is subject to metamorphosis. (vii)    The Great Gatsby is pushing its way into more and more classrooms, because it is interesting as a literary work and, moreover, because it remains relevant to issues in modern society.

Analysis of Meno’s Question to Socrates

In Plato’s dialogue, Meno, Socrates is asked a paradoxical question about what virtue is by Meno. â€Å"How will you enquire, Socrates, into that which you do not know? What will you put forth as the subject of enquiry? And if you find what you want, how will you ever know that this is the thing which you did not know? † Socrates retorts that if you already know what you are searching for, then you do not have to search.Alternatively, if you do not know what you are looking for, the search is indeed futile. However, Socrates attempts to explain to Meno why it is that he will be able to find what virtue is by introducing the idea that knowledge is inherent in the individual as it is passed along through the soul. When Meno demands proof of this concept, Socrates provides an example of a slave boy using â€Å"inherent knowledge† to calculate the length of a square needed to double it’s own area.This experiment shows Meno that virtue, along with other knowled ge, can indeed be discovered through the inherent knowledge in one’s soul, and only has to be â€Å"remembered† to become of use. When Meno proposes his argument to Socrates that a search for what you do not know is impossible, he is reasoning that if one does not know what it is they are trying to find, one will never know if they have found it. Meno seeks to understand how an individual can find new knowledge if they have no clue how to find it or how to comprehend the discovery of it.Socrates acknowledges Meno’s argument and states that â€Å"man cannot enquire either about that which he knows, or about that which he does not know; for if he knows, he has no need to enquire; and if not, he cannot; for he does not know the very subject about which he is to enquire† (Meno, Plato). Meno believes that this proves his own argument, but Socrates proposes an alternate way to attain knowledge. Socrates speaks of â€Å"priests and priestesses† who  "say that the soul of man is immortal† (Meno, Plato).Also, he says the soul has kept all the knowledge from previous â€Å"lives† that it has had, and therefore knowledge is obtained through recollection instead of learning. Socrates attempts to prove his theory by providing an example with one of Meno’s slaves. His experiment is simple. Socrates calls over a slave boy and asks him about squares. The boy knows has some knowledge of the properties of squares including the fact that they have four equal sides, they can be divided in half, and the area is equal to the side multiplied by the other side.However, when Socrates asks the boy to determine the length of a side necessary to double the area of a 2Ãâ€"2 foot square, the boy mistakenly says 4 feet (which would yield a square 4 times too large). The slave proposes a length of three feet, but is wrong again. Here Socrates makes a note of the â€Å"torpedo’s touch† (Meno, Plato) or â€Å"aporiaâ⠂¬  (Aporia, Burbules), which means that the boy knows that he does not know.Socrates states that this state of mind is better than believing false knowledge, because one will know that there is knowledge to seek. Socrates maintains that throughout the experiment he was never teaching the slave, but only asking of his opinions. Therefore, the knowledge that the slave called upon must have already been inherent if he had not learned it before (since slaves had little education the boy was the perfect example for Socrates to demonstrate this â€Å"inborn knowledge. ) Socrates makes his argument clear: if the slave had no knowledge of what is was he was searching for (the length of the side), and the information was not taught to the boy, then the information must have already been inherent in the boy’s soul. Here is Socrates’ argument in Premise/Conclusion form: P: Slave isn’t taught. P: Slave has no prior knowledge. P: Immortal soul contains knowledge. C: Knowl edge must come from one’s immortal soul. P: You do not know what you are trying to find. P: You are not taught what you are trying to find.P: Your soul contains inherent knowledge. C: You can find what you are searching for through recollection of the knowledge â€Å"stored† in your soul. Socrates’ proofs are meant to enforce his views that knowledge such as virtue must be searched for, â€Å"that a man should enquire about that which he does not know† (Meno, Plato). Citations: Burbules, Nicholas C. â€Å"Aporias, Webs, and Passages: Doubt as an Opportunity to Learn. † Curriculum Inquiry 30. 2 (2000): n. pag. Aporia. 2000. Web. 12 Sept. 2012. . Plato, and R. S. Bluck. Meno. Cambridge [Eng. : University, 1961. N. pag. Print.

Caesars Gallic Wars

Sanders Walker Dr. Bishop Western Civilization 103-104 11/20/12 Caesars Conquest Caesar is known as one of the greatest military leaders in history. His was General and later, Ruler of Rome during its peak years. Caesar is known for his military strategy and conquest of much of ancient Europe. Where Caesar made a name for himself was his conquest of the Gauls. Caesars conquest of Gaul consisted of many campaigns throughout northern Europe; the most notable being the battles of Avaricum, Gergovia, and the final battle in Alesia.Caesar and Vercingetorix, the leader of the Gauls, were both similar in ambition. How does Caesar fair strategically against Vercingetorix and the Gauls at the battles of Avaricum, Gergovia and, Alesia? Caesars conquest of Gaul was indeed his most difficult one. Gaul consisted of dozens of tribes and much of the territory being Northern Europe had never been explored before by the Romans. A great amount of pressure was put on Caesar by himself to conquer Gaul.H e was in deep political debt to Rome and its leaders, and he saw the conquest of Gaul to the best way to get out of debt and make a name for himself. Caesar making the first [1]Triumvirate with Crassus and Pompey gained the power of the election and became consul for the year 59 B. C. During this year he was made, â€Å"Governor of Illyricum, or Dalmatia, and of Gaul, that is to say of Gallia Cisalpina† (Pg. 40), this land is really known as a Province that Caesar acquired. Caesar having acquired these lands, but not officially having control, sought to conquer the inhabitants.Caesar is described as, â€Å"In person he was tall and slight, but well-knit; and, if he was as licentious as the mass of his contemporaries, his constitution, fortified by abstemious habits, was capable of sustaining prodigious efforts. His broad dome-like skull ; his calm and penetrating eyes ; his aquiline nose ; his massive yet finely moulded jaw, expressed, like no other human countenance, a rich and harmonious nature, aâ‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬  intellect, passion, will moving in accord. And, if his vices were common, his generosity, his forbearance, his [2]equanimity, his magnanimity were his own.He believed, with an unwavering faith, that above himself there was a power, without whose aid the strongest judgement, the most diligent calculation might fail. That power was Fortune; and Caesar was assured that Fortune was ever on his side† (Pg. 41). Caesar was extremely ambitious and refused to be undermined by his enemies, this is probably why his conquest against overwhelming odds was so successful. As Caesar dealt with his issues in Rome, there was word that newly acquired provinces in Gaul were going to be marched on by the Helvetti.Caesar left Rome as soon as possible, cutting through the Alps to reach the province of Geneva (Cisalpine/Transalpine province). Caesar legions linked up with the legion of that province and destroyed the bridge or Rhine leading to Geneva. Helvetii sent requests to pass through, but Caesar denied them. Caesar waited out the requests as levies were created and simply denied the crossing of the Helvetii. Some tried to force themselves over, but failed miserably in doing so. Caesar crossed back gathering more legions for his command.Caesar dispersed his legions with Lieutenants into different regions of Gual, with his plan being to divide the already disbanded Gallic tribes. Caesar returned to Rome and received great praise for his victory over the Helvetii. Caesar marches back towards northern Europe in 58 B. C where Ariovistus and his massive hordes of Germanic soldiers, had become a threat to Caesars campaign against the Gauls outside the town of Vesontio. The legions lacking rest and supplies and fearing Ariovistus, was taking its toll on Caesars men.A panic amongst the legionnaires ensued; Caesar immediately puts to work his persona. Giving a riveting speech to the legions, he regained the confidence overwhelmingly. There on ly several miles separating Caesar and Ariovistus, but many Cavalry skirmishes took place as Caesar tried time and again to force the Germanics to fight. Ariovistus requested several meetings with Caesar, the first resulting in failure due to lack of compromises, and the second because Caesar never attended. Ariovistus refused to fight before the New Moon, Caesar finding this out attacked early forcing the Germans to fight.Caesar having command of the right wing of the legions, had planned on attacking the opposing Germans left wing which was supposedly their weak point. Ariovistus and the German horde fell upon the Roman legions quickly leaving huge gaps between the legions. This prevented the Roman javelins to be thrown. The Germans formed a, â€Å"[3]phalanxes† (Pg. 66), which was a wall of men inclosing themselves in a shielded wall. The Romans made quick dismemberment of this wall of shields as the Romans, â€Å"Dug their swords down into them† (Pg. 66), leading t o the German left wing falling back.The left wing of the Roman legion however was beginning to give up ground. In command of the Caesars cavalry was Publius Crassus, the son of the famed triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus. Publius Crassus led the 3rd line of the cavalry in and quickly rerouted the German onslaught on the Roman left wing. This led to the victory over Ariovistus and the Germanic army. With later victorious campaigns over Aquitani, Usipetes, Tencteri and Atuatuca from 56-54 B. C. Caesar believes Gaul is won and return to Rome to gain political power. While Caesar believed Gaul to be, â€Å"tranquillized† (Pg. 29), or rather under control as Caesar had planned to make all of Gaul a Roman province. The Gallic chieftains discussed in great detail of what was to become of Gaul if something was not done. A rumor quickly spread through Gaul in 52 B. C that Clodius had been murdered and violent riots broke out all over Gaul. The Gallic chieftains of Carnute made quick us e of time while Caesar was still in Rome; a small group of Carnutes stormed into the town of Cenabum and killed Roman merchants and a commissariat officer of Caesars as well.In the Gallic town of Gergovia, a young Gallic noble came to power. His name was Vercingetorix and he quickly assumed dominance throughout Gaul. Vercingetorix was very impressionable and ambitious, much like Caesar. He soon united all Gaul sparking a massive rebellion in 52 B. C. Caesar observed Vercingetorix and saw that he was vastly becoming a huge threat. Roman provinces in peril began to fall due to lack of supplies, But Caesar moved swiftly from Rome to rescue the provinces. Caesar stopped the invasion of Narbo. Caesar still needed to regroup with his legions in the north.Caesars being the brilliant military leader he was, planned to march north through mountains of [4]Cevennes into the land of Vercingetorix, where the land Agedincum was. The journey was rough for Caesars men under the harsh conditions of winter, but to Caesars advantage, Vercingetorix did not realize where the Romans were or where they were going. As Romans came through the mountains, â€Å"Caesar’s horsemen swept over the country in small parties, carrying fire and sword† (Pg. 135), Caesar anticipated that Vercingetorix would come to Agedincums relieve, and he did so reluctantly while Caesar proceeded north to regroup with his legions.Once Caesar had gathered his legions he awaited Vercingetorix next move. Vercingetorix recovered from the Romans strategic maneuvering, decided to go south, opposite of Caesars position and siege Gorgobina an allies of Caesars provinces. Vercingetorix figured this, â€Å"To strike at Caesar’s allies would be equivalent to striking at Caesar himself† (Pg. 136). This indeed was true it was imperative that Caesar could not lose the trust of his allies, but Caesar also knew that pursuing hundreds of miles south without enough supplies would put his legions at r isk of starvation. Caesar contemplated this and decided to relieve Gorgobina.Caesar instead of taking the same route he took to come north he went around in attempt for revenge for the massacre of Roman citizens. Caesar went about it, â€Å"More-over, by ravaging the lands of Carnutes and Bituriges, he might count on forcing Vercingetorix to relax his hold on Gorgobina† (Pg. 137). Caesar captured Vellaunodunum and approached Cenabum with rage as Romans set [5]Cenabum ablaze as supplies were given up to the legions while Caesar marched onwards to Avaricum. Vercingetorix believed the only way to weaken Caesars onslaught through his land was to burn and destroy any resources ahead of Caesar.The Gauls did not receive the news very optimistically. Burning down towns and crops was a harsh method of slowing down the Romans, but Vercingetorix got the Gauls to agree, with this speech he made, â€Å"They must make up their minds to sacrifice their own interest for the national weal. E very hamlet, every barn where the enemy could find provender must be burned to the ground. Even the towns must be destroyed, save those which were impregnable, lest they should tempt men who ought to be in the field to go to them for shelter, and lest the Romans plunder their stores† (Pg. 139).The Gauls still however thought to defend Avaricum rather than burn it to the ground. Avaricum was surrounded by walls and marshes and moats. Caesar made his encampment south of Avaricum several hundred yards out. Caesar realized the only way to siege Avaricum was to build siege towers and terraces. The marshes could not serve as proper platforms so, â€Å"in order to provide a secure foundation, the ground was cleared of obstructions and leveled as far as possible by men working inside stout huts† (Pg. 140). Wooden shields protected men relaying material through, â€Å"lines of sheds† (Pg. 40), as it was said to have taken several weeks to construct the towers. The effects of Vercingetorix burning of Gallic resources began to take its toll on Caesars legions. The Romans supplies began to dwindle and as Caesar sent men out to gather supplies and resources, Vercingetorix had patrols keep track of Caesars movements. Caesar was surrounded and while they waited to attack Avaricum, his men killed the cattle for food. Caesar did all he could to keep his legions spirits up, he would tell them, â€Å"He would abandon the siege† (Pg. 141), but the legionnaires were stubbornly loyal.A small attack was made on the towers, but only set the construction a day behind. The following day Caesar conducted his siege of Avaricum. The siege took no time at all with the Romans climbing the walls, they realized it was pointless to go down into the city, but rather, â€Å"They lined the wall round; and not a man of them would come down. Throwing away their weapons, the Gauls ran for their lives through the town to its furthest extremity; and there many jostling one another in the narrow gateways, were slaughtered, while others, who shouldered their way out were cut down by the cavalry† (Pg. 146).This was indeed a massacre by the Romans; no one was spared not man women or child. The Romans found a multitude of resources such as corn and other supplies. The Gauls were outraged by this massacre at [6]Avaricum. Caesar had hoped to break the Gallic pride with this victory, but it did quite the opposite. Vercingetorix following the massacre made a speech and a promise to Gaul. This speech gave Gaul a new found enragement and confidence. Caesar marched south to Gergovia, Vercingetorix homeland. Once Vercingetorix got word of Caesars movement he quickly destroyed all bridges along the river leaving only the bottom intact.As the Gauls caught up with Caesar, the Romans found it impossible to repair the bridges with the Gauls watching. Caesar was forced to come up with another diversion; under the cover of darkness he moved opposite of one of the b ridges, and in the morning, â€Å"he took forty out of the sixty cohorts, composing his force; arrayed them in six divisions, so that seen from a distance, they would look like the six legions† (Pg. 149). With Caesar outwitting Vercingetorix, he moved south toward the mountain of Gergovia.As Caesar approached Gergovia a cavalry skirmish ensues, but the Gallic cavalry of Vercingetorix is forced back in the stronghold of Gergovia. Gergovia was going to prove to be another difficult siege due to its geography, â€Å"The town stood on an oblong plateau, which formed the summit, extending about seven furlongs from east to west, and six hundred yards wide† (Pg. 150). The town also had an outer wall as well, but the weak point appeared to be the southern wall. There were two large encampments in Gergovia, the smallest was on the southern wall, while the main encampment was on the steepest part of Gergovian wall.Caesar under the cover of night had several divsions move up the southern wall having Vercingetorix think that was where the main attack would be. Caesars full-scale attack actually occurred on the eastern or steepest side with Vercingetorix largest encampment was. The Gauls were caught off guard, â€Å"but the Romans deceived by their armour, took them for enemies: the Gauls were closing in up them on every side† (Pg. 158). As the Romans became overwhelmed they came back down the southern hillside, the Gauls followed blindly, as the Gauls were struck by left and right flanks of Caesars [7]10th legion.The battle on the hill was devastating on sides, 46 centurions and approximately 700 legionnaire’s dead and thousands wounded. Caesar disbanded the siege and tried to return to Rome to regroup and gather supplies and men. After the Gergovia the people of Gaul still had their faith in Vercingetorix, he was re-elected Commander and Chief. Caesar is further planning his campaign decided to enlist a large number of German cavalry to his as sortment. During the entire Gallic Wars, Caesar has been outnumbered almost 3 to 1 and sometimes 4 to 1 odds, but Caesars strategy is what has been proving key in battles; the quality of men over numbers.As Caesar marches toward the provinces, Vercingetorix in a sudden ignorant act of boldness ascends his infantry and small cavalry head on attacking Caesars Roman legions. Caesar staying calm, â€Å"He sent his cavalry, in three divisions, to repel the triple attack† (Pg. 168). The Gauls retreated to Alesia with Caesars legions following close behind night and day. As the Romans reach Alesia Caesar informs his men that this battle will be a, â€Å"toilsome effort† (Pg. 170). Caesar realized that Alesia could only be taken by what he called, â€Å"a line of investment, fully nine miles in length, along which a ring of camps was constructed† (Pg. 70), this was a series of circumvallations: trenches, ramparts, entrenchments, and barriers built around Alesia with cav alry on low ground and legion infantry on high slopes. The Romans being few in number did not have enough men or cavalry to guard the surrounding blockade of Alesia. Vercingetorix realizing that he was being closed in with four Roman legions linking up with Caesars six legions, Vercingetorix had to get help somehow. Under the cover of darkness Vercingetorix sent out Gauls to every region and, â€Å"bring back with them every man who could wield a sword† (Pg. 171). He also reminded them not to abandon the Gallic cause.Caesar had been given news of Vercingetorix call for relief armies, by group of deserters. Caesar understood that he too was surrounded by all of Gaul, but it was still uncertain whether the relief armies would show up for Vercingetorix. Unlike the Romans who had proven loyalty and precision in battle, the Gauls even though united, were still undisciplined and lacked the skill of a Roman legionnaire. Caesar seeing the potential threat from the surrounding mountai ns proceeded to build entrenchments and barriers to his rear and on the western slope of Alesia where an open meadow was located.Caesars men made haste with the construction of barriers and traps like, â€Å"five rows of strong boughs were fixed in each, with one end protruding above ground, sharpened and with the branches projecting so as to form a kind of [8]abatis† (Pg. 139/Part I). Caesar also had traps under the ground surface, â€Å"In front of them and rising a few inches above the ground, but purposely concealed by brushwood, were sharp pointed logs embedded in small pits† (Pg. 139/Part I), as there were also barbed spikes lying under the turf. Caesar moved quickly to gather as much corn and resources as he could, knowing that this battle may very well be the last.Meanwhile inside the wall of Alesia Vercingetorix had the grain thrown into a single stock; as the grain would be dispersed among the soldiers rather than the citizens. A council of Gallic Chieftains gathered at an assembly to discuss Vercingetorix situation in Alesia and how he had requested a, â€Å"universal levy† (Pg. 173), or a mass of armies combined. It was heavily debated because many tribes were at conflict with Germanic tribes or resolving domestic problems; some simply refused to send any army. In all about 43 tribes joined in with a massive cavalry as well.Four generals were given command of the 250,000 Gauls as it was said there was, â€Å"No one leader of sufficient eminence to command universal respect† (Pg. 174), this would be proven decisively. As the relief army of Gaul marched towards Alesia, days away, the city was going into famine. The chieftains proposed the method of cannibalism as said, â€Å"That their fathers, when driven into the fastnesses by the Cimbri and Teutoni, had sustained life by feeding upon the flesh of those who were useless for warfare† (Pg. 175). It was rather decided that the weak, young, and old were citizens of th e town, were to be exiled.The hopeless looking women and children, and elderly came down to the Roman blockade. Caesars blockade forbid no-one to pass through; the exiled inhabitants were not taken in, instead Caesar had them sent back or stay between the lines of the wall and blockade to perish. The relief army soon arrives passing through the mountain valley, they could be seen from miles away as a mass of cavalry and infantry. Commius leading the Gallic mass launched a cavalry assault on Caesars rear defenses as Vercingetorix attacked from the inner defenses from [9]Alesia.The Roman legions held strong repelling the Gallic cavalry with Caesars brilliant defensive military strategy. The Romans formed a compact body of infantry and split the Gallic cavalry’s onslaught into disarray. The one major advantage the Caesar had over all the Gauls it was the reliable communication he had with his commanders of his legions. The Romans were on point and deadly, as the first day was wo n by Caesar. A 24 hour period of cease fire took place, and this time under the cover of darkness the Gauls launched a surprise attack on the Roman blockade using loud shouts to alert the rest of the Gallic army.The Gauls attempted to siege the blockade walls with grappling-hooks and ladders they attempted to overpower the blockades. In between the defensive lines the Gauls were dismembered by the wooden spikes and traps placed along the lines. Two sections of the Gallic army failed to cooperate with the rest of the mass due to poor [10]communication during the night. Roman artillery took apart the Gauls in between the defenses as casualties mounted because of poor effectiveness during the night raid. The Gauls retreated before dawn, fearing a flank from the right.Vercingetorix and Caesar refused to give into each other with casualties piling up on both parties, neither side budged. The soldiers of both sides were describes as they fought, â€Å"Every man fought like a hero; for th ey knew that from the heights around friends and enemies alike were anxiously watching† (Pg. 176). Vercingetorix and the Gauls planned for a final assault on the Romans. Vercingetorix discovered a weak spot in the Roman blockade where Caesars men were unable to build a barrier. The Gauls with no delay assaulted the weak point with 60,000 Gallic warriors against only two legions.The Romans became heavily overwhelmed and in disarray with 60,000 Gauls attacking from the rear and Vercingetorix army attacking from the inner walls. The Romans in panic and disorganization were described as, â€Å"painfully distracted by the roar of battle in their rear; for both on the inner and the outer line men felt, as they fought, that they would perish if their comrades behind suffered the enemy to break through† (Pg. 178). It was difficult for the Roman legions to mass together due to the overwhelming Gallic numbers. Vercassivellaunus, commanding the 60,000 Gauls from the rear; continua lly sent fresh infantry in.The Gallic infantry was disposable due the sheer numbers. Caesar seeing the disarray of the Romans and his cavalry sent Labienus with six cohorts to hold their ground till they were forced to fight in open ground. In astonishing fashion Caesar mounting horseback went down the Roman line as it was depicted, â€Å"riding down between the lines on to the plain, he harangued his weary soldiers and adjured them not to give in† (Pg. 179), continuing he said, â€Å"Just one short hour, and the prize was won† (Pg. 179). It was not until Caesar himself on horseback galloped steadfast, leading the last head on assault.A new found zealous came over the Roman legions as they followed behind Caesar, they disbanded the Gauls in a mass, scattering across the land. The Gauls to appease the Romans would have Vercingetorix give himself up and die. Vercingetorix gave himself up willingly out of respect for Caesar, being an admirer of his military brilliance. It was said that Vercingetorix, â€Å"took off his armour, laid down his sword, and bowed himself at Caesar’s feet† (Pg. 180). Caesar had no admiration for Vercingetorix as it came with a great cost. Caesar had him imprisoned in a dungeon, and then executed six ears later. The conquering of Gaul propelled Caesars political power tremendously. In 49 B. C he was elected dictator or emperor of Rome and soon after Civil war broke out eventually leading to Caesars killing. Caesar outwitted the ambitious and powerful, yet inexperienced Vercingetorix profoundly in the battles of Avaricum, Gergovia, and Alesia. Caesar conquered Gaul in such extraordinary fashion, that it still leaves some historians in amazement. Caesar outmaneuvered a quarter million Gauls and strategically dismantling them.Caesars reasoning for this long and grueling conquest of Gaul was to dig himself and Rome out of the debt that had amounted. His conquest of Gaul was also an attempt, a successful one at tha t, to further his political career and bolster his power. His victory in Rome, as said before, put Caesar on a pedestal surpassing Pompey and Crassus and making him the favorite amongst Roman people. Works Cited Holmes, Thomas. Caesar's conquest of Gaul. 1899. Print. . Julius, Caesar, W. A. McDevitte , and W. S. Bohn. The Gallic Wars . 1st. Print. . Julius, Caesar, W. A. McDevitte , and W. S. Bohn.The Gallic Wars . 3rd. Print. . Julius, Caesar, W. A. McDevitte , and W. S. Bohn. The Gallic Wars . 4th. Print. . Julius, Caesar, W. A. McDevitte , and W. S. Bohn. The Gallic Wars . 8th. Print. . Holmes, Thomas. Caesar's Conquest of Gaul:An Historical Narrative (being Part I of the Larger Work on the Same Subject). Part 1. Macmillan, ———————– [1] The First Triumvirate was between the Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey. An alliance to help bolster power for Caesar in particular. [2] Equanimity†¦one of Caesars great attributes being that he was very calm and poised in battle. 3] Phalanxes was a battle formation with consisted of shields and spears. The Romans used it very effectively against all. [pic] [4] The Cevennes Mountains are in south-central France. It is known as Hidden France by some. [5] Cenabum’s massacre was Caesars attempt at revenge as the town was pillaged. [6] The massacres of Cenabum and Avaricum specifically, was because of the difficulty Caesar had sieging the towns, thus frustration led to the killings. [7] The Roman 10th Legion was known as the Legio X Equestris and was one of Caesar more famous legions. 8] Abatis were used as barriers; they had long sharpened pointed logs. [9] â€Å"According to Napolean I (Precis des guerres de Cesar, 1836, p. 110), more than fifty days must have elapsed between the departure of Vercingetorix’s cavalry and the arrival of the relieving army† (Pg. 175) [10] Gaul having 4 commanding armies that totaled in a quarter million men made it Qy â⠂¬ËœÃ‚ »LiAOUaaaA ? â„ ¢  ¶ ? n w ? o? UO? UAU »Ã‚ ±Ã‚ §? â€Å"†°Ã¢â‚¬Å"oA|o_oRoRERhw? h42aCJ^JaJhw? h. â€Å"CJ^JaJjhyg? 0Jhw? h ®w†ºCJ^JaJhw? ho  CJ^extremely difficult for Vercingetorix to communicate successfully outside the walls.