Second Battle of Manassas - Civil War Second Battle of Manassas

Second Battle of Manassas - Civil War Second Battle of Manassas Second Battle of Manassas - Conflict Dates: The Second Battle of Manassas was fought August 28-30, 1862, during the American Civil War. Armies Commanders Union Major General John Pope70,000 men Confederate General Robert E. Lee55,000 men Second Battle of Manassas - Background: With the collapse of Major General George B. McClellans Peninsula Campaign in the summer of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln brought Major General John Pope east to take command of the newly created Army of Virginia. Consisting of three corps led by Major Generals Franz Sigel, Nathaniel Banks, and Irvin McDowell, Popes force was soon augmented by additional units taken from McClellans Army of the Potomac. Tasked with protecting Washington and the Shenandoah Valley, Pope began moving southwest towards Gordonsville, VA. Seeing that Union forces were divided and believing that the timid McClellan posed little threat, Confederate General Robert E. Lee sensed an opportunity to destroy Pope before returning south to finish off the Army of the Potomac. Detaching the left wing of his army, Lee ordered Major General Thomas Stonewall Jackson to move north to Gordonsville to intercept Pope. On August 9, Jackson defeated Banks corps at Cedar Mountain and four days later Lee began moving the other wing of his army, led by Major General James Longstreet, north to join Jackson. Second Battle of Manassas - Jackson on the March: Between August 22 and 25, the two armies squared off across the rain-swollen Rappahannock River, with neither able to force a crossing. During this time, Pope began receiving reinforcements as McClellans men were withdrawn from the Peninsula. Seeking to defeat Pope before the Union commanders force grew much larger, Lee ordered Jackson to take his men and Major General J.E.B. Stuarts cavalry division on a bold flanking march around the Union right. Moving north, then east through Thoroughfare Gap, Jackson severed the Orange Alexandria Railroad at Bristoe Station before capturing the Union supply base at Manassas Junction on August 27. With Jackson in his rear, Pope was forced to fall back from the Rappahannock and reconcentrate near Centreville. Moving northwest from Manassas, Jackson moved through the old First Bull Run battlefield and assumed a defensive position behind an unfinished railroad grade below Stony Ridge on the night of August 27/28. From this position, Jackson had a clear view of the Warrenton Turnpike which ran east to Centreville. Second Battle of Manassas - Fighting Begins: The fighting began at 6:30 PM on August 28 when units belonging to Brigadier General Rufus Kings division were seen moving east on the turnpike. Jackson, who learned earlier in the day that Lee and Longstreet were marching to join him, moved to the attack. Engaging on the Brawner Farm, the fight was largely against the Union brigades of Brigadier Generals John Gibbon and Abner Doubleday. Firing for around two and half hours, both sides took heavy losses until darkness ended the fighting. Pope misinterpreted the battle as Jackson retreating from Centreville and ordered his men to trap the Confederates. Second Battle of Manassas - Assaulting Jackson: Early the next morning, Jackson dispatched some of Stuarts men to direct Longstreets approaching troops into pre-selected positions on his right. Pope, in an effort to destroy Jackson, moved his men to the fight and planned attacks on both Confederate flanks. Believing that Jacksons right flank was near Gainesville, he directed Major General Fitz John Porter to take his V Corps west to attack that position. At the other end of the line, Sigel was assault the Confederate left along the railroad grade. While Porters men marched, Sigels opened the fighting around 7:00 AM. Attacking Major General A.P. Hills men, the Brigadier General Carl Schurzs troops made little progress. While the Union did achieve some local successes, they were often undone by vigorous Confederate counterattacks. Around 1:00 PM, Pope arrived on the field with reinforcements just as Longstreets lead units were moving into position. To the southwest, Porters corps was moving up the Manassas-Gainesville Road and engaged a group of Confederate cavalry. Second Battle of Manassas - Union Confusion: Shortly thereafter, its advance was halted when Porter received a confusing Joint Order from Pope which muddied the situation and did not provide any clear direction. This confusion was worsened by news from McDowells cavalry commander, Brigadier General John Buford, that large numbers of Confederates (Longstreets men) had been spotted in Gainesville that morning. For an unknown reason, McDowell failed to forward this to Pope until that evening. Pope, waiting for Porters attack, continued to launch piecemeal assaults against Jackson and remained unaware that Longstreets men had arrived on the field. At 4:30, Pope sent an explicit order for Porter to attack, but it was not received until 6:30 and the corps commander was not in a position to comply. In anticipation of this attack, Pope threw Major General Philip Kearnys division against Hills lines. In severe fighting, Kearnys men were only repelled after determined Confederate counterattacks. Observing Union movements, Lee decided to attack the Union flank, but was dissuaded by Longstreet who advocated a reconnaissance in force to set up an assault in the morning. Brigadier General John B. Hoods division moved forward along the turnpike and collided with Brigadier General John Hatchs men. Both sides retreated after a sharp fight. Second Battle of Manassas - Longstreet Strikes As darkness fell, Pope finally received McDowells report regarding Longstreet. Falsely believing that Longstreet had arrived to support Jacksons retreat, Pope recalled Porter and began planning a massive assault by V Corps for the next day. Though advised to move cautiously at a council of war the next morning, Pope pushed Porters men, supported by two additional divisions, west down the turnpike. Around noon, they wheeled right and attacked the right end of Jacksons line. Taken under heavy artillery fire the assault breached the Confederate lines but was thrown back by counterattacks. With the failure of Porters attack, Lee and Longstreet moved forward with 25,000 men against the Union left flank. Driving scattered Union troops before them, they only encountered determined resistance at a few points. Realizing the danger, Pope began moving troops to block the attack. With the situation desperate, he succeeded in forming a defensive line along the Manassas-Sudley Road at the foot of Henry House Hill. The battle lost, Pope began a fighting withdraw back towards Centreville around 8:00 PM. Second Battle of Manassas - Aftermath: The Second Battle of Manassas cost Pope 1,716 killed, 8,215 wounded and 3,893 missing, while Lee suffered 1,305 killed and 7,048 wounded. Relieved on September 12, Popes army was incorporated into the Army of the Potomac. Seeking a scapegoat for the defeat, he had Porter court-martialed for his actions on August 29. Found guilty, Porter spent fifteen years working to clear his name. Having won a stunning victory, Lee embarked on his invasion of Maryland a few days later. Selected Sources National Park Service: Manassas National BattlefieldLibrary of Congress: Second Battle of ManassasHistoryNet: Second Battle of Manassas

How to seamlessly transfer your skills from one industry to another

How to seamlessly transfer your skills from one industry to another For most of us, our career paths don’t go in a single straight line. Instead, there are plenty of twists and turns along the way- some expected and others surprising and unplanned- as we develop, grow, and change over time. Sometimes a change in jobs also means a change in industries, which, for many, can be a scary and anxiety-filled proposition- especially if the change isn’t exactly what you were hoping and is instead the result of a job loss or shifts in your current field. The truth is, the prospect of â€Å"starting over† in a new career field can be daunting, especially if you’re fairly established and far along in your current field and are worried that you’ll have to completely start over again- but it doesn’t have to be.The â€Å"not-so-secret† secret to successfully navigating an industry change during the course of your career is to take full advantage of your transferable skills- those finely-honed abilities that youâ€⠄¢ve acquired thus far in your professional experience that you can put to good use in the next industry you work for. Yes, it’s true- many of the skills you currently have are not just helpful at your current job and industry, but rather can help you be effective and successful in your future endeavors as well.Transferring and leveraging these transferable skills from one industry to the next is the key to being flexible and malleable in today’s rapidly evolving and volatile job market- and those who are able to competently do so stand the best chance of staying afloat. Consider using the following strategies to make sure that the skills you’ve built up during your career continue to serve you well as you move from one industry to another.Identify your skillsThis shouldn’t be a major challenge for you, as it’s something you’d inevitably have to do if you were updating your resume or simply looking to transition to a new job in your current industry. This should include skills both large and small- you never fully know what abilities will come in handy when you start a new job, especially if it’s in a completely new field or industry. These include both hard skills (things like knowledge of computers or specific programs or instrumentation, an ability to speak a foreign language, any professional certifications you’ve earned, and basically any other measurable and quantifiable talent that you’ve developed) as well as soft skills (more subjective and harder to measure abilities that you possess but that come in handy at work all the time, such as people skills, motivation, leadership, patience, flexibility, and problem-solving). Both your hard skills and soft skills can potentially come in handy in a new industry.Identify the needs of your target industryNext step is to pinpoint the industry that you’re hoping to move into and do your homework to identify its needs. Research carefully and get a good sense of the successes and pain points in the field and where things are likely to move. Look at the opinions of industry veterans and thought leaders- many of whom are likely leveraging social media to share their ideas. An even better potential strategy would be to identify specific companies in the industry that you’d like to work at and get a sense of their needs- which will help you paint a clear picture of how you can come aboard and be a potentially valuable asset.Make the connectionNow that you have a clear idea of the abilities you bring to the table and what the needs of your target industry are, you can begin to identify the skills you possess that are potentially transferable. Use the information you’ve been gathering in your research to hone and refine your skills to best suit your new industry. For hard skills like computer knowledge or mastery of specific equipment, see if the tools you’ve learned are commonly used; if not, see if learning popular industry software and equipment makes sense for you. Soft skills are more easily transferable and are more malleable and adaptable to new fields.Here’s the bottom line- make the most of the skills you currently possess to meet the needs of the industry you’re looking to move into, fill in the gaps where appropriate and realistic, and be confident that you’re doing all you can to make this transition as successful as possible.

Design research proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Design research proposal - Essay Example The researcher will thus uncover the academic gap in this context and design an appropriate design that can effectively combine both the high and tech and the vending machine besides increased usability and convenience to curb the looming cases of disease since this is a public machine and hence serves various cohorts of individuals hence presenting higher chances of spread of contingency diseases. Vending machines are convenience common sources of snacks and beverages but most machines ignores healthy options. The foods and drinks in the vending machines have led to increased cases of obesity (public health problem). Youth and adults are at risks to develop type 2 diabetes, asthma, arthritis and heart disease. Despite the fact food vending machine avails food everywhere in America, food choices hazardous to health. Based on these limitation in the vending machine, there is an urgent need to unearth the possible effective design mechanism that if adopted will results in safety of vending machine users (The Nemours Foundation 2010). This can only be achieved through the incorporation of the high tech within the vending machine to curb the problem of spread of these catastrophic disease attached to faulty public vending machines. Many cities have thus designed effective restrictions and regulatory to the designers of these vending machines in order to meet the guideline requirem ents. It is upon this problems associated with most vending machines, the researcher seeks to investigate and design a machine that will minimize the spread of diseases associated with the public vending machines. The data collection through observation will be done both in the vending machine mall and the MU building on the University. The rationale for picking on these location was due to the mass coverage within short time. This will ensure observation’s effectiveness besides vast

Descriptive essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Loung's Life Within One Month after the End of Her Story - Essay Example Lying on her bed, with eyes wide open, Loung stares at the ceiling and thinks of good old days, her childhood days, before the Khmer Rouge regime destroyed it once and forever. She dreams of her visit to the noodle shop with her family and her playing hotchpotch with her siblings and friends. But these thoughts inevitably turn towards that fatal day when the bad soldiers came and took her father to the killing fields. The good memories struggle hard against the flood of bad memories that impinge incessantly on her mind and then she is left to grapple in her bed clinging to her pillow, as if, it is the only thing on earth that she could rightfully hold on to. And as she slowly closes her eyes, her mind hovers over the home she has left behind, her father, mother, brothers and sisters. It is her dreams that keep her past alive. For Loung, days in the one-bedroom apartment seems better than nights. With Meng leaving in search for work, she is left with Eang who has become more like a mother to her than a sister-in-law. Loung helps Eang with all the household activities which in reality takes hardly any time. Then they sit and talk and talk about their families and days they cherish. They look outside the window to watch the hustle bustle of the street. Unknowingly, they stop talking and get engrossed in watching people on the street and try to imagine their life. They are brought back to reality by the shrill ringing of the doorbell. It is the weekly visit by the members of the sponsor who have brought them to the United States. The man sits on the dining table, the only set of chair and table in the house, and enquires about their health. He then asks Eang to sign some papers which were needed for the admission of Loung to school. He also suggests some job options for Eang and gives some papers. As Eang clo ses the door behind him, Loung looks at Eangs face, and they hug.  

Radiology. Lonizing radiation Essay Example for Free

Radiology. Lonizing radiation Essay I. Introduction A.(Opening Device) I’m sure most of you in here have broken, fractured, or sprained something in your body before. And you had to take that dreadful trip to the ER after whatever crazy and or stupid thing you just did. Or it might even just been from you playing the sport you love. My favorite part of that trip is when they finally bring in the x-rays and you get to see the part of your body that should not look like it does in the picture. I’d love to share how some of the equipment they use to see these things work! B.(Thesis Statement) When I grow up, I want to be a radiologist. C.(Preview of Main Points) In order to help you understand more about what radiology is and how it’s used is so many different ways ill use 3 main points: first what radiologists actually do and devices they use; second, what the average salary of a radiologist is today; and third, diseases radiologists can help detect II. Body A. Radiologists are medical doctors that specialize in using x-rays and radioactive substances to diagnose bones and treat illnesses. 1.Some ways things wrong with your body are found.  a. According to Who is a Radiologist, posted on the website of Ranzcr.edu, accessed on September 12, 2013, many of the uses include: X-ray technology, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, and nuclear medicine imaging. b.The difference between all these forms of radiology are some are used to detect broken bones, some used to detect muscles and stuff going on with your organs, and many other uses including seeing your baby for the first time. 2.Average salary of a radiologist. a.The average starting salary of a radiologist ranges from 50-80,000 dollars a year depending on your location confirmed by â€Å"Career of a Radiologist,† authored by Diane Turner, an MD, on salarysite.com, dated 2012. b. After 3 years of working as a radiologist, experts determined that the average salary then rises to $325 thousand a year. c.If you’re planning to get into this profession you have to majorly take location into consideration,  that’ll be the best way to make sure you’re making the most you can. New York has the highest paid radiologists in the country with the average being $454,710, and California is in second with $355,000. C. Diseases radiologists can help detect. 1. Cancer a. With there being many different forms of cancer ill just explain how a few are found. b.according to the website on cancer research Xrays- cartilage and bone cancer, ct scans- tumors, mris- brain cancer, pet scan(positron emission tomography) relatively new technology, only available in few hospitals in the uk right now, and they show how a particular part of your body is actually working not just what it looks like (basically ultrasound of body not just a picture) 2. Kidney Stones a. There are two main ways kidney stones can be detected b.They can use a ct scan that places the patient in an xray tube and creates several images of the kidneys and bladder or they can use a IVP or intravenous pyelogram which is where they inject a special dye into your veins and take images that will detect anything in the dye. III. Conclusion A.(Summary) Overall, Radiologists have to have a very wide spanned knowledge of the body and medical devices that are used. They are also one of the highest paid careers in the medical field today. B.(Closing Device) Radiologists without a doubt enjoy a high paying profession. Given the fact that they undergo thorough training in their educational level, this pay is worth it. The competition to be a radiologist in the US is majorly rising and the number of students pursuing this profession is also on the increase.

A Feminist Perspective of Othello Essay -- Feminism Feminist Women Cr

A Feminist Perspective of   Othello      Ã‚   Throughout the length of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello there is a steady undercurrent of sexism. It is originating from not one, but rather various male characters in the play, who manifest prejudicial, discriminatory attitudes toward women.    In the opening scene, while Iago is expressing his hatred for the general Othello for his having chosen Michael Cassio for the lieutenancy, he contrives a plan to partially avenge himself (â€Å"I follow him to serve my turn upon him†), with Roderigo’s assistance, by alerting Desdemona’s father, Brabantio, to the fact of his daughter’s elopement with Othello: â€Å"Call up her father, / Rouse him: make after him, poison his delight [. . .] .† Implied in this move is the fact of a father’s assumed control over the daughter’s choice of a marriage partner. Iago’s warning to the senator follows closely: â€Å"'Zounds, sir, you're robb'd; for shame, put on your gown; / Your heart is burst, you have lost half your soul.† This statement also implies that the father has authority over the daughter. Brabantio’s admonition to Roderigo implicitly expresses the same message:    The worser welcome:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have charged thee not to haunt about my doors:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In honest plainness thou hast heard me say   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   My daughter is not for thee [. . .] . (1.1)    Iago’s continuing earthy appraisals of the situation all seem to bestow upon the father the power to make decisions for the daughter. Roderigo even calls Desdemona’s action a â€Å"revolt† against paternal authority: â€Å"Your daughter, if you have not given her leave, /   I say again, hath made a gross revolt [. . .] .† Upon verifying the absence of his daughter from the home, Brabantio exhorts all fathe... ...view, LXIV, 1 (Winter 1956), 1-4, 8-10; and Arizona Quarterly (Spring 1956), pp.5-16.    Mack, Maynard. Everybody’s Shakespeare: Reflections Chiefly on the Tragedies. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1993.    Muir, Kenneth. Introduction. William Shakespeare: Othello. New York: Penguin Books, 1968.    Neely, Carol. "Women and Men in Othello" Critical Essays on Shakespeare's Othello. Ed. Anthony G. Barthelemy Pub. Macmillan New York, NY 1994. (page 68-90)       Shakespeare, William. Othello. In The Electric Shakespeare. Princeton University. 1996. http://www.eiu.edu/~multilit/studyabroad/othello/othello_all.html No line nos.    Wayne, Valerie. â€Å"Historical Differences: Misogyny and Othello.† The Matter of Difference: Materialist Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Ed Valerie Wayne. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1991.

Srs for Bank Management

EXPERIMENT NO: 2 AIM: To document Software Requirement Specification for Dance Academy. THEORY: 1) Introduction: 1. 1) Purpose: This document gives detailed functional and non-functional requirements for Dance Academy. The purpose of this document is that the requirements mentioned in it should be utilized by software developer to implement the system. 1. 2) Scope: This system allows the bank employee to maintain a record of all the customers who have account in the bank.With the help of this system, the employee should be in a position to search the records of a particular customer, provide him detailed account information and delete and update the customer information as and when required. 1. 3) Overview: This system provides an easy solution to the bank employee to maintain customer as well as employee records and maintaining a record of all the transactions that take place. 2) General Description: This Bank Management System replaces the conventional, traditional file and record based system with the help of which a lot of paper work will be reduced.Thus the manual work of maintaining files which are subjected to physical wear and tear can be avoided. The employee must be able to view all the information of customers such as name, account number, date of birth, gender, address, initial balance. Also it must be able to record different transactions such as withdrawal, deposit or transfer of funds from one account to another. The employee can also add new staff members to the system providing them direct access to the database and thus enabling them to provide services to the users.The employee can also change his password to follow security constraints. 3) Functional Requirements: 3. 1) Description: The identity of each customer is verified and only then changes are made to the records each customer. After proper verification, the bank employee can bring proper changes to the database as per the requirements of the user. Also the system maintains an employee database thus keeping a record of all the members of bank as well as keeping the records of the transactions which take place daily. 3. 2) Technical issues: The system should be implemented in .NET. 4) Interface Requirements: 4. 1) GUI: GUI 1: The first form provides login page for the employee. GUI 2: After successful login, there are different actions that can be performed i. e. change password, sign-out, add customer, delete customer, add details, view details etc. GUI 3: For adding customers, all the required information is taken and the submit button is selected for making corresponding changes into the database. GUI 4: Once the changes are made into the database, on clicking the view details icon, the details of the customer can be obtained.GUI 5 and 6: The details of the customer can be updated with the help of form 5. A particular customer can be removed with the help of delete customer option. GUI 7,8 and 9: These forms record the different transactions such as withdrawal, deposit, transfer. 4. 2) Hardware Interface: Hardware Interface 1: The system should be embedded in each PC of the bank and in all of its branches. 4. 3) Software Interface: Software Interface 1: Bank Management System. Software Interface 2: The staff and employee database should maintain necessary records. ) Performance Requirements: The system should work concurrently on multiple computers during the working hours of bank. The system should support 50 users. 6) Design Constraints: The system should be designed in 2 months. 7) Other Non Functional Attributes: a) Security: Each employee is provided with a user ID and password to log into the system. Only then he can manipulate the database. b) Availability: The system should be available during bank working hours. c) Maintainability: There should be a facility to add or delete customers as and when required. ) Reusability: The same system must be used in every financial year. 8) Operational Scenarios: There will be an employee data base and customer database. The employee database contains personal information of all the employees. The customer database contains personal as well as account related information. 9) Preliminary Schedule: The system has to be implemented in 2 months. CONCLUSION: Thus we have documented Software Requirement Specification for Bank Management System (BMS).

Future of the US Healthcare System and the Effects on the Practice of Hand Surgery.

The authors of the report stated in the paper that no commercial party will benefit from the results of the report. This gives the reader an idea that the results of the report are unbiased and are not for the benefit on one party alone. Although the entirety of the paper is straightforward with regards to the current status of the healthcare system in the country, the suggested solutions were still broad and indefinite. Current problems in the healthcare system in the United States were examined in the recent report.Possible solutions to the identified problems were proposed as to also address the pressing need to have equal access to proper and quality healthcare. Sixteen percent (16%) of USA's GDP is allotted for healthcare expenditures, unfortunately this is not directly related to quality and equality of access in comparison with other countries. With this regard, many proposals were made to improve the system. In addition, healthcare professionals believe that hand surgery has a lot to offer in providing answers to the identified problems.The history of the healthcare system was also presented to give a background on the system. The system of having a universal system was initiated by President Roosevelt in the 1930s, which evolved from a primarily nonprofit system to one that recognized the great opportunity for profit. Through the years, there was an exponential increase in healthcare costs attributed to ‘defensive medicine' and advancing diagnostic and pharmaceutical technology. With these problems, the authors of the report advise that the future of health care system in the USA may be leaning towards a more cost-effective system.Policy makers would like to take advantage of existing programs such as Medicaid or Medicare to expand the coverage of healthcare. It is foreseen that either (a) private insurance companies will no longer be on business and the government will be the one responsible for health care distribution for all or (b) private co mpanies will remain to be existent to give the public the choice on which health care provider they prefer. After reading the article, one is still left questioning what really is next for the health care system in the country.The undesirable reality has already been exposed and most people already know the disadvantages of the current system. The proposed new system of abolishing the private insurance companies to make way for the government to handle health care is a little too unrealistic. The country is being ran by the capitalists and removing these big companies will cost the country jobs and millions of dollars of losses. The author also had some points that campaigning and pushing through with the slogan â€Å"healthcare for all† is impossible.I personally think that this statement is untrue since a lot of nations have already implemented this as in the case of England and Cuba. Overall, the report is comprehensive and informative enough to be read and evaluated by pr oper authorities. They can review this and provide considerations for future policies to address the problems and improve on the existing healthcare system. Pushman, A. G. & K. C. Chung. â€Å"Future of the US Healthcare System and the Effects on the Practice of Hand Surgery. † American Association for Hand Surgery 2009 4:99-107.

Russian Soviet Politics †Foriegn Government Research Paper (300 Level Course)

Russian Soviet Politics – Foriegn Government Research Paper (300 Level Course) Free Online Research Papers Russian Soviet Politics Foriegn Government Research Paper (300 Level Course) Russian politics is dominated by a structure of political elites who are remnants or byproducts of the Soviet Era. Coupled with the oligarchs and the organized crime syndicates, political elites make it extremely difficult for Russians who live in rural areas to effectively participate in Russia’s relatively new experiment with democracy. Rural Russians have very little recourse in influencing the current state of Russian Politics. This paper will focus on the perceptions and opinions rural Russians have about their prospects for meaningful engagement in Russian politics. Included in the discussion about politics will be the level of involvement these people have with the state economy and the extent to which the state plays a beneficial role in their lives. Also examined will be the nationalistic feelings still held by many of these people with respect to how government should function and what their ideal view of governmental affairs should be. Lastly, focus will be shifted to rural issues and in what fashion they figure into political debate. A first important point about political engagement in rural Russia is the attitude towards the government that many people hold. Russian nationalism, the attitude of Russia being a major power in the world, and of a state able to provide everything for the people still holds a powerful allure for the citizen who has been the beneficiary of the planned economy and who took pride in knowing or believing they were a cog in the works of the great Russian empire. In making the transition to embracing the democratic system, it is more difficult for Russians to accept change. Piirainen writes, â€Å"The Russians lost an empire, the other nations became independent from an empire and this makes a big difference for the formation of national consciousness and for the popular attitude towards the institutions of the new national state (Piirainen: 1997, 244).† The rural Russian psyche is reflective. The citizenry is not actively engaged in working for a better future, rather their consciousness is centered on the failing of socialism and the loss associated with being part of a world superpower. This nationalistic view of Russia does not bode well for progress. The market economy is centered on individualism and entrepreneurship. The majority of rural Russians have earned their living directly or indirectly through the collectivization programs of the planned economy. These people are used to being given the commodities necessary for making a living: livestock, tractors, seed, and tools. The transition to democracy and the market economy has left a staggering portion of the population without the education, job skills or capital required to compete in a market economy. Democracy requires a transition from the private sphere to the public sphere, the citizenry must be actively interested, informed, and opinionated on public matters. The Soviet society promoted a system where the individual was a subordinate of the state. In the United States, everyone feels that the government is held accountable to the people by the power of the vote. Unfavorable actions by government officials result in the incumbent exiting office. The Soviet model of government was one where the people were subordinate to the state as opposed to citizens of the state. The argument is made that the people were deeply concerned with matters in the private sphere and that as a result, things of a public character were disregarded (Piirainen: 1997). An understanding of political engagement and participation in Russia must first be prefaced with an examination of Russian political culture. Russians have a tradition of authoritarian government that stretches back for centuries. Historically, Russians have been concerned with the state providing order and stability. This is so due to geographic concerns related to security and also because Russia has been a step removed from the more liberal political developments of Western Europe (McCormick). Attesting to this favoritism for strong leadership is the fact that many older Russians view the atrocities of Stalin as necessary and as acts that were required at the time. Also, Yeltsin’s forays with and around the Russian legislature and his military actions were met with a rise in his approval rating. (Brown and McCormick). Another struggle Russians face in adapting to democracy is their history of closed politics. Closed politics were described as â€Å"the basic identifying characteristic† of the Soviet political system in the 1970’s. This tradition of strong leadership, the one party system, and the risk of reprisal under authoritarian regimes remains a serious impediment to political engagement. Compounding the problems associated with closed politics is the individualism inherent in a democratic society and lacking in Russian society. Russian society has been and remains largely group oriented; a collective society has existed for decades in Rus sia. Russian political tradition is the equivalent of intense political repression in western liberal democracies. The transition from serfdom, to the Soviet era, to the contemporary managed democracy, where the president exercises enormous powers makes any embrace of tangible democratic participation by the average citizen difficult. In order not to be unfair, the changes in the Russian political system are extremely recent in the context of Russia’s long history of authoritarian rule. There is not the inborn grasp of how democratic institutions function and with which methods these institutions may be influenced that is natural and identifiable in societies accustomed to democracy. However, this transition will only come with time. It must also be considered that the historically conservative Russian citizens are less inclined to challenge or meddle with the political system. Chaos has been an ever- present danger to Russia with the World Wars and the fall of the Soviet Union, the succession of satellite states, the kidnapping of political adversaries. Political parties emerge and fade in Russia leaving the same ideology in power. The grooming of successors in Russia has left the ruling ideology in power (stable opposition parties have yet to surface). The citizenry (in particular the older people and the rural population) are adverse to democracy because its forms and ramifications distance Russia from its past. This proves interesting due to what western world as atrocities under Stalin and political oppression. However, ideas such as free speech and even questioning the government are foreign to Russians and the collective society mold that has permeated their society for so long. Having said this, change is occurring in the Russian political culture, but the vast majority of this change is occurring in urban areas where younger Russians have greater entrepreneurial opportunities and less attachment to Russia’s past. Many individuals without traditional ties to a village or a closed social network find the transition to representative government easier to accept because rural Russians don’t have the exposure to political developments that urban Russians do. A crucial component of Russian political participation is the legitimacy and establishment of law. Russia’s current constitution did not provide for the power of the court until 1993 and the court structure wasn’t clearly outlined until1994 (McCormick). Russia must establish a viable legal system to reign in not only organized crime, but also the government itself. It is imperative that the court serves as a check on the executive. The supranational facets of the Russian executive must be reigned in by the constitutional court, which can gradually align the cogs of the relatively infant constitution and democracy into a political system that can be meaningfully influenced by the average Russian. Legitimate political participation in the form of strong political parties, unbiased media exposure, and political mobilization at a grassroots level are dependent upon the legal system being both responsible, prudent, and legitimate. Appointees to the Congressional Court are appointed for twelve-year terms, perhaps an advantage in effecting change more rapidly as lifetime appointments would probably cause the Court to be excessively conservative for years to come. An examination of the relationship between the public and private is instructive when examining the new relationships Russians have with the State. Under Soviet rule, the standard of living was predictable and stable. Democracy is a complete reversal of the Soviet social program. Capitalism and the entrepreneur are the forces that drive democracy. The freedom and opportunity for upward mobility in an established democracy are lost on a Russian populous who had the security of a job and health care the basic elements of life. Under Soviet rule after the Stalin era these things were ensured. Job security existed at a level that is impossible in a market economy. This stability is a product of a bygone regime and the change associated with this loss is a central lament of the adjustment to democracy. Political recourse seems unthinkable to most rural Russians. Some statistical bearing: â€Å"According to the official statistical information of the Russian Federation, 46.5 mi llion Russians, i.e. almost one=third of the population, had in June 1995 an income that was lower than the minimum subsistence level† (Piirainen, 55). The argument can be made that these figures are inflated due to the magnitude of the informal economy. Yet, â€Å"The life expectancy of Russians dropped from 70 years in 1987 to the astonishingly low level of 64 years in 1995† (Piirainen, 189). This stark statistic makes the relative success of nationalistic and communist parties more understandable. The bad government that ruled the Soviet Union was better able to provide for Russian citizens than the infant stages of democracy have been able to. The underdevelopment of civil society is a root cause for many of the problems that plague contemporary Russians. Everything revolved around the state in the Soviet era. There was no public sphere, there existed the state, which controlled everything and then there was the private the network of family and community, which provided indirectly in the areas where the state did not. Democratic development in Russia is closely linked to the role political elites play. Patrimonialism – patron/client relationships – have been a central fixture of Soviet and Russian politics. Governors no longer enjoy the immunity and the opportunity for participation associated with their former status as Duma representatives. Putin has steadily siphoned more and more tax money under the arm of the Federal Government so that he may exercise greater discretion in allocation of these funds. In 1998 47 percent of tax revenue was transferred to the federal government, in 2002 that figure had jumped to 63 percent (Steen, 104). Governors are more liable to appease the president as he begins to exercise considerably more influence in the distribution of funds. The separation between regional government, local government, and federal government is a large problem because authority is being exercised from the top down in a disproportionate manner. With the weakening gov ernors who have been hampered by both the legislature and the election of Putin (Yeltsin was much more liberal) the governors have seen their political clout significantly decrease. Russia has for all intents and purposes a one-party system. Any action deemed adverse to the presidential agenda makes it highly unlikely any regional official will advance to the upper levels of the federal political hierarchy. Russian politics is dominated at the federal level. Distinctions between how to levy taxes and whom is responsible for collection and which branch of government disburses the funds; all these issues are so new and vague that participation at the root level seems futile. The government must be able to collect enough tax revenue to guarantee public services to the common citizen. The welfare system, pensions, infrastructure, education, providing for the military; all these areas must be properly funded. If they are not the populous will simply turn to the informal economy, w hich has been both easiest viable source of survival/prosperity for decades. This is the central issue in addressing the meaningful political engagement of the rural population. Until these basis needs are addressed, the informal economy, which robs the state of both legitimacy and effectiveness, and also robs the citizen from a shot at real upward mobility political participation will, democracy will remain a synonym for traitor in rural Russia. In urban areas democracy is being accepted and adapted too at an accelerated rate in comparison with rural areas. Urban Russians are apt to be younger, have less traditional views on politics and change, and also have more opportunity. The rural populations have continued to live in the collective way of life by working and joining large farm cooperatives, by continuing a subsistence way of life through barter and by holding on to the past. Rural Russians have the perception that the state is not in their sphere of influence (and it probably is not for the time being); they view the state of Russia affairs as being a fluctuation of the state. The state is separate, they don’t identify with the fact that they are the state. They are the public, they are the government, but they don’t realize the importance of suffrage. One party rule during the Soviet era was so absolute that the ramifications of the vote are lost upon those who view the new experiment with democra cy as merely a downturn in national fortune. Now, after considering a the social and historical factors that make democracy a challenge to the Russian, focus will be shifted to what is actually occurring at the lowest strata of Russia society. How do persons ill equipped to adjust to this new system feed their children, pay their bills, feel about politics? The press often latches on to the oligarchs and their exploitation of national resources when privatization occurred, this exploitation occurs at other levels of Soviet society as well. A farm chairman responded to a journalist’s questions in 1990, â€Å"we’ve got democracy now so I don’t have to ask anyone’s permission. The district Party committee used to order me to respond to criticism so I responded, but now I don’t owe anybody anything† (O’Brien, 329). The problem with rural Russia is how to move forward in a climate which doesn’t allow for long harvest seasons, four to five months at max (which naturally encourages collective farming). Of rural areas O’Brien writes, â€Å"They still lag behind metropolitan areas with respect to economic and social development.† Totalitarian societies view competing loyalties and associations as a threat, suppression of competing social organizations occurs. Competing social organizations are what brings progress and improvement; the government views social organization as a threat as well. The de facto one party system in Russia continues to discourage this type of association even though the government has proved itself incapable of providing basis social services for the rural population. Rural populations do not have access to the normal governmental channels to improve their situation, due to this fact they seek redress â€Å"outside of the tax code† (O’B rien). Individuals rely on their interpersonal channels for success not only due to traditional conservatism, but also because they do not have faith in the government or new economic actors introduced by democracy. This recalcitrance to barge into a formal market economy is based upon good business sense as much as a resistance to change. The same theme keeps running through the problem of Russian political engagement and meaningful involvement and faith in the government. The government has not done a good enough job of providing in rural areas so the government is rejected. Why pay taxes to a government via the formal economy when an interpersonal network of contacts can provide a more stable and higher standard of living. Why embrace a government and pay taxes when conscripts into the Russian Army are dying because they cannot be fed and clothed by that same government. Why sell commodities for rubles when the exchange rate is not consistent enough to ensure that food will be on the table tomorrow. Why vote? Why vote when political actors are simply men in suits on television? Rural persons have good thoughts and intentions, but hold their self-interest above all else. This is not a unique situation. Rural persons operate on a micro-economic scale, until the government figures out and shows a legitimate ma cro-economic strategy, very little will change. The government has used a conservative strategy or reform strategy – promoting collective farms and a reform strategy alternately – private farming. A consensus among the rural population is that the government has done little to attempt to understand the intricacies of rural social and economic networks. This lack of understanding and consistent inability of the government to provide basic social services renders the legitimacy of the government shaky. It also leaves the power of the vote negligible. Why vote? Research Papers on Russian 19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraTwilight of the UAWComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

29 ways on how to stay creative at work throughout the day

29 ways on how to stay creative at work throughout the day Creativity at work is letting the inner you shine through the work you produce. But being at work all day can sometimes drain you mentally and physically; getting  in your way of your creativity. With these 29 ways to stay creative, you can help with your ideas to flow throughout the day instead of reaching road blocks. Simple things such as taking breaks, getting feedback, making lists, and even singing in the shower can get your creative juices flowing. Here are some quick and easy tips that work magic for your creativity!Source [ Behance ]

Finance part of a Executive Memorandum Case Study

Finance part of a Executive Memorandum - Case Study Example With the increased market niche, more fans will attend the matches and more revenues will be realized. Consider the following projected financial position of the organization in 2015 and 2016. This projection is aimed at increasing the present revenues and profits through advertising and increasing the market niche by capitalizing on the anticipated popularity increase in tennis. Unlike 2014, which recorded losses, the above financial forecast for 2015-2018 can be achieved if the losses incurred are minimized such that the sponsorship given by the WTT is invested in other activities. This will make the organization financially sound even for the interested investors to bring their money in the organization. Similarly, the aspect of increasing the price of tickets should be avoided instead various management strategies such as marketing and satisfying the needs of the already identified market segment should be implemented. Various incentives such as drinks should be made affordable during the matches. This will increase the number of the fans thus enabling attainment of the set goals and projections. The aspect of market segmentation and advertising is fundamental in these financial plans since it serves as the driving force to the realization of increased market niche and consequent increased revenues. Since the organization is â€Å"pass- through entityâ € , the net income realized in the period 2014-108 as indicated in the financial plan will be passed to the owners who will be taxed at individual basis. The profits ratios from 2015 through 2018 indicate theta the organization is viable for investors. The margin range of 0.55 and above is a good indication of the organization’s positive progress. If the owners sustain this trend, then the profit margin is expected to increase in coming years and this will assure the owners big profits. In this case, the organization does not experience a