Architecture essays

Architecture essays Architecture is one remarkable human endeavor, one of the means through which we try to creat order and make sense of our endlessly intriguing, yet messy world. And to provide ourselves with shelter. We all live and work in buildings. From the humblest to the sublime, there is no reason why any of these should be less than inspiring even in small ways. The turn of a stair, the way sunlight falls through windows in memorizing patterns on the floor, Materials cool to the touch in the heat of summer, the rhythm of an arcade, and the pregnant quality of a dome. At its best, Architecture, whisch is different from mere building, lifts our spirits and sends shivers down our spines; at its worst, it belittles us, although it really shouldnt. Except on rare escapes to desert landscapes, or hiking high in the mountains, or sailing the open seas, most people are surrounded by buildings. There is, though, a difference - a very important one - between building and architecture. Animals can build. Birds build nests of great sophistication, bees build hives with an innate sence of geometry. People on the other hand, developed architecture. This is, to be blunt, the science and art of building, or to be more poetic, the moment that a building is imbued with a knowing magic that tranforms it from a mere shelter into that of a self-conscious work of art. This art might offend and baffle as well as delight. Yet from the magnificence of the Parthenon and the graciousness of the temples of Mahabalipuram, through the soaring ambition of medevial Gothic cathedrals to the skyscrapers of the twentieth century, Architecture is a continually evolving art. ...

What You Need to Know About the Crusades

What You Need to Know About the Crusades The medieval Crusade was a holy war. For a conflict to be officially considered a Crusade, it had to be sanctioned by the pope and conducted against groups seen as enemies of Christendom. Initially, only those expeditions to the Holy Land (Jerusalem and associated territory) were considered Crusades. More recently, historians have also recognized campaigns against heretics, pagans, and Muslims in Europe as Crusades. How the Crusades Began For centuries, Jerusalem had been governed by Muslims, but they tolerated Christian pilgrims because they helped the economy. Then, in the 1070s, Turks (who were also Muslim) conquered these holy lands and mistreated Christians before realizing how useful their goodwill (and money) could be. The Turks also threatened the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Alexius asked the pope for assistance, and Urban II, seeing a way to harness the violent energy of Christian knights, made a speech calling for them to take back Jerusalem. Thousands responded, resulting in the First Crusade. When the Crusades Began and Ended Urban II made his speech calling for Crusade at the Council of Clermont in November, 1095. This is seen as the start of the Crusades. However, the reconquista of Spain, an important precursor to crusading activity, had been going on for centuries. Traditionally, the fall of Acre in 1291 marks the end of the Crusades, but some historians extend them to 1798, when Napoleon expelled the Knights Hospitaller from Malta. Crusader Motivations There were as many different reasons for crusading as there were crusaders, but the single most common reason was piety. To crusade was to go on pilgrimage, a holy journey of personal salvation. Whether that also meant giving up virtually everything and willingly facing death for God, bending to peer or family pressure, indulging bloodlust without guilt, or seeking adventure or gold or personal glory depended entirely on who was doing the crusading. Who Went on Crusade People from all walks of life, from peasants and laborers to kings and queens, answered the call. Women were encouraged to give money and stay out of the way, but some went on crusade anyway. When nobles crusaded, they often brought huge retinues, whose members may not necessarily have wanted to go along. At one time, scholars theorized that younger sons more frequently went crusading in search of estates of their own; however, crusading was an expensive business, and recent research indicates it was lords and elder sons who were more likely to crusade. The Number of Crusades Historians have numbered eight expeditions to the Holy Land, though some lump the 7th and 8th together for a total of seven crusades. However, there was a steady stream of armies from Europe to the Holy Land, so it is nearly impossible to distinguish separate campaigns. In addition, some crusades have been named, including the Albigensian Crusade, the Baltic (or Northern) Crusades, the Peoples Crusade, and the Reconquista. Crusader Territory Upon the success of the First Crusade, the Europeans set up a king of Jerusalem and established what is known as the Crusader States. Also called outremer (French for across the sea), the Kingdom of Jerusalem controlled Antioch and Edessa, and it was divided into two territories since these places were so far-flung. When ambitious Venetian merchants convinced warriors of the Fourth Crusade to capture Constantinople in 1204, the resulting government was referred to as the Latin Empire, to distinguish it from the Greek, or Byzantine, empire they had claimed. Crusading Orders Two important military orders were established in the early 12th century: the Knights Hospitaller and the Knights Templar. Both were monastic orders whose members took vows of chastity and poverty, yet they were also militarily trained. Their primary purpose was to protect and aid pilgrims to the Holy Land. Both orders did very well financially, particularly the Templars, who were notoriously arrested and disbanded by Philip IV of France in 1307. The Hospitallers outlasted the Crusades and continue, in a much-altered form, to this day. Other orders were established later, including the Teutonic Knights. Impact of the Crusades Some historians particularly Crusades scholars consider the Crusades the single most important series of events in the Middle Ages. The significant changes in the structure of European society that took place in the 12th and 13th centuries were long considered the direct result of Europes participation in the Crusades. This view no longer holds as strongly as it once did. Historians have recognized many other contributing factors in this complex time. Yet there is no doubt the Crusades contributed greatly to changes in Europe. The effort of raising armies and providing supplies for Crusaders stimulated the economy; trade benefited, as well, especially once the Crusader States were established. Interaction between the East and West affected European culture in areas of art and architecture, literature, mathematics, science and education. And Urbans vision of directing the energies of warring knights outward succeeded in reducing war within Europe. Having a common foe and common objective, even for those who didnt participate in the Crusade, fostered a view of Christendom as a united entity.   This has been a very basic introduction to the Crusades. For a better understanding of this extremely complex and greatly-misunderstood topic, please explore our Crusades Resources or read one of the Crusades Books recommended by your Guide.

Benefits, impediments and critical success factors in B2C Annotated Bibliography

Benefits, impediments and critical success factors in B2C - Annotated Bibliography Example instead it provides insight that may be important for conducting future studies and development of theories while paying emphasis to obstacles and success faced by thousands of companies that have adopted and are adopting e-business techniques. In this study, the case study approach was used in which eight case studies were studied and analyzed while focusing on the benefits that a company expects to gain from e-business system and the benefits that the company actually gains and secondly the focus was on what are the issues experienced by those who implement e-business solutions and thirdly, the focus was on locating the critical reason that leads to the success of businesses that adopt e-business solutions (Dubelaar, 2005, p.1254). A total of eight companies were studied by the researchers, six of these companies had online existence and two of these companies were those who operated mainly through physical outlet, but they even had limited online existence. The study concluded that the major obstacles for companies in adopting an e-business solution were issues in operations, technology, leadership and lack of effective design for their business. The reasons that led to the successful application of e-business solutions were: application of doing business online and offline combined, delivering high value, customer retention and satisfaction, keep a bird’s eye on the activities of the competitors and lastly trust building. The researchers believe that if an e-business solution is to work in the factor of the company, the adoption of the solution should be relevant to the business, value adding to customers and should provide ease of operation for the organization. Since various businesses are adopting various e-business solutions such as selling over the internet and advertising, this journal article helps students learn what they have to do as managers to ensure that their business experience success as they adopt one of the e-business strategies and how

Investigative Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Investigative Report - Essay Example Supermarket employees followed closely at 43%, retail employees at 35%, hospital employees at 33%, and manufacturing employees at 28% (Pedneault 16). As the world continues to experience social changes, it is likely that companies will experience more employee theft incidences as jobs increasingly become temporary and employees continue to change jobs or maintain multiple careers. As a manufacturing company, New York Rubber Company has experienced several cases of employee theft. In the first half of 2013 alone, at least 15 cases of employee theft have been recorded by the security department. The losses that the organization has incurred as a result of employee theft within the period totals at least $140,000. Going by the statistics, it is beyond doubt that employee theft is an issue that should be taken seriously. Employee thefts impact negatively on consumers and the operations of New York Rubber Company at large. In this respect, we need to understand what employee theft entails so as to be able to formulate better control and prevention measures. Employee theft is not only of interest to us as an activity that must be prevented or regulated, but because it also shows the state of health of the relationship between employees and employers. This report investigates employee theft in the workplace and its consequences. Finally, the report will investigate the causes and use evidence to suggest possible solutions to employee theft in an organization. Employee theft remains one of the major concerns for many companies today. Research indicates that employee theft is commonplace in many companies. Employee theft is an unethical act that employees should not engage in when working for any company or organization. According to the ethical code of conduct, employees are required to refrain from stealing from a company as noted by Barefoot (5).

Snake, By DH Lawrence Essay -- essays research papers

Snake When the snake first came to the water-trough, the narrator was excited and glad "he had come like a guest in quiet, to drink at my water trough." He "felt so honoured" at this visit whilst at the same time, the voices of his "accursed human education" advised him to kill it, for it was a gold snake and therefore venomous. Those voices said to him, "If you were not afraid you would kill him." The narrator "picked up a clumsy log And threw it" at the snake when the snake was leaving. Like for a moment, the majestic spell of awe was broken and the voices overpowered him so his real cowardice shone through. He had asked himself whilst feeling this awe, if it were "cowardice, that I dared not kill him?" but his real cowardice came when the snake's "back was turned." I also think that when he threw the log at the snake, it was almost a cry out that he was not to go. He said that it was his voices, but it seems to me that he used that as an excuse. That he was almost trying to punish the snake for leaving him. The narrator says he felt "A sort of horror, a sort of protest against his withdrawing into that horrid black hole" then he threw the log. The use of words like silently, softly, in the beginning when he is first describing the snake and the snake's motions, serve to get ...

Preparation Sheets Essay

1.Notwithstanding challenging business conditions in China, do you think Australian business needs to exit Europe and America and focus on Asia? Justify your answer. As seen in the previous few years the Asian market has boom in the world economy. China emerges centre stage and it’s the economy is closely intertwined with the world at large. It is the world’s largest consumer marketplace. The averaged over 10% economic growth while the global financial crisis is going by preceding years; China gains the superpower economy status in the world. While the subsequent economic downfall and problems in the European and the American zone; The Asian and Pacific Rim economies are still continue to grow and soon expected to be larger than those of the European Union. The growing prominence of the firms like Honda, Toyota and Sony of Japan and the Samsung and Hyundai of South Korea are few of the companies which boost the Asian market in the world. Hence in spite of challenging market conditions in china, I think Australians business needs to enter the Chinese market rather than focusing on EU and America. 2.How would you set about building relationships with Chinese counterparts in order to establish a business operation there? The two keys to success are the relationship building, networking and dealing with the ethical, trustworthy people. By setting up business operations in many well placed regions so as to take advantage of inter-regional trade across the countries and with Australia. The other aspect is by joint venture or co- ownership in the business helps to understand the business culture, market strategies, and the mentality of the local investors and the consumer needs. 3.Would it be better to invest in other Asian countries like India (with just as big a population)? It’s anytime better to invest in the nations with larger consumer market (like India). In past few years Indian market is growing fast and making its place in the world’s economy. India imports on a large scale and the Indian market is wide open for the foreign companies; in last few years with numbers of foreign brands coming in like In cars Mercedes to Ferrari, in IT IBM to Microsoft, in electronic Samsung to Apple and with the food chains like KFC to McDonalds. It is the biggest market for the foreign investors currently. So it’s the perfect time for the foreign investors to enter the Indian market. As unlike china, the India global business language is English which makes lot of difference to foreign investors to strategies and communicate straightforwardly with the local investors whereas the business policies are also familiar with the foreign markets. 4.What are the best investment strategies for Australian companies in China given the above case? According to the case study, the best investment strategies included are setting up the business in well placed regions so as to take advantage of inter-regional trade across the country. Developing projects in the remote areas; and setting up business in joint venture or with co- ownership is always successful to establish itself in the new territory.

The Between Liberty And The State - 2141 Words

Within the study of legal philosophy, few scholars have been able to understand the dangers arising from the complex relationship between ‘liberty’ and the ‘state’ to the same extent as Lord Acton. Though mainly unpublished prior to his death, Acton’s writings provoke thought surrounding power struggles and conflicting interests in societies. It has become clearer over time that inequality, whether institutionalised or not, ultimately provides the foundation of modern societies. In order to counteract this and facilitate stability amongst nations, particularly in the prevention of anarchy, many support the view that there is an inherent need to restrict the complete exercise of free will, be it powers possessed by a public authority, or at an individual level. The principle of self-determination in the context of the ‘state sovereignty’, that being the right of a nation to conduct itself in the absence of external influence, has assisted in alleviating some of the burdens placed upon the human race. The state routinely exercises sovereignty over its inhabitants and distinct territory to establish control, and in an ideal world should render a society free from oppression from both by the state, and amongst individuals. Though the struggle to obtain ‘liberty’ had underpinned the existence of modern nations, disagreement as to its nature and scope has created a variety of distinct perspectives regarding the limits which ought to be placed on our personal freedoms. To whollyShow MoreRelatedLiberty and Political Liberalism893 Words   |  4 PagesLiberty and Political Liberalism William D. 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