History of Music in China Essay Sample free essay sample

Despite what linguistic communication you speak. or what state you are from there is one linguistic communication that every individual individual can grok. This linguistic communication is known as music. Music has developed into multiple different signifiers and tells a broad scope of differing narratives. The development of music itself is a narrative that is interwoven with the history of a part. Culture and society can be explained through the analysis and development of their music. good thesis music and myth seem to be the cosmopolitan invariables Music has played a more outstanding function in the development of certain societies. In Chinese society there has ever been an accent on the importance of music. Evidence indicates that a well-developed musical civilization existed in China every bit early as the Zhou Dynasty ( 1075-221 B. C. ) . It seems that â€Å"every feudal province. dynasty and republic throughout Chinese history had established an official musical organisation or agency of music† ( Liang 87 ) . There are legion instruments that are outstanding in classical Chinese music. Many of which can be dated back to the earliest dynasties of China. Many of these instruments have evolved over clip and still be in a modern signifier. In a classical Chinese Orchestra there are four subdivisions. These subdivisions are: the bowed strings. the plucked strings. the air currents and the percussion. Each dynasty contributed different signifiers of instruments to the turning aggregation of instruments in usage. During the Sui dynasty there was a differentiation made over which instruments are better for out-of-door public presentation and instruments better for indoor public presentations. Excellent and utile description During the Qin ( 221 B. C- 207 B. C ) and Han ( 206 B. C- 220 A. D. ) dynasties a battalion of instruments were created and introduced to the royal tribunal. Zithers. pandean pipes. vas flutes and bells were all new instruments introduced during this period of clip. Zithers are rectangular. plucked instruments that create a sound similar to a fiddle. Panpipes and vas flutes are both members of the air currents household and bells are a percussion instrument that are stuck with metal mallets to bring forth a note. During this clip period foreign instruments were besides introduced to China. The most of import of these instruments were the end-blown di flute. the double-reed hautboy and the plucked Pipa luting. This period provided a overplus of instruments that could be mastered and further developed to make new instruments. Referen Ce From the terminal of the Han Dynasty to 589 A. D â€Å"China was no longer a incorporate imperium and in its topographic point reigned a figure of postulating lands and provinces. the bulk of which barely ruled for more than 50 old ages before being overthrown by another faction† ( History of China ) . China was re-united under the Sui dynasty in 581. The Sui had a short lived regulation and were followed by the Tang dynasty. During the Tang dynasty China experienced a long period of economic. political and cultural growing. Foreign instrumentalists were enticed by the superb capital centre and turning edification of Tang China. Under the Tang the first music academy. Liyuan. â€Å"was instituted for public presentation and preparation of professional immature musicians† ( Liang 90 ) . During the Tang dynasty. Yanyue began to dominate the tradition feast music that had been in usage since the Zhou dynasty. And do you see a cultural significance here? Yanyue is elegant and refined music ; it was the music of the nobility. Yanyue was â€Å"a tribunal musical public presentation for the Lords and aristocracies during a province map and during yearss of festivity† ( Development of Chines Music ) . I tried rectifying the spelling on Chinese in anterior ( ) but to no help – Yanyue was merely one of 10 musical divisions that had developed during the Tang dynasty. These divisions where name the shibu Jemaah Islamiyah. The division was made created by the different regional and international manners that were portion of Chinese music. However. into the early eighth century. music would no longer be divided by these features. Rather music was divided into two cardinal manner ; sitting music and standing music. mentions? The standing music was â€Å"performed largely out-of-doorss. had a criterion of repertory. and included from 60 to one-hundred and eight instrumentalists and dancers† ( Zhuang ) . Instruments that were used for standing music were frequently larger than those used for sitting music. Instruments such as the harp. gong and double-reed hautboy were normally heard during standing music public presentations. Siting music was more of an ensemble created for quality instead than volume. Siting music required much less instrumentalists and frequently had from three to twelve instrumentalists and terpsichoreans. Newly composed music of the clip period had overshadowed imported musical genres from Samarkand. Bukhara. South Asia. India and Korea. Great but mentions? A growing in industry and commercialism forced alterations in art. Good With growing in industry came a â€Å"growing middle class population and a society that was more mobile† ( Xia ) . From the late 900’s to the ulterior old ages of the Yuan. China was quickly and drastically altering. Music was ever created to exemplify a narrative and emit emotions. Now. wordss and poesy were being put to music. There were four major vocal genres ; the poetic curie vocal. the art vocal. narrative music and zaju assortment musical play. The curie was normally two stanzas in length and was a new type of poesy created and perfected during the Song dynasty. The curie was in irregular metre. unlike the popular shi poesy of the Tang dynasty which had a unvarying sum of words per line. A curie was constructed by suiting words into an bing melody. The â€Å"filling in† pattern of a tradition curie was replaced by hundred and one poets who chose to utilize freshly composed tunes for their poesy. The content of a curie was similar to what you would happen in a modern twenty-four hours lay. or love vocal. The art vocal had two cardinal types. The first type of art vocal. the xiaoling. was similar to a curie in construction and content. Xiaoling was popular during the 12th and 13th centuries. Xiaoling. similar to ci and shi. is placed to preexistent melodies. The cardinal difference between xiaoling art vocals and curie is that xiaoling follows the signifier of qu poesy. Qu poesy â€Å"is popular poesy written by educated poets. The qu verse form usual has rhymed line terminations and is mostly based on Taoistic themes† ( Liang ) . Xiaoling was normally performed by a individual solo creative person and accompanied by a wooden applauder. The 2nd type of art boy is the changzhuan. or membranophone vocal. This signifier was developed during the Northern Song period. Changshuan was distinguished by its formal construction and instrumental concomitant. The formal constructions followed a form of â€Å"introduction. A. Angstrom. B. B. C. C and coda ; and â€Å"introduction. A. B. A . B† ( Liang ) . The musical instruments used in changzhuan included a single-framed stick membranophone. wooden applauder and cross flute. References here and above? These instruments were besides found in the Narrative Song genre. During the Song dynasty the zhugongdiao was the most important signifier of narrative vocals. This signifier of narrative vocal was introduced to the Northern Song capital of Kaifeng sometime between 1068 and 1094. â€Å"A drawn-out historical or romantic narrative was told through the alternation of narrative and vocal. which was accompanied by instrumentality similar to that of the membranophone song† ( Zhuang ) . The concluding genre during this clip was the Zaju. or assortment musical play. â€Å"From the 11th to 13th centuries. we begin to see a climaxing merger between common people vocals. play. narrative music. juggle and tumblings to organize a phase dramatic art† ( Liang ) . The zaju was a combination of all these artistic elements. This combination of humanistic disciplines opened the doors for the development of other staged musical productions. In big metropoliss. such as the Northern Song ca pital Bainliang. there were every bit many as 50 theaters that put on day-to-day public presentations. The book of a zaju. along with all musical signifiers of the clip. allowed an chance for societal commentary and characterized the philosophical and societal attitudes of China during the 13th and 14th centuries. â€Å"14th century China under Mongol regulation offered limited and suffering chances for the educated Han Chinese as a whole† ( History of China ) . This period of clip turned many intellectuals toward artistic and dramatic enterprises. Writing and composing music became a manner to get away the political and societal turbulence of China. The Ming and Qing dynasties were a period of extremely productive musical development. Peking opera arose in the eighteenth century and was to the full developed in the mid-19th century. Peking opera was highly popular during the Qing dynasty and is regarded as one of the most valuable facets of Chinese civilization. Performers of Peking opera wear elaborate and colourful costumes so that they are the lone focal point on phase. The music of Peking opera is divided into two classs ; Xipi and Erhuang. In Xipi. the jinghu is tuned to keys of A and D. In Erhuang the jinghu is tuned to the keys of C and G. The tunes are fixed-tune and include many percussion forms. The lead melodious instrument in a Peking opera ensemble in the jinghu. The jinghu is â€Å"small. high-pitched. two-string spikes fiddle† ( Development of Chines Music ) . Percussion instruments in the ensemble include the daluo. xiaoluo and naobo. Whoever plays the Guam and prohibition. a little high pitched membranophone and applauder. is the music director of the full ensemble. By the nineteenth century â€Å"the creativeness that had emerged during the eighteenth century seemed to be replaced by cliche . imitation and conservatism† ( Zeng ) . Musical developments of this period occurred in urban centres. such as Peking. and were normally folk driven. Music was taken from farms and small towns. but polished for metropolis ingestion. In Peking the of import signifiers of urban music were tanci. lianhualao and bajiaogu. These were typically performed out-of-doorss for the enjoyment of the populace. Indoor public presentations were catered to an audience comprised of affluent merchandisers and functionaries. Kun and Peking operas became peculiar in these locales during the late nineteenth century and twentieth century. This is interesting – what do you believe that said about the civilization? The Qing in general? Fit it into the broader context Up until the Communist coup detat of China. these genres and public presentations remained widely popular. During the Cultural Revolution musical composing and public presentation were greatly restricted. A genre of music known as guoyue was the most government-promoted genre. Guoyue is performed in public in order to promote national pride. Guoyue was â€Å"a signifier of soft. harmonic. generic. pan-Chinese music† ( Zeng ) . At the tallness of the Mao epoch. guoyue accelerated at the political degree into radical music. It was non until after the Cultural Revolution that musical establishment were reinstated and musical composing and public presentation were revived. Since China opened up to the Western World. Chinese music has been to a great extent influence by western music. â€Å"This close interaction between the western universe and China has ushered in a new epoch of development and prosperity for Chinese music† ( Development of Chines Music ) . A rise of new music and the growing of dad music have been two of the most of import facets in development in Chinese music. Pop music is besides a genre popular in the civilization of the United States. Other popular genres in the United provinces include hip-hop. blame. stone and hood stone. Due to the recent influence of the Western universe on China. all of these genres have become to bud in modern Chinese music. Cantonese blame is diverse in metropoliss such as Guangzhou. Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The sire of Chinese stone is Cui Jian. Cui Jian is responsible for bring forthing the stone vocal â€Å"Nothing to My Name† in the 1980s. Punk stone became popular in China around 1994-1996 with the first Chinese hood creative person He Yong. A surprisingly popular genre that is developing in China. peculiarly in the mainland is Black metal. Did you listen to any? As a instrumentalist. I can appreciate the more classical side of Chinese music history. There are many instruments and noteworthy composings credited to Chinese composers and early instrumentalists. Music in China has developed from an ensemble of basic instruments to a complex production. as seen in Peking operas. From this music signifier to the modern genres of China today is a long and drastic trail. My research has led me to make an aspiration of one twenty-four hours go toing a Chinese music festival. such as â€Å"Spring in Shanghai† or â€Å"The Beijing Chorus Festival† . Plants Cited â€Å"Development of Chines Music. † March 2011. China Culture. 21 March 2012 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //arts. culture-china. com/en/93Arts9834. hypertext markup language gt ; . History of China. n. d. 21 March 2012 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www-chaos. umd. edu/history/time_line. hypertext markup language gt ; . Liang. M. Y. Music of the Billion: An debut to Chines Musical Culture. 1996. Qiu. Huai Sheng. â€Å"Chinese Traditional Music in Greater Vancouver. † Canadian Folk Music 2005: 1-5. Xia. D. â€Å"A New Theory of Modern History of China. † Shanghai: The Press of East China Normal University ( 2010 ) . Zeng. S. â€Å"China’s Mass Music. † Beijing: the Press of Communication University ofChina ( 2003 ) . Zhuang. Y. One hundred history of China’s Music. 2010. 21 March 2012 lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. sh-symphony. om/aboutus. asp gt ; . This is an outstanding overview – I would hold liked a few more footers but that is minor. What is more of import is the demand to bind this to the civilization as a whole. So for illustration I was trusting you would see the trite signifiers that emerge in the Qing as tied to their refusal to iniate alteration in any cultural signifier and therefore. being a extremely insistent society without originality. a society that was doomed. The music as you lead me to believe without ver traveling at that place. is another illustration A-

Pressure free essay sample

For Roberts, Sat and other Stanford faculty and lecturers who spoke last week during an Everyday Ethics forum sponsored by the Program in Ethics in Society, the relationship between stress and cheating in an academic environment is not simply a problem Of student integrity. (Anonymous surveys of students self-reporting their own violations of the honor code show that the level of academic integrity has improved since 1997, when the honor code was revised to give students more responsibility in maintaining standards, said Roberts, the faculty co-chair for the Board of Judicial Affairs, in an interview after the panel.Instead, panelists linked cheating to the social pressure put on students to prize high grades over education and other values, including creativity and imagination. Pressure by parents and schools to achieve top scores has created stress levels among students?beginning as early as elementary school?that are so high that some educators regard it as a health epidemic, said Denies Clark Pope, a lecturer in the School of Education and the author of Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed Out, Materialistic and Misdirected Students. We will write a custom essay sample on Pressure or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The number one cause of visits to Evaded Health Center used to be relationships, but now is stress and anxiety, she said. When pope shadowed five students at an area high school for a year in order to research the sources of high-achieving students intellectual engagement, she found instead that students spent most of their time finagling the system in pursuit of grades. In every class where a test was administered, there was cheating, Pope said.Students feel as if their life success depends on getting the top SAT scores and the highest grades, she added. The students know [cheating] is wrong; they tell me they wish they didnt do it, he said. But they feel like the most important thing they do is get the grades, by hook or by crook. Although some students have told Roberts that cheating was part of the culture in their high schools, the motive for cheating is high in the intensely competitive computer science field, he said.Students are drawn to the discipline because of the potential for high income, and unlike in other more subjective fields, the computer is completely unforgiving as an arbiter of correctness. Roberts has initiated measures designed to ease the pressure, including using more subtle grading system than standard letter grades and issuing a number of discretionary late days at the beginning of a quarter so that students dont have to ask for extensions.His department also has armies of helpers available to students, he said. l encourage people to work together and to look for help?where its legitimate. Roberts said he makes a distinction between inadvertent plagiarism and deliberate academic theft. Im not concerned with someone who doesnt understand that they are doing something wrong. Anything that can be considered a teachable moment?in the sense that we are trying to explain hat academic integrity is?ought to be a teachable moment. When students write, mistakes are made, said Hilton Bemiring, an author and lecturer in the Department of English. In his view, students who forget a footnote shouldnt be brought up on charges.

The Debate Over Reparations for Slavery

The Debate Over Reparations for Slavery The effects of both the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism continue to reverberate today, leading activists, human rights groups and the descendants of victims to demand reparations. The debate over reparations for slavery in the United States dates back  generations, in fact, all the way to the Civil War. Then, Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman recommended that all freedmen should receive 40 acres and a mule. The idea came after talks with African American themselves. However, President Andrew Johnson and the U.S. Congress did not approve of the plan. In the 21st century, not much has changed. The U.S. government and other nations where slavery thrived have yet to compensate the descendants of people in bondage. Still, the call for governments to take action has recently grown louder. In September 2016, a United Nations panel wrote a report that concluded African Americans deserve reparations for enduring centuries of â€Å"racial terrorism.† Made up of human rights lawyers and other experts, the U.N.’s Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent shared its findings with the U.N. Human Rights Council. â€Å"In particular, the legacy of colonial history, enslavement, racial subordination and segregation, racial terrorism and racial inequality in the United States remains a serious challenge, as there has been no real commitment to reparations and to truth and reconciliation for people of African descent,† the report determined. â€Å"Contemporary police killings and the trauma that they create are reminiscent of the past racial terror of lynching.† The panel does not have authority to legislate its findings, but its conclusions certainly give weight to the reparations movement. With this review, get a better idea of what reparations are, why supporters believe they’re needed  and why opponents object to them. Learn how private institutions, such as colleges and corporations, are owning up to their role in slavery, even as the federal government remains silent on the issue. What Are Reparations? When some people hear the term â€Å"reparations,† they think it means that descendants of slaves will receive a large cash payout. While reparations can be distributed in the form of cash, that’s hardly the only form in which they come. The U.N. panel said that reparations can amount to â€Å"a formal apology, health initiatives, educational opportunities ... psychological rehabilitation, technology transfer and financial support, and debt cancellation.† The human rights organization Redress defines reparations as a centuries-long principle of international law â€Å"referring to the obligation of a wrongdoing party to redress the damage caused to the injured party.† In other words, the guilty party must work to eradicate the effects of the wrongdoing as much as possible. In doing so, the party aims to restore a situation to how it likely would have played out had no wrongdoing occurred. Germany has provided restitution to Holocaust victims, but there’s simply no way to compensate for the lives of the six million Jews slaughtering during the genocide. Redress points out that in 2005, the U.N. General Assembly adopted the Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Violations of International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. These principles serve as a guideline for how reparations can be distributed.  One can also look to history for  examples. Although the descendants of enslaved African Americans have not received reparations, Japanese Americans forced into internment camps by the federal government during World War II have. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 allowed the U.S. government to pay former internees $20,000. More than 82,000 survivors received restitution. President Ronald Reagan formally apologized to the internees as well. People who oppose reparations for slave descendants argue that African Americans and Japanese American internees differ. While actual survivors of internment were still alive to receive restitution, enslaved blacks are not.    Proponents and Opponents of Reparations The African American community includes both opponents and proponents of reparations. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a journalist for The Atlantic, has surfaced as one of the leading advocates for redress for African Americans. In 2014, he wrote a compelling argument in favor of reparations that catapulted him to international stardom. Walter Williams, an economic professor at George Mason University, is one of the leading foes of reparations. Both men are black. Williams argues that reparations are unnecessary because he contends that African Americans actually benefitted from slavery. Almost every black American’s income is higher as a result of being born in the United States than any country in Africa, Williams told ABC News. Most black Americans are middle-class. But this statement overlooks the fact that African Americans have higher poverty, unemployment and health disparities than other groups. It also overlooks that blacks have far less wealth on average than whites, a disparity that has continued over generations. Moreover, Williams ignores the psychological scars left by slavery and racism, which researchers have linked to higher rates of hypertension and infant mortality for blacks than whites. Reparations advocates argue that redress goes beyond a check. The government can compensate African Americans by investing in their schooling, training and economic empowerment. But Williams asserts that the federal government has already invested trillions to fight poverty. â€Å"We’ve had all kinds of programs trying to address the problems of discrimination,† he said. â€Å"America has gone a long way.† Coates, in contrast, argues that reparations are needed because after the Civil War, African Americans endured a second slavery due to debt peonage, predatory housing practices, Jim Crow and state-sanctioned violence. He also cited an Associated Press investigation about how racism resulted in blacks systematically losing their land since the antebellum period. â€Å"The series documented some 406 victims and 24,000 acres of land valued at tens of millions of dollars,† Coates explained of the investigation. â€Å"The land was taken through means ranging from legal chicanery to terrorism. ‘Some of the land taken from black families has become a country club in Virginia,’ the AP reported, as well as ‘oil fields in Mississippi’ and ‘a baseball spring training facility in Florida.’† Coates also pointed out how those who owned the land black tenant farmers worked often proved unscrupulous and refused to give sharecroppers the money owed to them. To boot, the federal government deprived African Americans of a chance to build up wealth by homeownership due to racist practices.    â€Å"Redlining went beyond FHA-backed loans and spread to the entire mortgage industry, which was already rife with racism, excluding black people from most legitimate means of obtaining a mortgage,† Coates wrote. Most compellingly, Coates notes how enslaved blacks and slavers themselves thought reparations necessary. He describes how in 1783, freedwoman Belinda Royall successfully petitioned the commonwealth of Massachusetts for reparations. In addition, Quakers demanded new converts to make reparations to slaves, and Thomas Jefferson protà ©gà © Edward Coles granted his slaves a plot of land after inheriting them. Similarly, Jefferson’s cousin John Randolph wrote in his will that his older slaves be freed and given 10 acres of land. The reparations blacks received then paled in comparison to how much the South, and by extension  the United States, profited from human trafficking. According to Coates, a third of all white income in the seven cotton states stemmed from slavery. Cotton became one of the country’s top exports, and by 1860, more millionaires per capita called the Mississippi Valley home than any other region in the nation. While Coates is the American most associated with the reparations movement today, he certainly did not start it. In the 20th century, a hodgepodge of Americans backed reparations. They include veteran Walter R. Vaughan, black-nationalist Audley Moore, civil rights activist James Forman and black activist Callie House. In 1987, the group National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America formed. And since 1989, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) has repeatedly introduced a bill, HR 40, known as the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act. But the bill has never cleared the House, just as Harvard Law School Professor Charles J. Ogletree Jr. has not won any of the reparations claims he’s pursued in court. Aetna, Lehman Brothers, J.P. Morgan Chase, FleetBoston Financial and Brown Williamson Tobacco are among the companies that have been sued for their ties to slavery. But Walter Williams said that corporations aren’t culpable. â€Å"Do corporations have social responsibility?† Williams asked in an opinion column. â€Å"Yes. Nobel laureate professor Milton Friedman put it best in 1970 when he said that in a free society ‘there is one and only one social responsibility of business- to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.’† Some corporations have a different take. How Institutions Have Addressed Slavery Ties Companies such as Aetna have acknowledged profiting from slavery. In 2000, the company apologized for reimbursing slaveholders for the financial losses incurred when their chattel, enslaved men and women, died. Aetna has long acknowledged that for several years shortly after its founding in 1853 that the company may have insured the lives of slaves, the company said in a statement. We express our deep regret over any participation at all in this deplorable practice. Aetna admitted to writing up to a dozen policies insuring the lives of the enslaved. But it said it would not offer reparations. The insurance industry and slavery were extensively entangled. After Aetna apologized for its role in the institution, the California State Legislature required all insurance companies doing business there to search their archives for policies that reimbursed slaveholders. Not long afterward, eight companies provided such records, with three submitting records of having insured slave ships. In 1781, slavers on the ship Zong  threw more than  130 sick slaves overboard to collect insurance money. But Tom Baker, then director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut School of Law, told the New York Times in 2002 that he disagreed that insurance companies should be sued for their slavery ties. â€Å"I just have a sense that it’s unfair that a few companies have been singled out when the slave economy was something that the whole society bears some responsibility for,† he said. â€Å"My concern is more that to the extent that there is some moral responsibility, it should not be targeted to just a few people.† Some institutions with ties to the slave trade have tried to make amends for their past. A number of the nation’s oldest universities, among them Princeton, Brown, Harvard, Columbia, Yale, Dartmouth, the University of Pennsylvania and the College of William and Mary, had ties to slavery. Brown University’s Committee on Slavery and Justice found that the school’s founders, the Brown family, owned slaves and participated in the slave trade. Additionally, 30 members of Brown’s governing board owned slaves or helmed slave ships. In response to this finding, Brown said it would expand its Africana studies program, continue to provide technical assistance to historically black colleges and universities, support local public schools and more. Georgetown University is also taking action. The university owned slaves and announced plans to offer reparations. In 1838, the university sold 272 enslaved blacks to eliminate its debt. As a result, it is offering admissions preference to the descendants of those it sold. â€Å"Having this opportunity would be amazing but I also feel as if it’s owed to me and to my family and to others that want that opportunity,† Elizabeth Thomas, a slave descendant, told NPR in 2017. Her mother, Sandra Thomas, said she didn’t think Georgetown’s reparations plan goes far enough, as not every descendant is in a position to attend university. â€Å"What about me?† she asked. â€Å"I dont want to go to school. Im an old lady. What if you don’t have the capacity? You have one student lucky enough to have decent family support system, got the foundation. He can go to Georgetown and he can thrive. He has that ambition. You’ve got this kid over here. He’ll never go to Georgetown or any other school on this planet beyond a certain level. Now, what you going to do for him? Did his ancestors suffer any less? No.† Thomas raises a point on which  both supporters and foes of reparations can agree. No amount of restitution can make up for the injustices suffered.

ESL Phrases for Performing Well in Business Meetings

ESL Phrases for Performing Well in Business Meetings One of the most common requirements of business English is holding meetings in English. The following sections provide useful language and phrases for conducting meetings and making contributions to a meeting. Conducting a Meeting These phrases are useful if you need to run  a meeting. Opening Good morning/afternoon, everyone.If we are all here, lets get started / start the meeting / start. Welcoming and Introducing Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)Were pleased to welcome (name of participant)Id like to extend a warm welcome to (name of participant)Its a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)Id like to introduce (name of participant) Stating the Principal Objectives Were here today to ...Id like to make sure that we ...Our main aim today is to ...Ive called this meeting in order to ... Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent Im afraid.., (name of participant) cant be with us today. She is in...Unfortunately, (name of participant) ... will not be with us to day because he ...I have received apologies for absence from (name of participant), who is in (place). Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting To begin with Id like to quickly go through the minutes of our last meeting.First, lets go over the report from the last meeting, which was held on (date)Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on (date) Dealing with Recent Developments Jack, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?Jack, how is the XYZ project coming along?John, have you completed the report on the new accounting package?Has everyone received a copy of the Tate Foundation report on current marketing trends? Moving Forward So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, lets move on to todays agenda.Shall we get down to business?Is there Any Other Business?If there are no further developments, Id like to move on to todays topic. Introducing the Agenda Have you all received a copy of the agenda?There are X items on the agenda. First, ... second, ... third, ... lastly, ...Shall we take the points in this order?If you dont mind, Id like to go in order today.skip item 1 and move on to item 3I suggest we take item 2 last. Allocating Roles (secretary, participants) (name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.(name of participant), would you mind  taking the minutes?(name of participant) has kindly agreed to give us a report on ...(name of participant) will lead point 1, (name of participant) point 2, and (name of participant) point 3.(name of participant), would you mind taking notes today? Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) We will first hear a short report on each point first, followed by a discussion of ...I suggest we go round the table first.Lets make sure we finish by ...Id suggest we ...There will be five minutes for each item.Well have to keep each item to 15 minutes. Otherwise well never get through. Introducing the First Item on the Agenda So, lets start with ...Id suggest we start with...Why dont we start with...So, the first item on the agenda isPete, would you like to kick off?Shall we start with ...(name of participant), would you like to introduce this item? Closing an Item I think that takes care of the first item.Shall we leave that item?Why dont we move on to...If nobody has anything else to add, lets ... Next Item Lets move onto the next itemNow that weve discussed X, lets now ...The next item on todays agenda is...Now we come to the question of. Giving Control to the Next Participant Id like to hand over to (name of participant), who is going to lead the next point.Next, (name of participant) is going to take us through ...Now, Id like to introduce (name of participant) who is going to ... Summarizing Before we close todays meeting, let me just summarize the main points.Let me quickly go over todays main points.To sum up, ...,.OK, why dont we quickly summarize what weve done today.In brief, ...Shall I go over the main points? Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions) Were running short of time.Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.Please be brief.Im afraid weve run out of time.Im afraid thats outside the scope of this meeting.Lets get back on track, why dont we?Thats not really why were here today.Why dont we return to the main focus of todays meeting.Well have to leave that to another time.Were beginning to lose sight of the main point.Keep to the point, please.I think wed better leave that for another meeting.Are we ready to make a decision? Finishing Up Right, it looks as though weve covered the main items.If there are no other comments, Id like to wrap this meeting up.Lets bring this to a close for today.Is there Any Other Business? Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting Can we set the date for the next meeting, please?So, the next meeting will be on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ...Lets next meet on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ... What about the following Wednesday? How is that? Thanking Participants for Attending Id like to thank Marianne and Jeremy for coming over from London.Thank you all for attending.Thanks for your participation. Closing the Meeting The meeting is finished, well see each other next ...The meeting is closed.I declare the meeting closed. Meeting Participation Vocabulary The following phrases are used to participate in a meeting. These phrases are useful for expressing your ideas and giving input during  a meeting. Getting the Chairpersons Attention (Mister/Madam) chairman.May I have a word?If I may, I think...Excuse me for interrupting.May I come in here? Giving Opinions Im positive that...I (really) feel that...In my opinion...The way I see things...If you ask me,... I tend to think that... Asking for Opinions Are you positive that...Do you (really) think that...(name of participant) can we get your input?How do you feel about...? Commenting Thats interesting.I never thought about it that way before.Good point!I get your point.I see what you mean. Agreeing I totally agree with you.Exactly!Thats (exactly) the way I feel.I have to agree with (name of participant). Disagreeing Unfortunately, I see it differently.Up to a point I agree with you, but...(Im afraid) I cant agree Advising and Suggesting Lets...We should...Why dont you....How/What about...I suggest/recommend that... Clarifying Let me spell out...Have I made that clear?Do you see what Im getting at?Let me put this another way...Id just like to repeat that... Requesting Information Please, could you...Id like you to...Would you mind...I wonder if you could... Asking for Repetition Im afraid I didnt understand that. Could you repeat what you just said?I didnt catch that. Could you repeat that, please?I missed that. Could you say it again, please?Could you run that by me one more time? Asking for Clarification I dont quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?Im afraid I dont quite understand what your are getting at.Could you explain to me how that is going to work?I dont see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please? Asking for Verification You did say next week, didnt you? (did is stressed)Do you mean that...?Is it true that...? Asking for Spelling Could you spell that, please?Would you mind spelling that for me, please? Asking for Contributions We havent heard from you yet, (name of participant).What do you think about this proposal?Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?Has anyone else got anything to contribute?Are there any more comments? Correcting Information Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I said.Sorry, thats not quite right.Im afraid you dont understand what Im saying.Thats not quite what I had in mind.Thats not what I meant. Meeting Format Meetings generally follow a more or less similar structure and can be divided into the following parts: I - Introductions Opening the MeetingWelcoming and Introducing ParticipantsStating the Principal Objectives of a MeetingGiving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent II - Reviewing Past Business Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last MeetingDealing with Recent Developments III - Beginning the Meeting Introducing the AgendaAllocating Roles (secretary, participants)Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) IV - Discussing Items Introducing the First Item on the AgendaClosing an ItemNext ItemGiving Control to the Next Participant V - Finishing the Meeting SummarizingFinishing UpSuggesting and Agreeing  on Time, Date and Place for the Next MeetingThanking Participants for AttendingClosing the Meeting

Towards a Virtuous Surveillance Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Towards a Virtuous Surveillance Society - Essay Example The present government will, for example, be interested in the impact on social exclusion and on the modernizing government agenda. They may also question the potential offered for addressing the 'wicked issues' that transcend departmental boundaries. They will almost certainly be interested in costs and the potential for savings. They will be aware of the issues surrounding openness and security. They should have regard for the impact of the electronic services on democratic structures. In spite of potential benefits of information availability and easy access, it allows the state and military agencies to control society and introduce effective surveillance methods to monitor social processes and maintain social order Surveillance is achieved through different channels including business information and personal information. Companies are increasingly finding that, if they combine their information assets with those of other companies, the combined information resource is considerably more useful to all sides: two and two, in this instance, can make a lot more than four. Put together a social security or tax database with another database of people who owe debts and you have a means of tracking individual debtors over long periods of time and collecting the debt from them when they finally have the money to repay it (a process known as debt surveillance and already being offered by some companies) (Lister 2003). This is the virtual equivalent of the synergies that merging companies have traditionally sought, and its compelling economics mean that companies in the future are more probably going to be looking for ways to combine their information with others than looking to maintain the conventiona l barriers between industries (Green 1999). It is inconceivable that the government would launch electronic services in anything other than a partnership with the private sector. It is, therefore, necessary to take the perspective of the IT supply industry into account. This is an industry looking at a big prospective market. They will be making comparisons with other market sectors and, given the multinational nature of the players in the industry, with developments in other countries (Lievrouw and Livingstone 2005). For the industry, the issues will be associated with the speed of market growth, their likely market share, the level of initial pump-priming investment they will be expected to make, and with their ability to deliver the agenda set by government. For electronic government, as for most other services, it is possible to identify three main groups of player: the users or recipients of the service, the providers, and the wider society or community within which the service is offered. Each of these, however, may have important sub-groups that need to be taken into account. Before attempting to measure the impact of electronic government, it would, therefore, be necessary to identify the different players, to establish what they will use as benchmarks and points of comparison and to explore what, for them, are the important issues that need to be considered in any assessment of impact (Lister 2003). Surveillance is achieved through control of circulation of information and news available in the internet and in mass media. Sales of national, regional and local newspapers have been falling in the many countries for a number of years. They were falling before the Internet and the World

Newman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Newman - Essay Example According to Newman faith is about assenting to a doctrine as veritable, even when faced with lack of sensory evidence to back up its claims. Since God cannot lie, what is revealed will have to be true. At the centre of Divine faith is the total lack of doubt in the heart and mind of the believer. This is so because â€Å"God is true, because God has spoken, not because he sees its truth or can prove its truth.† (p.2) What Newman deems necessary is conviction in belief. It simply would not do to claim to believe and also think rationally at the same time. If one part of the scriptures were believed it, the entirety is to be believed in. In the example of the Apostles, the fact of one being true, made the others true too, as they all derived from the infallible authority of god. The world had â€Å"either to become Christian, or to let it alone; there was no room for private tastes and fancies, no room for private Judgment.† (p.3) Hence, Newman makes his stance clear on the dichotomies of faith and reason. The crucial difference between the time of the Apostles and now is that there is only recorded message presently. People back then would have found it more credible to hear the divine word from the Apostles firsthand. There is a key difference â€Å"between the act of submitting to a living oracle, and to his written words; in the former case there is no appeal from the speaker, in the latter the final decision remains with the reader.† (p.4) Hence in contemporary Christianity, which is centered on written scripture, a degree of application of rationality is warranted. Such being the case, Newman qualifies by stating that they have not in them the principle of faith. It is nothing to the purpose â€Å"to urge that at least they firmly believe Scripture to be the Word of God. In truth, it is much to be feared that their acceptance of Scripture itself is nothing better than a

Roman Influence on Byzantine Empire and Islamic Societies Essay Example for Free

Roman Influence on Byzantine Empire and Islamic Societies Essay The mother of the world has been killed,† stated a 5th century historian, bereft and appalled when the news of Rome’s fall had reached ear. Certainly his words hold truth, for Rome the dauntingly colossal Empire engulfing the Mediterranean and all territories around it; the source of artistic, intellectual, and cultural ascendancy; the influential factor of brilliance in so many of the coexisting societies of the western world was truly the predecessor and creator of all Western Civilization to come. However, what no one knew, was that the lasting impression this powerful and astonishing civilization would make upon the world, even if only through the works of fleeting memory or written text. As always, with loss comes a chance for gain an opportunity for rebirth and renewal that could previously have only been a dream. And so, with the collapse of one great empire, opportunities arose for the numbers of new kingdoms and societies to follow. The Byzantine Empire and Islamic societies were two especially prominent societies that gained primacy, arising from the fourth to sixth century. Although both Byzantine and Islamic societies created their own empires, with separate rulers and individuals, the Roman Empire heavily influenced their cultural aspects, as demonstrated in their religion, art, and law. The Byzantine Empire was a highly prosperous society centered around the city of Constantinople. This society, dating back to around 330 AD, consecutively arising after the fall of the Roman Empire, and managed to remain in power for more than 1000 years. It was the most powerful economic and military force in all of Europe at the height of it’s power. Constantinople, located at present day Istanbul, was the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, and played a key role in the hegemony of the empire. By cause of the city’s prime positioning with access to east-west and north-south trade routes, trade became an important institution and base of economy in the Byzantine Empire. Silk was originally bought from China for the grand empire, until silk-worms were illegally obtained by Byzantine monks, and factories were established in the Empireto create this rare product. Silk soon became an imperial monopoly, and through this way, the trade of luxury items became the Byzantine’s main source of income. The location of Constantinople also aided in military conquest and defence, for the empire’s naval headquarters were located along the shores, and had access to the Black Sea and Mediterranean. Because of the Empire’s location, all but overlapping the fallen Roman’s territory, the Byzantine Empire was greatly affected by these Roman’s past traditions and ways of life. The Roman Empire influenced the Byzantine Empire’s culture, mainly through the religion of Christianity. Christianity first appeared in the Roman Empire, with the birth, teachings, and supposed resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the beginning years of it’s arrival, Christianity was not tolerated and Christians were mainly, and most often brutally prosecuted. However, with Constantine’s Edict of Milan, Christianity was officially tolerated, and under Theodosius, it became the official religion of the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire inherited this relatively new religion, continuing to follow the beliefs and traditions of the church, as well as spreading the word of Jesus Christ and the message of god. Churches sprung up in the empire, such as the mighty Hagia Sophia. Located in Constantinople and built by Justinian, this church especially exemplified Roman influence through its divine architecture. â€Å"Above the arches is raised a circular building of a curved form through which the light of day first shines,† (document 2) boasts Procopius, a Byzantine scholar from Palestine. He became the principal historian of the 6th century, documenting the works and wars of Justinian I. Procopius describes the church’s magnificent domed ceiling, which, along with columns and a concrete skeleton, can hardly be castigated, nor denied of it’s uncanny resemblance to Rome’s Pantheon. Justinian was the Christian Emperor of the Byzantine Empire who is famous for his building projects, battle tactics, and his codification of Roman law. â€Å"We have attempted the most thorough amendment of the entire law, to collect and revise the whole body of Roman jurisprudence, and to assemble in one book the scattered treatises of so many authors,† Justinian writes, reflecting upon his work. The Justinian code was essentially a collection of scattered Roman documents on law, treaties, and other diverse legal matters. This codification was used as the basic system of law in the Byzantine Empire, and successfully governed an Empire of citizens for roughly 1000 years. In conclusion, if not for the influence and impact of lingering hints of Roman Christianity, architecture , and law, the Byzantine Empire would have evolved into a profoundly variant society than the one established so many years ago. Islamic Societies were very militaristic, religious, and politically based on the teaching of Muhammad. Although small when first founded in the sixth century, at it’s height of power, regions conquered and maintained by the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties included Egypt, Arabia, lands of the Persian Empire and Asia Minor, regions of North Africa snaking along the Mediterranean, and territories of present day Spain in the west. Comprised of brilliant generals and thousands of well-motivated men striving for eternal paradise in the after-life, the army was immensely dynamic, efficacious, and cardinal to the prodigious power of the Islamic Kingdom. Religion influenced much of the population’s way of life, dictating family practices, working hours, diet, public ceremonies, and many other aspects of everyday life. To maintain the promise of eternal paradise after death, a Muslim was expected to follow the ruler and faith with honor and loyalty, as well as the Five Pillars of Islam. Stated in the Qur’an, these pillars are thought of as the hindmost commitment to Islam, and obedience to the laws is key. One must accept monotheism and Muhammad as God’s holy messenger (Shahada), pray five times a day and attend communal prayer on friday (Salat), give alms to the poor and less fortunate (Zakat), fast during the holy month of Ramadan (Sawm), and make a pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) at least once in a life-time. The rulers of Islamic Society, entitled as caliphs, were expected to follow these pillars, as well as the practice of Jihad striving in the way of the Lord. However, although the Islamic culture and government had many newly created aspects, the motif of previous Roman society was still predominantly clear. Roman influence on Islamic Societies was mainly displayed in its art, specifically architecture and language. The multitude of Roman architects, hired by kings to institute the design and production of churches, were frequently extremely bright, talented, and passionate. The innovative building models established were graced with stability, natural impregnability, and beauty. Islamic societies gained much of their knowledge on contemporary architecture from the Romans, and in effect, produced constructions very similar to those erected in the bygone days of the Roman Empire. For example, the Islamic Dome of the Rock, constructed in Jerusalem 690 AC, possesses aspects similar to those of the Roman Pantheon. The Dome of the Rock’s ceiling, to no extent of surprise, is in fact in the shape of a dome, such as the ceiling of the Pantheon. Furthermore, the Islamic structure contains many columns that are conjointly displayed in the Roman temple. The Mosque at Cordoba contains arches and columns resembling those built by Romans in water canals and at the gates of cities. The Islamic religions also continued to carry on the most spoken language of Rome Latin. Caliphs and libraries collected texts from all around the world, while scholars translated the sterling works into Arabic and Latin. Although Islamic some celebrations show congruency with celebrations of Christians,Roman influence on the Muslim people was mainly cultural. News of Rome’s fall spread quickly throughout lands of the Mediterranean, Africa, Persia, and Arabia. All were astonished at the supposed failure of the once mighty empire, considering it’s previous success and military conquest. Acting as predecessor and nurturer, Rome had affected countless bordering societies, all across the western world. However, the historian pronouncing Rome’s title as â€Å"mother of the world† had been ludicrously incorrect in concern to one aspect of the Empire’s demise. Rome went on influence future cultures in the Mediterranean regain for centuries, especially those of the Byzantine Empire and ancient Islamic Societies. By means of the Empire’s culture, religion, and law, Rome continues to influence American society today, even hundreds of year’s after the empire’s fall. In Washington D. C. , the use of columns, arches, and domes is a common motif in most political buildings, as well as domestic dwellings. Christianity is now a widely adopted religion, practiced by approximately thirty-three percent of the entire world’s population. Justinian’s codification of Roman law can still be compared with legal and justice systems from around the world, especially in western civilization. The 6th century historian was terribly mistaken in the fact that Rome had been killed, for today as vividly as yesterday; as true as the promise of tomorrow’s rising sun Rome lives on. In the subtle curve of an elegant column, in the chromatic dazzle of a church’s stained glass window, and in the crack of a judge’s mallet, bringing justice to all those our mighty nation gives promise to protect and serve, Rome survives. Chin to the sky, arms open, Rome stands tall and illustrious, ready to embrace all those who walk the earth all whom she deems children.