Monday, April 27, 2020

The Hundred Years War Essays (2360 words) - Anglo-French Wars

The Hundred Years War The Hundred Years War The definition of the Golden Rule is that those with the gold make the rules. In other words, those with the gold have the power as well as those with the power have the gold. History books will discuss the general reasons for war such as freedom from adversity or freedom from religion. But the real issue for any war is the thirst for power and control; and the means to finance them are the economic issues. Nations will endure years of fighting for power and control. France and England fought each other for more than a hundred years to have control of the Channel trade routes. 1 This century of warring was known as The Hundred Years' War and is the longest war in record history. It began in 1337 when King Edward III invaded Normandy and ended in 1453 when France won the Battle of Bordeaux. However, it was not a hundred years of constant battle; there were periods of truces in between. 2 One cause for the Hundred Years' War was the claim to the French throne. The conflict began when the direct line of succession died without a male heir and the nobles decided to pass the crown to a cousin, Philip of Valois. But this left two other male cousins equally deserving of the crown; Charles, King of Navarre and Edward III, King of England. 3 Edward III claimed that he himself was deserving of the throne because his mother was the sister of the late French king, while Philip VI was only a cousin. But according to French law, no women could inherit the throne, nor could the crown be inherited through a woman. 4 Philip of Valois chances of becoming King of France had been remote and he had not been brought up as the future lieutenant of God on Earth. Philip VI spent much of his resources on entertainment and finery with gay abandon. 5 This caused conflict with the king's subjects. Since the king was considered to be sacred and inviolable, neither cousin would challenge Philip VI. However, they would exploit the situation and King Edward III lost no time and invaded Normandy with an army of 10,000 men. 6 This leads to another cause for The Hundred Years' War. The land along the Channel and Atlantic coasts was England's first line of defense against an invasion. England held claim to this territory from the twelth century through the marriage of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. King Edward III was determined to gain control of the French coastline while providing himself with a bridgehead for future expeditions into France. 7 But the major cause of The Hundred Years' War was the economic interest - the revenues to be gotten from this rich territory. Wine was Gasgony's largest export product and major source of income to the vassal. Wool was England's largest export product and the source of its wealth. English pastures produced fleeces that were the envy of Europe which Flanders depended on for its wool and linen market. 8 English sheep growers sold their long fine wool to weavers in Flanders, across the English Channel. Flemish weavers as well as English sheep growers depended on this trade for their business. In 1336, Philip VI arrested all the English merchants in Flanders and took away all the privileges of the Flemish towns and the craft guilds. Resulting in the Flemings revolting against the French control and making an alliance with England. 9 Consequently, the flourishing market of the industrial cities of Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and Ypres were naturally coveted by the Kings of France and England. Moreover, the Bordeaux harbor was within the borders of English Gascony and was the center of the shipping and trading industry. Commodities such as grains, dairy products, dyes and salt would be shipped into Bordeaux via the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers and the merchants were charged a customs fee for these products. Also, Bordeaux would receive duties on wine, whether shipped-in or grown on Gascon soil. Consequently, the profits from the tolls and customs made Bordeaux the economic capital of Gascony. Furthermore, control of neighboring areas such as Guyenne and Calais were

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Cognitive psychology on driving and phone usage

Cognitive psychology on driving and phone usage Introduction Some people claim that multitasking is an inevitable part of a fast-changing world. They believe that the current workplace is full of interruptions that must be accommodated. It is almost impossible for them to focus on one task uninterruptedly.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cognitive psychology on driving and phone usage specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This is why many end up using their phones when driving. However, research shows that making phone calls can reduce a driver’s ability to perform tasks well because of the cognitive challenges involved. Multitasking versus performing a single task Cognitive skills are those mental skills that facilitate learning. One of these skills includes attention, which can be selective, divided or sustained. Multitasking is recognized as divided attention because it involves retaining and attending to two or more things. People do not ‘multitaskâ₠¬â„¢ per say; they merely switch from one task to another at very quick rates. When multitasking, individuals find it difficult to give tasks adequate attention and this leads to superficial processing. As one carries out a certain activity, one is likely to develop attention based inertia, which makes it very difficult to distract such a person. Multitasking disrupts this state of inertia and thus minimizes a person’s ability to perform tasks well (Frith et al., 2001). Cell-phone use requires cognitive skills because it is not an automated task; additionally, the same thing can be said about driving. These skills become automatic when practiced continually. For example, one can typewrite or play instruments with relative ease after doing so for a long time. This means that active processing may no longer be necessary. However, safe driving involves continuous learning and so does telephone use so these activities cannot be automated. For this reason, it is quite difficult to multitask when the activities involved are driving and talking on the phone (Redelmeier Tibshirani, 1997). Different types of talking Talking to passengers differs from talking on the phone because the passengers can pin point threats on the road. Passengers are likely to keep quiet when the driver is in the middle of a heavy traffic jam or when he or she is driving in hazardous conditions. Consequently, such passengers make driving safer.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hands free calling and conventional calling Holding a phone when driving may cause the driver to use only one hand for the latter task and this compromises driving performance. Hands free calling can reduce this problem by giving a driver freedom to use both hands. However it would still not address the root cause of the problem, which is related to the processing of information from multiple sources. The mind would still be involved in receiving and processing information from the telephone conversation as well as the road. Eventually, this would lead to dangerous repercussions such as swerving or crushing. Researchers have shown that most television viewers cannot process information effectively when watching two TC sets (Frith et al., 2001). The same thing applies to people who try to listen to two conversations at the same time. People will not remember most of the things they see or hear when this information comes to them simultaneously, because the brain’s cortex cannot effectively distinguish between relevant and irrelevant distractions. A conventional phone call is not different from a hands-free phone call because both distract the mind with new audio information. The brain focuses more on the phone conversation than the visual information from the highway because the latter information does not change as fast as the conversation does. This also happens because word s disappear after they are spoken so the mind would want to capture them before they fade away. As a result, drivers are likely to ignore certain visual cues on the road and this could be unsafe. Driving is a complex task which requires one to react to incoming information very quickly. Sometimes a pedestrian may cross the road unexpectedly or another car may get onto the wrong lane; these changes require frequent and rapid responses. One cannot respond promptly when one’s attention is focused on a phone conversation (Anderson, 2010). Text messaging when driving Text messaging is by far the most complicated of all phone related tasks. It requires a great deal of visual scanning, decision making, information processing and attention. A text message involves greater visual scanning than a phone call because a sender needs to look at the message he or she is creating, and that would take his or her eyes off the road.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Cogn itive psychology on driving and phone usage specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One also needs to make decisions on the kinds of words to use. This would be much harder because it involves the use of literacy skills, which are not required in phone conversations. Drivers would find information processing and concentration to be more difficult when text messaging than when talking on the phone. They need to ensure that they divide their attention between the road and the phone as they text. Some may miss visual cues when composing the message. All these additional task demands make text messaging more dangerous than talking on the phone. Conclusion Driving and talking on the phone simultaneously can be dangerous because both activities require cognitive skills. The brain focuses on the phone call at the expense of the most important task which is driving. One’s reaction time is severely impeded and this could be very hazardous. References Anderson, J. (2010). Cognitive psychology and its implications. Boston: Allyn and Bacon Frith, C., Rees, G., Fockert, J., lavie, N. De Fockert, J. (2001). Role of working memory in visual selective attention. Science journal, 291(5509), 1803-1806 Redelmeier, D. Tibshirani, R. (1997). Association between cellular telephone calls and motor vehicle collisions. New England Journal of Medicine, 336(7), 453-458

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Guide to Present Tenses for ESL

Guide to Present Tenses for ESL The Basics: Present Tenses: There are two present tenses: The present simple and the present continuous. The two tenses are quite different. Generally, the present simple is used to refer to everyday habits that you have. Use the present simple to talk about activities or routines which take place on a regular basis. Tom takes the A train to work every day.Peter usually gets home at seven in the evening. The present continuous is usually used to refer to events happening at the present moment in time. Theyre doing their homework at the moment.Marys playing tennis with Tom at the club right now. Present Simple Structure: Positive Subject Verb Objects I, You, We, They - eat lunch at noon. Subject Verb s Objects He, She, It - works well in any situation. Negative S do not (dont) Verb Objects I, You, We, They - dont enjoy opera. S does not (doesnt) Verb Objects He, She, It - doesnt belong to the club. Questions (Why, What, etc.) do S Verb Objects? Do - I, you, we, they - work in this town? (Why, What, etc.) does S Verb Objects? Does - he, she, it - live in this city? Present Continuous Structure: Positive Subject conjugate the helping verb be verb -ing. Im, Youre, Hes, Shes, Were, Youre, Theyre - working today. Negative Subject conjugate the helping verb be not verb -ing. Im not, You arent, He isnt, She isnt, We arent, You arent, They arent - coming this evening. Questions Question word conjugate the helping verb be subject verb -ing What - are you, they - doing this afternoon?What - is he, she - doing this afternoon? Study Present Tenses in Depth: Here are detailed guides to the present simple and the present continuous tenses. Each guide provides situations, common time expressions used with the tense, as well as examples. These guides were prepared especially for beginners and include dialogues and a short quiz. Present Simple for Beginners Its also important to know how to use adverbs of frequency with the present simple. Adverbs of frequency such as usually, often, etc. are used to tell how often you do something. I often go out on Saturday nights.They usually take the bus to work. Test Your Knowledge of Present Tenses: Once youve studied the rules - or if you already know the rules - test your knowledge: Adverbs of Frequency Quiz Teach a Lesson about the Present Tenses: There are five absolute beginner lessons related to the present simple on the site: Lesson for the present simple positive formLesson for the present simple negative formLesson on present simple question formLesson on using adverbs of frequency with the present simpleLesson on talking about daily habits with the present simple These lessons are great for helping students learn by rote, rather than through grammar exercises and serve as a good introduction to the tenses for false beginners. For the present continuous, here is a descriptive activity helping learners use the present continuous. Activities Concerning Present Tenses: Here are some fun classroom games that you can use in class, or on your own which will help you with giving instructions. Simon SaysColored Lego Blocks Finally, this grammar chant will help you practice the present simple - especially the third person singular (he, she, it)

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Communication theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Communication theory - Essay Example With clearer concepts and objective understanding of matters, people are in a better position to play their individualistic and collective roles in the development of a civilized society. In most of the organizations in the contemporary age, communication with confidence and authority has become quite critical (Holmes, 2011). The organization in which I work is to much extent, a functional organization where different departments have well defined responsibilities, so people from different departments do not usually interact with one another. In addition to the organization having a functional organization structure, there were several other factors that have played their role in discouraging interaction among employees. Such factors included but were not limited to differences of gender, age and culture. Employees from different culture have had presumed conceptions about their coworkers from different cultures and would not change their conceptions in the organizational context. Al so, employees from opposite genders would hesitate to communicate with one another. This was giving rise to interpersonal conflicts with various employees assuming irrational things about one another as a result of lack of communication until the new project manager brought about some drastic changes in the system of flow of communication within the organization.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Bugatti (Veyron) Marketing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bugatti (Veyron) Marketing - Case Study Example The company has some exclusive strategies which add to the brand value and creates strong brand equity in the customer mind. If a potential buyer is deemed serious enough to buy the car then the company brings in Pierre-Henri Raphanel , grand prix driver, to give the potential customer a test drive. Also the company keeps on bringing out ‘Special edition’ models like the EB 16.4 Veyron pur Sang, Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes or the EB 16.4 Veyron Sang Noir. The company depends on various environmental forces, which affect its business. Competitor might produce technologically superior products or the prevailing economic rescission might have some effects on sales, though its buyers are comparatively less affected by it. Though the company has strong and powerful competitors in the shape of marquee names like Mercedes, Porsche, Lamborghini and others, yet the fact that Bugatti produces the fastest and the most expensive car in the world creates huge brand pull for the com pany and helps in adding an exclusivity factor to its positioning. The Bugatti brand and therefore the Bugatti Veyron brand follows core values of elegance, exclusivity, power and excellence in design. One of the foremost and prominent strategies of the brand has been to focus on exclusivity of the brand. The fact that it is the fastest and the most expensive car on the planet is itself a strong marketing pitch for the brand. Moreover form time to time the company has focused on coming out with exclusive special version Veyrons like the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes, EB 16.4 Veyron pur Sang or the Bugatti Veyron Fbg par Hermes. Another strategic move has been to expand its brand value by introducing the Bugattio Collection which consists of car accessories and fashion items, which are designed by equally exclusive and world famous artistes or designers (Displaying timeless style and elegant details , while

Saturday, January 25, 2020

How Shakespeare Portrayed Lady Macbeth Essay -- William Shakespeare

From the very beginning, Lady Macbeth is depicted as an ambitious and powerful woman, who is central to the plot of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. So far, in the play, Lady Macbeth has been shown to be a very powerful and ambitious character. After reading Macbeth's letter, she says, "Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness that should attend it"(I.v 17-19), here, she is saying that he needs more evil or "illness" in him to become King, and therefore implies that she will "poison" him and give him the illness he needs to increase his ambition. Here she is also undermining her husband's authority (which is very unusual for a woman in the Elizabethan era) by saying he is unable to become a King, and is undermining his masculinity as she is thinking about things that a man would usually take charge of. To try to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan when the audience first see them meet on stage, she is very bold, "Your hand, you tongue, look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (I.v 65-66), she shows her strong female identity, whose ambitions speak for her obsession with power. When Macbeth tries to ?back out? of murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses many techniques to persuade him to carry out the deed. Firstly, she repeats the metaphor of clothes he uses, ?Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside so soon? (I.vii 34-35) but changes the meaning, ?Was the hope drunk / wherein you dressed yourself?? (I.vii 35-36) showing she can be manipulating and that she has a thorough understanding of words, which is unusual for an Elizabethan woman. She also tries to manipulate him by saying, ?From this time / Such I account thy love? (I.vii 38-39) which could be perceiv... ...n, she becomes something completely different ? a supernatural being such as a witch or evil spirit. Although Lady Macbeth never repeats the words of the witches, her ambitions and their prophecies are very similar, ?All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter? (I.iii 50), however, if the witches had not revealed this prophecy then Lady Macbeth?s ambition would not have been ?fed? and it is probable that neither of them would have murdered Duncan. This shows how easily she is influenced by the supernatural. I believe that Shakespeare depicted Lady Macbeth as a very ambitious character who has a lot of power over her husband. However, it is only after she calls upon the supernatural that she becomes utterly ruthless and cruel. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 2009. How Shakespeare Portrayed Lady Macbeth Essay -- William Shakespeare From the very beginning, Lady Macbeth is depicted as an ambitious and powerful woman, who is central to the plot of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. So far, in the play, Lady Macbeth has been shown to be a very powerful and ambitious character. After reading Macbeth's letter, she says, "Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness that should attend it"(I.v 17-19), here, she is saying that he needs more evil or "illness" in him to become King, and therefore implies that she will "poison" him and give him the illness he needs to increase his ambition. Here she is also undermining her husband's authority (which is very unusual for a woman in the Elizabethan era) by saying he is unable to become a King, and is undermining his masculinity as she is thinking about things that a man would usually take charge of. To try to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan when the audience first see them meet on stage, she is very bold, "Your hand, you tongue, look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (I.v 65-66), she shows her strong female identity, whose ambitions speak for her obsession with power. When Macbeth tries to ?back out? of murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses many techniques to persuade him to carry out the deed. Firstly, she repeats the metaphor of clothes he uses, ?Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, / Not cast aside so soon? (I.vii 34-35) but changes the meaning, ?Was the hope drunk / wherein you dressed yourself?? (I.vii 35-36) showing she can be manipulating and that she has a thorough understanding of words, which is unusual for an Elizabethan woman. She also tries to manipulate him by saying, ?From this time / Such I account thy love? (I.vii 38-39) which could be perceiv... ...n, she becomes something completely different ? a supernatural being such as a witch or evil spirit. Although Lady Macbeth never repeats the words of the witches, her ambitions and their prophecies are very similar, ?All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter? (I.iii 50), however, if the witches had not revealed this prophecy then Lady Macbeth?s ambition would not have been ?fed? and it is probable that neither of them would have murdered Duncan. This shows how easily she is influenced by the supernatural. I believe that Shakespeare depicted Lady Macbeth as a very ambitious character who has a lot of power over her husband. However, it is only after she calls upon the supernatural that she becomes utterly ruthless and cruel. Works Cited Shakespeare, William. Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 2009.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Aspects of Project Management

This research paper will cover the different aspects of project management in video game development. Focus will also be on discussing and overviewing project lifecycles as it pertains to game development. There is also interest in seeing within the realm of video game development how the application of knowledge, various skills, tools, and the techniques are used. The focus will also be on examining pre-production, production and post production in the gaming industry. Topics will also explore issues pertaining to but not limited stakeholder expectations, timeliness of implementation, optimization of resources, meeting the needs of business's vision and mission regarding development, and exploring how the identification of and addressing any issues that may arise in game project development.IntroductionThe video game industry is an industry that has been steadily growing for over three decades. From Nintendo to Sony, games have been made for the platform for over three decades. Many games have been made but the question is how these spectacular pieces of art are being made. The initial commercial history of video games inevitably begins with the US military's computer hardware and networks facilitating both game development and consumption. Nolan Bushnell is credited as the pioneer of the worldwide commercial video game industry. Bushnell was the founder of Atari and is responsible for generations of home and arcade gaming hardware and software including the truly influential game, Pong.(citation) Arcades games were very popular peaked in the early 1980s so most titles were converted to play on the evolving home technology – home computers and consoles.(citation) Also during this time, many independent developers and publishers started to emerge. Activision, for example, was founded by former Atari developers seeking greater ownership and control over their developments(citation)People recognize software games as new and very popular mode of entertainment and an important application of technology. This has become increasingly accepted by people of all ages. In today's culture, technology is easily accessible and has become more convenient; more and more people like to play games and are also becoming motivated to design their own games. (Game development software engineering process life cycle: a systematic review) Also, software games are gaining importance because they are not only used for entertainment, but also for serious purposes that can be applicable to different domains such as education, business, and health care. (game development) The intricacy of modern video games requires workers with varied skill sets such as computer engineers and programmers, visual artists, audio engineers, animators, game designers, writers, and quality assurance testers. Each project team also has a producer and studios have a range of upper managers and administrative personnel. (Understanding video game developers as an occupational community) The creation of each video game is a project with well-defined pre-production, production, and post-production phases that require different resources Under the project-based model, the outputs of each new game are unique, the environment is complex and uncertain, and coordination among project members is rooted in diffuse and informal power relationships among those who direct the work and those who perform it. Buyers of video games – publishers – are essentially contract managers who offer IP development for tender to contractors. However, they purchase licences from IP owners such as book publishers and Hollywood studios. The decision to offer IP for tender is based on extensive research on global gaming and gaming trends (many games, characters and franchises are culturally specific). Consequently, inherent in the tender offer, is the output of this research that gives a raft of indicators to developers about the industry. (Shopping for Buyers of Product Development Expertise:: How Video Games Developers Stay Ahead) As a new entrant in the console market, it enables Microsoft to build relationships with content providers. Collaboration enhances capability for both platform owners and development studios. Collaborative relationships also deliver a timely product and improve quality (one feature of the collaboration is ongoing testing of product versions) and prevent or limit feature creep (too many features being added). Microsoft seduced developers in the first instance by offering its development kits free of charge in exchange for development licences to complement its in-house effort. Risk management is very important from a project management point of view. Identifying risk factors in the game development process is also important. In game development, the project manager is the game producer and must bring together management, technical, and aesthetic aspects to create a successful game. Two risk factors identified during the development process: failure of development strategy and absence of the fun factor. In game development, important risk factors can be the development strategy, the fun factor or extent of originality, scheduling, budgeting, and others, but very low priority has been given by game developers to formal analysis of risk factors. (Game development software engineering process life cycle: a systematic review) Process validation plays an important role in assessing game quality. Collection and evaluation of process data from the pre-production phase through to the post-production phase either provide evidence that the overall development process produces a good-quality game as a final product or reveal that it cannot.