How to Manage Negativity within the Medical Aesthetics

The vital challenge for managing negative employees nowadays is to stay alive and flourish in a very chaotic globe. To achieve this, the Medical Aesthetics Market Place perceives it essential to keep positive attitudes of its organization. Ethical values, constantly applied, are the foundation in building a commercially victorious and generally responsible business (Barbuceanu & Fox, 1996).   Business organizations progress trust and a positive outlook between its personnel strengthen ethical framework and proffer a moral breadth during times of change and in catastrophe (Grimes & Alley, 1997).Medica Spa owners require positive-productive employees to gain encouraging impact on their clienteles. For this objective, owners and managers endow with greater control over one's manners, build assurance in decision making, and consent to more truthful discernments of one's self. Those issues concern justice, honesty, correctness and an optimistic attitude; as a consequence it can only be resolved according to ethical standards.Decision-making must be empowered to the level adjoining the field of action, on condition that, that this level has compulsory for positive reception from its employees at its clearance (Guest, 1989). A manager is required to make his function wider to increase dynamism, inventiveness and speed of achievement (Barenberg, 1994).Employees in the Medical Aesthetics Market Place are in fact obliged to comply with significantly increased demands in quantity and quality. The movement in the present day is to hire less than sufficient staff and work to the maximum.   Negativity should be restricted to any level of an employee. Operations individuals at present have more duties and must generate more (Ghallab, 1994).Owners are required to entrust a part of its sanctions to the subordinate hierarchical levels, if they do not want to be congested with more and more abundant and multifaceted problems. Delegation is mainly about entrusting an ownerâ₠¬â„¢s authority to others. This denotes that they can take action and begin autonomously; and that they presume duty with owners for tasks. Entrustment underpins a technique of management which allows the staff to exercise and widen their skills and knowledge to full potential (Guest, 1989). To manage negativity of employees, owners must:distribute adequate resources to board activities such as time, money, and facilitiessupport workers and supervisors to collaborate with the committee and be involvedentail the committee in each and every health and safety activitiesfacilitate to schedule committee activities such as investigations as well as inspectionsdivide health and safety matters from concerns not relatedwork and take steps safely and guarantee that supervisors work and take action carefullyTo manage negative employees, managers must be straightforward to the staff to assume their responsibilities, as every now and then it is very at ease to feel oneself protected from all ris ks that are inherent in running an organization’s operations; a desire from the managers must exist to abandon certain prerogatives – for it is a loss of authority – to be able to concentrate on other more significant activities; must be capable of setting up a career promotion and rewards that recompense the efforts of the staff that stimulate them and motivate their activity for the benefit of the group (Ghallab, 1994).   The staff must have enough knowledge on how to do their responsibilities with dedication and positive attitude. Thus, the business owners ought to facilitate access to the required understanding.The owner who fears and cannot organize well will never manage negativity of employees successfully; the manager, who is acquainted with that the staff may possibly have supplementary experience and knowledge, and so may possibly develop the decision-making process, will receive their participation; managing negativity of employees guarantees that t he staff will put decision-making into practice within the organization of their objectives and will sense that their perspectives are welcome. One of the main irrational fears about delegation is that by providing others authority, an owner or manager loses power (Grimes & Alley, 1997). This must not be the case.If the owner trains the staff to take actions the same criteria as the manager would, by example and explanations, then the staff will be exercising the manager’s control on his/her behalf with positive outlook if and only if the manager demonstrates a positive attitude. And since they will distinguish many more circumstances over which control may be put into effect, then control will be exercised more rapidly and more diversely than an owner could put it into effect by his/her self.An owner must be able to distribute the more mundane tasks as equally as possible; and add the more stimulating once as broadly. Generally, but particularly with the tedious tasks, an ow ner must be careful to delegate not only the performance of the mission but also its tenure (Barenberg, 1994). Task handing over, more willingly than task assignment, allows innovation and positive attitude and outlook in their work.To manage negativity within a business,   an owner is supposed to increase progressively; first, a small assignment leading to a little improvement, then another assignment which constructs upon the first; when that is accomplished, add an additional step; and so on. This is the differentiation between asking people to balance a sheer wall (negative), and offering them with a flight of steps (positive).When an owner delegates a job, it does not have to be finished as fit as an owner could do it in a given time, but only as fit as needed: never judge the upshot by what is expected (it is complicated to be objective – negative), but by fitness for positive function. When an owner delegates a task, he/she must agree upon the standards by which the result will be reviewed. An owner must not exaggerate a negative issue; if the staff did something wrong, the owner must have the skill of using specific and positive terms in correcting the mistake – not meaning to hurt the staff’s feelings (Barbuceanu & Fox, 1996).ReferencesBarbuceanu, M. & Fox, M. (1996). The Design of a Coordination Language for Multi-AgentsSystems. In Intelligent Agents III. Agent Theories, Architectures, and Languages.Springer, pp.341-355.Barenberg, M. (1994). Democracy and Domination in the Law of Workplace Cooperation:From Bureaucratic to Flexible Production, 94 Colum. L. Rev. 753, 825–78. Harper,supra note 468, at 113–14.Ghallab, M. (1994). Past and future chronicles for supervision and planning. In Jean  PaulHaton, editor, Proceedings of the 14th Int. Avignon Conference, Paris, EC2 and AFIA,pp23-34.Grimes, G. & Alley, B. (1997). Intelligent Agents for Network Fault Diagnosis and Testing.In Integrated Network Management V: inte grated management in a virtual world. SanDiego, California, USA, May 1997. IFIP, Chapman & Hall, pp.232-244.Guest, D. (1989). Personnel and HRM: Can you tell the difference? Personnel Management.St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, pp23-27.

The Persian Empire of Ancient Iran

The Persian Empire of Ancient Iran Irans history as a nation of people speaking an Indo-European language did not begin until the middle of the second millennium B.C. Before then, Iran was occupied by peoples with a variety of cultures. There are numerous artifacts attesting to settled agriculture, permanent sun-dried- brick dwellings, and pottery-making from the sixth millennium B.C. The most advanced area technologically was ancient Susiana, present-day Khuzestan Province. By the fourth millennium, the inhabitants of Susiana, the Elamites, were using semipictographic writing, probably learned from the highly advanced civilization of Sumer in Mesopotamia (ancient name for much of the area now known as Iraq), to the west. Sumerian influence in art, literature, and religion also became particularly strong when the Elamites were occupied by, or at least came under the domination of, two Mesopotamian cultures, those of Akkad and Ur, during the middle of the third millennium. By 2000 B.C. the Elamites had become sufficiently unified to destroy the city of Ur. Elamite civilization developed rapidly from that point, and, by the fourteenth century B.C., its art was at its most impressive. Immigration of the Medes and the Persians Small groups of nomadic, horse-riding peoples speaking Indo-European languages began moving into the Iranian cultural area from Central Asia near the end of the second millennium B.C. Population pressures, overgrazing in their home area, and hostile neighbors may have prompted these migrations. Some of the groups settled in eastern Iran, but others, those who were to leave significant historical records, pushed farther west toward the Zagros Mountains. Three major groups are identifiablethe Scythians, the Medes (the Amadai or Mada), and the Persians (also known as the Parsua or Parsa). The Scythians established themselves in the northern Zagros Mountains and clung to a seminomadic existence in which raiding was the chief form of economic enterprise. The Medes settled over a huge area, reaching as far as modern Tabriz in the north and Esfahan in the south. They had their capital at Ecbatana (present-day Hamadan) and annually paid tribute to the Assyrians. The Persians were established in three areas: to the south of Lake Urmia (the tradional name, also cited as Lake Orumiyeh, to which it has reverted after being called Lake Rezaiyeh under the Pahlavis), on the northern border of the kingdom of the Elamites; and in the environs of modern Shiraz, which would be their eventual settling place and to which they would give the name Parsa (what is roughly present-day Fars Province). During the seventh century B.C., the Persians were led by Hakamanish (Achaemenes, in Greek), ancestor of the Achaemenid dynasty. A descendant, Cyrus II (also known as Cyrus the Great or Cyrus the Elder), led the combined forces of the Medes and the Persians to establish the most extensive empire known in the ancient world. By 546 B.C., Cyrus had defeated Croesus*, the Lydian king of fabled wealth, and had secured control of the Aegean coast of Asia Minor, Armenia, and the  Greek colonies  along the Levant. Moving east, he took Parthia (land of the Arsacids, not to be confused with Parsa, which was to the southwest), Chorasmis, and Bactria. He besieged and captured Babylon in 539 and released the Jews who had been held captive there, thus earning his immortalization in the Book of Isaiah. When he died in 529**, Cyruss kingdom extended as far east as the Hindu Kush in present-day Afghanistan. His successors were less successful. Cyruss unstable son, Cambyses II, conquered Egypt but later committed suicide during a revolt led by a priest, Gaumata, who usurped the throne until overthrown in 522 by a member of a lateral branch of the Achaemenid family, Darius I (also known as Darayarahush or Darius the Great). Darius attacked the Greek mainland, which had supported rebellious Greek colonies under his aegis, but as a result of his defeat at the  Battle of Marathon in 490  was forced to retract the limits of the empire to  Asia Minor. The Achaemenids thereafter consolidated areas firmly under their control. It was Cyrus and Darius who, by sound and farsighted administrative planning, brilliant military maneuvering, and a humanistic worldview, established the greatness of the Achaemenids and in less than thirty years raised them from an obscure tribe to a world power. The quality of the Achaemenids as rulers began to disintegrate, however, after the death of Darius in 486. His son and successor, Xerxes, was chiefly occupied with suppressing revolts in Egypt and Babylonia. He also attempted to conquer the Greek Peloponnesus, but encouraged by a victory at Thermopylae, he overextended his forces and suffered overwhelming defeats at Salamis and Plataea. By the time his successor, Artaxerxes I, died in 424, the imperial court was beset by factionalism among the lateral family branches, a condition that persisted until the death in 330 of the last of the Achaemenids, Darius III, at the hands of his own subjects. The Achaemenids were enlightened despots who allowed a certain amount of regional autonomy in the form of the satrapy system. A satrapy was an administrative unit, usually organized on a geographical basis. A satrap (governor) administered the region, a general supervised military recruitment and ensured order, and a state secretary kept official records. The general and the state secretary reported directly to the central government. The twenty satrapies were linked by a 2,500-kilometer highway, the most impressive stretch being the  royal road  from Susa to Sardis, built by command of Darius. Relays of mounted couriers could reach the most remote areas in fifteen days. Despite the relative local independence afforded by the satrapy system, however, royal inspectors, the eyes and ears of the king, toured the empire and reported on local conditions, and the king maintained a personal bodyguard of 10,000 men, called the Immortals. The language in greatest use in the empire was Aramaic. Old Persian was the official language of the empire but was used only for inscriptions and royal proclamations. Darius revolutionized the economy by placing it on a silver and gold coinage system. Trade was extensive, and under the  Achaemenids  there was an efficient infrastructure that facilitated the exchange of commodities among the far reaches of the empire. As a result of this commercial activity, Persian words for typical items of trade became prevalent throughout the  Middle East  and eventually entered the English language; examples are, bazaar, shawl, sash, turquoise, tiara, orange, lemon, melon, peach, spinach, and asparagus. Trade was one of the empires main sources of revenue, along with agriculture and tribute. Other accomplishments of Dariuss reign included codification of the data, a universal legal system upon which much of later Iranian law would be based, and construction of a new capital at Persepolis, where vassal states would offer their yearly tribute at the festival celebrating the spring equinox. In its art and architecture, Persepolis reflected Dariuss percept ion of himself as the leader of conglomerates of people to whom he had given a new and single identity. The Achaemenid art and architecture found there is at once distinctive and also highly eclectic. The Achaemenids took the art forms and the cultural and religious traditions of many of the ancient Middle Eastern peoples and combined them into a single form. This Achaemenid artistic style is evident in the iconography of Persepolis, which celebrates the king and the office of the monarch. Envisioning a new world empire based on a fusion of Greek and Iranian culture and  ideals,  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Alexander the Great  of Macedon accelerated the disintegration of the Achaemenid Empire. He was first accepted as leader by the fractious Greeks in 336 B.C. and by 334 had advanced to Asia Minor, an Iranian satrapy. In quick  succession,  he took Egypt, Babylonia, and then, over the course of two years, the heart of the  Achaemenid EmpireSusa, Ecbatana, and Persepolisthe last of which he burned. Alexander married Roxana (Roshanak), the daughter of the most powerful of the Bactrian chiefs (Oxyartes, who revolted in present-day Tadzhikistan), and in 324 commanded his officers and 10,000 of his soldiers to marry Iranian women. The mass wedding, held at Susa, was a model of Alexanders desire to consummate the union of the Greek and Iranian peoples. These plans ended in 323 B.C., however, when Alexander was struck with fever and died in Babylon, leaving no heir. His empire was d ivided among four of his generals. Seleucus, one of these generals, who became ruler of Babylon in 312, gradually reconquered most of Iran. Under Seleucuss son, Antiochus I, many Greeks entered Iran, and Hellenistic motifs in art, architecture, and urban planning became prevalent. Although the Seleucids faced challenges from the  Ptolemies of Egypt  and from the growing power of Rome, the main threat came from the province of Fars (Partha to the Greeks). Arsaces (of the seminomadic Parni tribe), whose name was used by all subsequent Parthian kings, revolted against the Seleucid governor in 247 B.C. and established a dynasty, the Arsacids, or Parthians. During the second century, the Parthians were able to extend their rule to Bactria, Babylonia, Susiana, and Media, and, under Mithradates II (123-87 B.C.), Parthian conquests stretched from India to Armenia. After the victories of Mithradates II, the Parthians began to claim descent from both the Greeks and the Achaemenids. They spoke a language similar to that of the Achaemenids, used the Pahlavi script, and established an administrative system based on Achaemenid precedents. Meanwhile, Ardeshir, son of the priest Papak, who claimed descent from the legendary hero Sasan, had become the Parthian governor in the Achaemenid home province of Persis (Fars). In A.D. 224 he overthrew the last Parthian king and established the Sassanid dynasty, which was to last 400 years. The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids  [c, 550-330 B.C.;  with the capital at Ctesiphon. The Sassanids consciously sought to resuscitate Iranian traditions and to obliterate Greek cultural influence. Their rule was characterized by considerable centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and technological improvements. Sassanid rulers adopted the title of shahanshah (king of kings), as sovereigns over numerous petty rulers, known as  shahrdars. Historians believe that society was divided into four classes: the priests, warriors, secretaries, and commoners. The royal princes, petty rulers, great landlords, and priests together constituted a privileged stratum, and the social system appears to have been fairly rigid. Sassanid rule and the system of social stratification were reinforced by Zoroastrianism, which became the state religion. The Zoroastrian priesthood became immensely powerful. The head of the priestly class, the  mobadan  mobad, along with the military commander, the  eran  spahbod, and the head of the bureaucracy, were among the great men of the state. Rome, with its capital at  Constantinople, had replaced Greece as Irans principal Western enemy, and hostilities between the two empires were frequent. Shahpur I (241-72), son and successor of Ardeshir, waged successful campaigns against the Romans and in 260 even took the emperor Valerian prisoner. Chosroes I (531-79), also known as Anushirvan the Just, is the most celebrated of the Sassanid rulers. He reformed the tax system and reorganized the army and the bureaucracy, tying the army more closely to the central government than to local lords. His reign witnessed the rise of the  dihqans  (literally, village lords), the petty landholding nobility who were the backbone of later Sassanid provincial administration and the tax collection system. Chosroes was a great builder, embellishing his capital, founding new towns, and constructing new buildings. Under his auspices, too, many books were brought from India and translated into Pahlavi. Some of these later found their way into the literature of the Islamic world. The reign of Chosroes II (591-628) was characterized by the wasteful splendor and lavishness of the court. Toward the end of his  reign  Chosroes IIs power declined. In renewed fighting with the Byzantines, he enjoyed initial successes, captured Damascus, and seized the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. But counterattacks by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius brought enemy forces deep into Sassanid territory. Years of warfare exhausted both the Byzantines and the Iranians. The later Sassanids were further weakened by economic decline, heavy taxation, religious unrest, rigid social stratification, the increasing power of the provincial landholders, and a rapid turnover of rulers. These factors facilitated the Arab invasion in the seventh century. Data as of December 1987Source: Library of Congress Country Studies Corrections *Jona Lendering  points out that a 547/546 date for the fall of Croesus is based on the  Nabonidus Chronicle  whose reading is uncertain. Rather than  Croesus  it may have been the ruler of Uratu. Lendering says the fall of Lydia should be listed as the 540s. **He also advises that cuneiform sources start to mention Cambyses as sole ruler in August 530, so the date of his death the following year is wrong.

Underclass stereotypes in the media.

Underclass stereotypes in the media. STEREOTYPING IN THE MEDIA:A response to Gregory Mantsios' essay Media Magic: Making Class InvisibleFor decades media has helped stratify culture by serving as a means to inform the public of the occurrences that take place in our society. "The mass media is arguably the most influential in molding public consciousness" (Mantsios 101). The more media plays a prominent role in highlighting situations in our society the more media stereotypes become inevitable. Stereotypes in the media usually classify individuals by their class, ethnicity, occupation, gender, and sexual orientation, giving the audience a generalized ideal of the characteristics of a particular group. However, Mantsios' essay Media Magic: Making Class Invisible focuses on the segregation of the middle-class and under-class, creating a division between one another, where "we" or "us" the middle-class are humiliated by "them" the under-class. False representation of the under-class and the victimization of the middle-clas s by the under-class are two points continuously exemplified in the media today.English: Differences in national income equality a...The media has a tendency "to focus on the plight of the poor, these stories are about middle-class opposition to the poor. Such stories tell us that the poor are an inconvenience and an irritation" (Mantsios 103).In a recent article titled Closing the Education Achievement Gap, the government is to make a major provision to the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The Act will provide $200 billion dollars, from "our" pockets, to schools with children from low-income families. The goal of the revision is to raise the achievement of children in low-income schools to those in higher-income, predominately white, families.When reading over the editorial and reviewing the photograph that accompanied the article, it was evident that the term "low-income" was portrayed by grueling neighborhoods populated by ethnic and visible minorities. The photos por trayed are a false representation...

Qualities of Successful Marriages Personal Statement

Qualities of Successful Marriages - Personal Statement Example But they have become the best of companions while respecting and incorporating each other's differences. What I learned from my family's positive example has translated into my relationships with friends and boyfriends. I try to keep an open mind so that I can enjoy what they enjoy and really be part of their life. During my early teenage years I went through a phase of thinking that I needed to have as many friends as possible to seem "popular." This led me to choose quantity over quality and although I became "friends" with more people, the depth of each friendship became less and less. I could tell what was happening because I barely spent time with the close friends I had before. I went back to the way I was before, because being a really good companion felt better than being a companion to lots of people. This is a lesson that I hope to remember throughout my life so that all of my relationships with people are deep and meaningful. One of my first major relationships was not a very honest one. I cheated on him a lot, and lied about it. But I think I may have been hurting myself more than I was hurting him. The complications of that relationship have created problems in more recent relationships. Because I cheated on someone and he didn't know about it for such a long time, I started to think about the possibility and likelihood of it happening to me. My own actions have led me to paranoia and an inability to trust trustworthy people. Every time a boyfriend tells me about his day, I find myself questioning the reality of his story. I have noticed this in other Hispanic girls and think it may be true of me also that my parents are very overprotective of me when it comes to boys. This has led me to lie to my parents on more than one occasion about where I am and who I'm with. The lies I used to tell my parents led to a lot of hurt, both on their side and mine. What I have taken from my past is a stronger personal adherence to honesty. I have experienced first-hand the bad things that come from dishonesty and now know how important it is to be honest. I still have trouble trusting people who have done nothing bad to earn my distrust, so there is certainly room to grow. I think that as I continue being honest and surrounding myself in positive, honest relationships, I will regain my trust in other people. Responsibility Because my parents were so overprotective of me, I was always trying to prove to them and myself that I was independent. This need for independence led me to do responsible things. I started taking care of younger children as a babysitter when I was only thirteen, and got a "real job" when I was old enough. I was always on time to work and never missed a day. This responsibility was also reflected in school, as I always did my homework and made good grades. I reached a rebellious point in my life (perhaps because now my parents expected me to be responsible and I always wanted to disprove them) and I started to disregard my schoolwork and job commitments. I quickly realized that my irresponsibility had no positive benefits and only made me feel bad about myself, so my rebellious phase was short-lived. I also think that my job as a babysitter helped me know what it was like to be responsible for other people. As a youngest child, I never had any younger siblings to take care of and be responsible

Marriage Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marriage - Essay Example Moreover, the arguments against same-sex marriage almost exactly track the arguments against interracial marriage, which shows that the evolution of marriage should go in the same direction – just as interracial marriage is accepted by the majority of people, so should same-sex marriage be. The History of Marriage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history of marriage, of course, would be the topic of a much longer discourse, so this section will only review the pertinent aspects of heterosexual marriage which impact the arguments for and against gay marriage.   Fox-Genovese (49) traces the history of marriage, stating that marriage began as a relationship between families, tribes and clans, as opposed to uniting individuals.   Marriage was transformed, however, into a right to enjoy certain benefits and privileges, along with community approval and recognition.   Fox-Genovese (50) begins her analysis of marriage by stating that Adam and Eve were created an d ordered to be fruitful and multiply, which was the basis for this original union.   In the Old Testament, women suffered greatly, as their husbands took concubines and fathered children with many other women.   At that time, marriage was mainly about families and tribes, not about the individuals themselves.   This motivation continued in pre-modern societies, as primitive groups, such as Hebrew tribes, used marriage as a way to strengthen their house.   Marriage was also typically used as a political solidification practice, as ruling families used marriage to strengthen their political rule.   Therefore, for most of millennia, marriage has been a pragmatic institution, not based upon love, but, rather, based upon economics and power consolidation.   This is shown by the pragmatics of marriage in consolidating power, and is also shown by dowries and bride prices, in which the potential husband literally paid for the privilege of marrying his future wife (Fox-Genovese, 53).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout these historical eras, women were subjected to patriarchy.   The man ruled the home, and, at least in the Old Testament cases, was able to take on multiple wives, concubines and lovers without censure.   Fox-Genovese (60) states that this patriarchy was lessened, somewhat, towards the end of the 19th Century, as women gained more equality in and outside the marital unit.   Eventually, marriage evolved from its pragmatic status to one that is more egalitarian and ostensibly based upon love.   Marriage is no longer merely a way to solidify power, or a way to gain economically. It is now considered to be a sacred bond between two people in love. The emphasis is now on personal happiness, not economics, power and social ties (Fox-Genovese, 61).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Fox-Genovese (62) makes the case that marriage, historically, has been based upon practical concerns, and these concerns do not nec essarily focus upon what anti-gay marriage advocates insist are at the core of marital unions – the family and procreation.   Marriage has traditionally been based upon economic, social and political concerns, which seem to undermine the arguments against gay marriage. Another sound argument which is based upon an analysis of heterosexual marriage, which profoundly undermines the current bias against

The United States Constitution and the debates over the merits of the Research Paper

The United States Constitution and the debates over the merits of the constitution - Research Paper Example So these individuals had to come up with a government that not only stood for the sovereignty of the nation but which listened and acted on people’s worries and grievances. This was no simple role to accomplish and the best minds had to evaluate the main systems around the world to get that which would serve the country. Unfortunately, none represented the actual model that would govern the now vast American nation. 2The government model available to follow was the British one which obviously most readily understood the Britons themselves having introduced aspects of their systems in America. This however presented what these individuals feared would be inequitable distribution of power. However at the time, one thing was obvious; the system chosen for the people had to be representative of the people and had to be a choice of the people. This had been the wave at the time especially after the defeat of the monarchy system in Britain at the beginning of the century through the Glorious revolution which had prompted a parliamentary system in governance of countries. This mystery led to the establishment of a system that besides representing the people at the grassroots there would also be a national system that the people identified the state with. This led to the introduction of the federal system which sought to have overlapping governments, overlapping in the sense that the people at the lowest level would choose their respective leaders who would in turn participate in electing leaders of a higher level. This would translate to the national level; the national level is what was to be referred to as the federal government. Was a strong proponent of the federalist system which among other things sought to establish a central government? This central government would in turn oversee the implementation of the American constitution which was to guide the activities as well as participation and association of people and

Roman Empire Culture Essay Example for Free

Roman Empire Culture Essay Wikipedias entry on the Fall of the Roman Empire is a comprehensive and multifaceted survey of the scholarship which seeks to indicate a certain period or event or series of events which caused the fall of the Roman Empire. One of the main differences between the Wikipedia entry and a traditional encyclopedia entry is the extensive analysis with which the Wikipedia entry is able to devote to sub-sections and sub-theories under the general banner of discussion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The question of assigning a specific date for the fall occupies a great deal of the Wikipedia article. The traditional date acknowledged is September 4, 476 when Romulus Augustus, Emperor of the Western Empire, was deposed by Odoacer. But the Eastern Empire continued until the fall of Constantinople nearly a century later in 1453. Other dates in contention are 395, the year of the death of Theodosius, the last time the Empire was united; the crossing of the Rhine by Germanic tribes in 406 after the withdrawal of the legions to battle Alaric I; or the disintegration of the western legions following the death of Stilicho in 408. Many scholars disdain the term â€Å"fall†, preferring to describe what was happening as a â€Å"complex transformation†.   The Wikipedia entry while seeming to dwell inordinately on a specific time or date of the fall is in actuality providing the researcher with a varied primer on the myriad theories which attend the question of historical dates of the Roman Empires fall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though the tone of the Wikipedia entry is scholarly, the lengthy digressions and somewhat scattered patterns of information make the entry less streamlined than a typical encyclopedia entry. In addition, the numerous off-site links and cross-references can prove to be distractive. And although the Wikipedia entry itself closely resembles scholarly writing there can be no assurance regarding the veracity of off-site links.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most obvious bias that is apparent in the Wikipedia entry is resounding insistence that there is a date of collapse for the Roman Empire. The entry cites Edward Gibbon who argues the Roman population lost its way by allowing the Germanic tribes and other barbarian mercenaries a greater role in defending its interests. Gibbon claims Christianity was a contributing factor as well, turning the populations attention to other-worldly as opposed to here-and-now events.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rather than examine contradictory theories in detail, the Wikipedia entry consumjes most of its energy revealing the survey of theories which argue for a date of collapse for the Roma Empire.   Wikipedia surveys the   â€Å"Pirenne Thesis†, wherein Henri Pirenne argued the Empire continued until the Muslim conquests in the 7th century, which disrupted Mediterranean trade routes and depressed the European economy. Pirenne sees the crowning of the Frankish King Charlemagne as the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 as a continuation of the Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But it is J. B. Bury’s contention in his â€Å"History of the Later Roman Empire†which receives critical attention in the Wikipedia article. His theory is that what amounted to a â€Å"perfect storm† of events combined to spell the downfall of the Empire:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *Economic decline   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *Germanic expansion in the population and military   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *De-population of Italy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *The treason of Stilicho   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   *The murder of Aetius and the lack of a leader to replace him   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bury says the Empire could have survived any of these events separately, but could not overcome the convergence of them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William Carroll Bark’s â€Å"Origins of the Medieval World† reasons that basic economics was the Empire’s undoing. As a pre-cursor to feudalism, the tenant farmer’s obligation was to pay a fixed assessment of taxes on his grain supply. The oppressive taxes kept the farmers impoverished and unlikely to move into the more prosperous middle class. In fact, what middle class there was was forced to become collectors of the taxes for the inefficient central government. Government coffers suffered as a result. Also, the scarcity of gold late in the Empire made matters worse. Inflation of the currency in relation to its value in gold resulted in more people demanding payment in gold. The government’s cash-flow problems required them to seek cheaper mercenaries as defenders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Radovan Richta says technology contributed to the Empire’s demise. The Germanic invention of the horseshoe and use of the new Chinese compass allowed mercenaries quicker access to Roman defenses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Arnold Toynbee and James Burke also examine economic causes at the root of the Empire’s fall. The Romans had no budgetary system and wasted available resources as a result. The economy was basically based on plunder rather than production of new goods, and that declined along with territorial expansion. Landowners were exempt from taxation, making revenue production inefficient and unfair. The middle-class, the backbone of any free economy, was nearly non-existent. Exports were scarce. Military and bureaucratic costs increased. In overthrowing Romulus Augustus, the barbarian conqueror Odoacer assumed neither the title nor the responsibility of governance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   William H. McNeill in â€Å"Plagues and Peoples† notes a 20-year-long plague in the late second century killed half of Europe’s population. The reduced tax base was unable to support the government and military and the resultant economic and social decline also killed the Empire.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚   Further theories of the cause of collapse proliferate through the Wikipedia article. So much so that one begins to feel that each sub-section of the article has been contributed by an enthusiast of that particularly pet-theory, sacrificing a general tone of scholarship for a tone of   specificity and personal   expertise. Examples of this include Wikipedias survey of Peter Heathers theory: that the threat posed by the Sassanid Persian Empire has been overlooked as a cause for the Roman Empires fall. He used archaeological evidence to suggest the Romans were stretched militarily by their preoccupation with the Persians, allowing a succession of Huns, Goths, and Germanic barbarians access to their territory.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A researcher who is searching for a very good primer regarding the abundance of theories which exist in scholarship to examine the historicism of the Roman Empires fall will find excellent information in the Wikipedia article, as a general and unverified outline of the scholarship. However, a deep-researcher would probably find the entry inconsistent, erratic, and of little value for serious scholarship as a go-to source; rather the Wikipedia seems to serve better as a thumbnail sketch of info and links to other sources of potential value. REFERENCE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Fall of the Roman Empire. wikipedia.com. Retrieved from the Internet March 16, 2007.