History of Globalization Free Essays

Globalization history Name: Institution: Scientist may approximate when the world was formed but people do not know how true this is. However, one thing is very clear; the way of our lives have changed from the most primitive to very a very advanced. Presently in the world there are sectors that are more developed more than others owing to some reasons. We will write a custom essay sample on History of Globalization or any similar topic only for you Order Now Globalization is responsible for all these developments that have occurred at different paces (Appadurai, 2003). Globalization is the difference of time and the evolution of world. Hence its’ a term used to explain how the world is today, and changes that have occurred right from the ancient days to the present day. In a superficial description, globalization is a phenomenon that has produced fundamental changes within societies. It covers a range of social, economic and political changes. Thus, global history focuses on the human history and historic developments from many past decades, though to some people it is a product of modern forces of change which cannot be projected all the way back to the old decades. Globalization is no more set in stone than global history and concept; it is accompanied by other concepts like information society, post industrial age, post modern age, and so on. Globalization is not a member of an archive in history, but it remains more of an explanatory, overarching concept for a series of actual processes of transformation. Globalization is a process that, for a long time, has been evolving. Different ideas and new developments are discovered as time pass (Teichmann, 2003). The economy, politics culture and military complexes follow their trends. Though all these depend on where they are situated, the time and social class. Therefore globalization is an open process that transforms the economic, political, social, cultural and military institutions, which may be organizations like the church, state, family, companies and so forth. The major roles of globalization are the expansion concentration and acceleration of worldwide relations. One of its characteristics is its influence on everything covered by rubric of culture. The cultural globalization is normally driven by the communication technology and worldwide marketing of western cultural industries. This was understood at the first process of normalization, as the global domination of Americans. It was at the expense of the traditional diversity. Then there was a difference and movements that started protesting against globalization and supporting local uniqueness, individuality and identity. The movements used same technologies to pursue their own goal and they would ask for the world’s opinion. Roland Robertson termed this as â€Å"Univesalization† (Global policy forum, 2005). Globalization is traced far back in the emergence of Homo sapiens and the migration out of Africa to the world. Globalization is suggested as the process of migration was the central globalization driver, as it linked processes of demographic expansion and increasing density of human habitation. Through this, the population increased and the intermingling of different people brought some old behaviors to an end. There is a near endless array of things that can be done to deal with global political problems, but space constraints have always limited us to issues of accountability and transparency. And people adapted to new adaptations, which are not constant and they vary with time. Through globalization the results of cultural change can be interpreted as hybridity. This means that new cultural elements being creatively adapted to mesh with existing ones and the people gradually adopt to the swiftly changing behavior. Most authors have described globalization as a fundamental change of categories of time and space, extensive use of electronic mail and the reduction in telephone fees has created and shared immediacy and a virtual togetherness, produces fundamentals for worldwide social relations. This has increased speed of communication. In the economic globalization, there has been advancement in modes of transportation and technology, which have given free market ideology which has brought about fair trades and services. Supply and demand have become very effective due to the liberation of market sources from governmental regulations. Most countries have taken the advantage of globalization. There is also the advantageous use of the international financial institutions and regional trade agreements for assisting poor countries to reduce tariffs, to privatize state enterprises, and relax environmental and labor standards. The results increase in profits for investors but offered pittances to laborers (Ritzer, 2010). There has been improvement in the world of agriculture as compared to historic days for instance the people of Mesopotamia used to use the ‘shadoff’ method of irrigation, through globalization better methods have been researched and developed like the use of water sprinklers, drip irrigation method just to mention. More so there has been the development of high breed seed that assist the farmers get high yields of harvest. There are machinery powers that are used like the use tractors in ploughing the land and use combined harvesters to harvest wheat. This has drastically slowed down some cruel businesses like the slave trade and also slavery. In the traditional era, politics was conducted by the national governments, who were responsible for maintaining security and economic welfare of its citizens, land issues and also the human rights. Through globalization changes have occurred and this has forced the political activity to change also. Politics has taken place through political integration schemes like united nations (U. N), European Union NGOs ,World bank and international monetary fund, just to mention, more so civil societies organizations act all over the world by forming alliances with organizations in other countries instead of working through their governments. There will always be differences of the globalization ideas, being a series of academic literatures, across political, economy and social science that are more specifically concerned with post second international economic development and politics. Globalization theories see the process as driven by multiple transformations in human life, and it’s very difficult to unpick the factor which tends to be a key driver. Though that does not mean we at times are militant opponents of globalization. Globalization is reflexive to people; people self consciously orient themselves to the world. For example, in businesses people explore global markets. People meet in trade fairs. There are inter marriages, inter social mingling, people change ideas and also communication sighs. Globalization contributes to human trafficking, most people through migrations, as people form 3rd world countries want to migrate to well develop countries in such of employment. Then if they fail to get the job they involve themselves with immorality. Also globalization encourages conflicts among different communities, as some communities wants to pose greater than others. This superiority and minority complexes leads to misunderstandings amongst people which lead to tribal wars and so on. On the merit side of globalization, it has brought people through intermingling and there is advancement of communication and information technologies in that References Appadurai, A. (2003). Globalization. Durham [u. a. : Duke Univ. Press. Global policy forum. (2005). Globalization of the Economy. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://www. globalpolicy. org/globalization/globalization-of-the-economy-2-1. html Ritzer, G. (2010). Globalization: A basic text. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell. Teichmann, I. (2003). Globalization. North Mankato, Minn: Smart Apple Media. How to cite History of Globalization, Papers

Microsoft Essay Thesis Example For Students

Microsoft Essay Thesis MICROSOFTBriarcliffe CollegeMicrosoft Corporation, leading American computer software company. Microsoft develops and sells a wide variety of computer software products in more than fifty countries. Microsofts Windows operating systems for personal computers are the most widely use operating systems in the world. Microsoft had revenues of $14.4 billion for the fiscal year ending June 1998, and employs more than 27,000 people in 60 countries. Microsoft has its headquaters in Redmond Washington. Microsofts other well known products include, Word, a word processor; Excel, a spreadsheet program; Access, a database program; and PowerPoint, a program used for making business presentations. These products are sold separately from Windows as a part of Microsoft Office. Microsoft also makes Back Office, an integrated set of server products for businesses. Microsofts Internet Explorer allows users to browse the World Wide Web. Among Microsofts other products are reference applications; games; finical software; programming languages for software developers (eg; Visual Basic) ; input devices, such as pointing devices and keyboards; and computer related books. Microsoft operates The Microsoft Network (MSN), a collection of news, travel, financial, entertainment, and information Web sites. Microsoft and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) jointly operate MSNBC, a twenty four hour news, talk, and information cable television channel and companion Web site. Microsoft was founded in 1975 by William H. Gates III and Paul Allen. The pair had teamed up in high school via their hobby of programming on the original PDP-10 computer from the Digital Equipment Corporation. In 1975 Popular Electronics magazine featured a cover story about the Altiar 8800, the first personal computer. The article inspired Gates and Allen to develop the first version of the BASIC programming language for the Altiar. They licensed the software to Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), the Altiars manufacturer, and formed Microsoft (originally Micro-soft) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to develop versions of BASIC for other computer companies. Microsofts early customers included fledgling hardware firms such as Apple Computer, maker of the Apple II computer; Commodore, maker of the PET computer; and Tandy Corporation; maker of the Radio Shack TRS-80 computer. In 1977 Microsoft shipped its second language product, Microsoft FORTRAN, and it soon released vers ions of BASIC for the 8080 and the 8086 microprocessors. In 1979 Gates and Allen moved the company to Bellevue, Washington, a suburb of their hometown Seattle. ( Microsoft moved to its current headquaters in Redmond in 1986.) In 1980 International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) chose Microsoft to write the operating system for the IBM PC personal computer, to be introduced the following year. Under time and pressure, Microsoft purchased QDOS (Quick and Dirty Operating System) from Seattle programmer Tim Paterson for $50.000 and renamed it MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). As part of its contract with IBM, Microsoft was permitted to license the operating system to other companies. By 1984 Microsoft had licensed MS-DOS to 200 personal computer manufacturers, making MS-DOS the standard operating system for personal computers and driving Microsofts enormous growth in the 1980s. As sales of MS-DOS took off, Microsoft began to develop business applications for personal computers. In 1982 Microsoft released Multiplan, a spreadsheet program, and the following year, it released a word processing program, Microsoft Word. In 1984 Microsoft was one of the few established software companies that to develop application software for the Macintosh, a personal computer developed by Apple Computer. Microsofts early support for the Macintosh resulted in tremendous success for its Macintosh Application software, including Word, Excel, and Works (an integrated software suite). Multiplan for MS-DOS, however, faltered against the popular Lotus Development Corporation. In 1985 Microsoft released Windows, an operating system that extended the features of MS-DOS and employed a graphical user interface. Windows 2.0 released in 1987, improved performance and offered a new visual appearance, In 1990 Microsoft released a more powerful version, Windows 3.0, which was followed by Windows 3.1 and 3.11. These versions which came preinstalled on most personal computers, rapidly became the most widely used operating systems. In 1990 Microsoft became the first personal computer software company to record $1 billion in annual sales. .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 , .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .postImageUrl , .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 , .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:hover , .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:visited , .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:active { border:0!important; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:active , .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58 .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u007dd294317d3177f58854c61f620f58:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Life changing experience EssayAs Microsofts dominance grew in the market for personal computer operating systems, the company was accused of monopolistic business practices. In 1990 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began investigating Microsoft for alleged

Theater Critique Mary Poppins Essay Example

Theater Critique Mary Poppins Essay I went to see the musical Mary Poppins at the Arts Center. This is a story about Mary Poppins, a magical nanny who comes to take care of the Banks children who live in London. Jane and Michael Banks, the children of George and Winifred Banks, are infamously known around London as horrible children who make their nannies quit. When their current nannyleaves, the Banks are left without a nanny until Mary Poppins mysteriously appears at their front door. As the kids gradually warm up to Mary Poppins, she takes them on little excursions to the park and chimney tops where they meet Bert, the jack of all trades, and other interesting characters. Through these little excursions, the kids learn important life lessons such as looking past appearances, and making moral decisions. They even have fun, dancing with statues and finding the word Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. However, Mary Poppins decides to leave the kids when the kids fight over toys. Once Mary Poppins leaves, Mrs. Banks bri ngs in Mr. Banks’s childhood nanny: Miss Andrews. She turns out to be a horrible lady and Mary Poppins comes back just in time to save them. Once she is back, Mary Poppins goes back to helping the Banks family, especially Mr. Banks. When he gets called to the bank, he finds out that instead of being fired, he has received a promotion for choosing the â€Å"good man† over the â€Å"good idea†. The Banks family ishappy again, so Mary Poppins decides to leave the Banks and Bert. Overall I thought that the acting and stage managing of this play was very good. All of the actors had very loud and clear voices so it was very easy to comprehend what they were saying. Also their acting and singing was very much in sync. For example, in the tap dancing scene with the chimney sweeps, all of the tap dancers had perfect rhythm to create a very beautiful sound. Other scenes of dancing such as theSupercalifragilisticexpialidocious were also perfectly executed. I al We will write a custom essay sample on Theater Critique Mary Poppins specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Theater Critique Mary Poppins specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Theater Critique Mary Poppins specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Research Paper on Finance

Research Paper on Finance The research and financial analysis of this report are based on the information provided by the Ryanair Financial Report, relevant internet and library. Introduction The purpose of this research paper is using financial management techniques to provide an overview of Ryanair Holding Plc. After analyzing the information from different resources, this research paper will supply other companies with a guide to make many decisions required to effectively manage of their business and to develop their future financial plans for the future requires reliable and pertinent information on the financial performance and financial position of the firm although if the analysis forecasts serious financial problems. Financial management techniques in todays business The main objective of financial management is maximizing shareholders wealth. Company needs money to acquire resources to operate. Money for investment is referred to as finance, financial management is concerned with managing a companys finances. When company decides to use their expertise, time and money in a particular way, they have an objective in mind. The objective governs the decisions to be made. A companys major objective is maximizing the wealth of its shareholders, but other objectives should be satisfied at the same time, like managerial objective, short-term objective, other parties objective, non-financial objective. The company needs machine, staff, and working capital to exist and grow in the market, which is the reason why we have to invest. First, we should have strategic management and analysis. Like current environment, capacity for change. Where are we now? Where are we going? P.E.S.T and SWOT analysis can help you analysis the companys situations. The rule of t humb is that long-term assets should be financed by long-term funds and short-tem assets by short-term funds. Short-term finance is usually cheaper than long-term finance. This is largely due to the risks taken by creditors. There are some financial management techniques that we could apply in the chosen company Ryanair Holding PLC. About Ryanair The Irish company Ryanair is the famous low-fares airline company in Europe. It started in 1985 and had IPO in 1997 when it floated Ryanair Holdings plc on Dublin and New York (NASDAQ) Stock exchanges. Company goal is to be the Europes largest airline in the next 8 years. Ryanair operates 45 routes across 11 European countries. They have daily services from most of these routes. In 1995, Ryanair had become the biggest passenger carrier on the Dublin-London route. But compare with other large airlines, Ryanair only operates European continental routes. It lacks the link with other continents. However, in addition to route availability, the actual flight schedule is also important to maximize the available flying time of the airlines most significant tangible asset, its aircraft. Ryanair has a fleet of 31 Boeing 737s, orders for up to a further 25 new 737-800s which will be delivered over the next 2 years. Over the past ten years it has increased its annual traffic from under 700,000 t o over 15 million passengers. Along the way it changed the face of air travel, broke hire fare cartels, rocked airport monopolies and made it possible for millions to travel. Ryanair provide unique services with low price. If their seats are not booked, customers can seat wherever they like. However, their in-flight services are limited. For example, customers have to pay if they want any drinks or food. There are always some complains about seats overbooking from customers. Ryanair has committed itself to safe operations and has put in place extensive safety training programs to ensure the recruitment of suitably qualified pilots and maintenance personnel. In addition, the company is also committed to the operation and maintenance of its aircraft in accordance with the highest European Aviation Industry Standards, which are closely monitored by the Irish Aviation Authority. In year 2000, Ryanair launched Europes largest travel website at WWW.RYANAIR.COM, which within three months of its launch was taking over 50,000 bookings per week, by offering unbelievably low airfares. The passenger acceptance of this website enabled Ryanair to reduce travel agent commission. Ryanair is well positioned in European market to implement its low cost strategy. After the full EU air transport deregulation in 1997, Ryanair was free to set up new routes to Continental Europe. The airline entering these market offered air fares which were more than 50% lower than the cheapest fares then provided by the flag carrier airlines. The European airline sector is dominated by high cost; long haul national carriers like British Airway, Lufthansa and KLM. These airlines control 50-60% of market share, but are beginning to lose the bottom end of the market to low cost carrier like Ryanair. Financial Situation The major revenues of Ryanair gain from the tickets that they sold during the year. Therefore, we can regard the tickets as a kind of the stock of the airlines company. But they dont have any value before they are sold. That is the only different with the tangible stock value. Once the tickets are sold, the company gets the revenues from the operation. They have amount of cash and debt. The company uses cash to pay the relevant cost, like staff wages, fuel and oil cost, marketing and distribution cost and so on. The rest of the revenues are kept in retained profit as the capital of company. If the profit grows, the company share price will increase accordingly. Once the share price increased, the shareholders will enjoy the prior return on their investment, more and more investors will have more interest in the company. Therefore, the company achieves the source of finance. After that, they should consider about where they should invest to growth in the market and expand their compan y. Last year, Ryanair companys operation revenues are 298149 in 2002 (Increase 64413 than 2001). It includes net cash inflow from operating activities: 125417. This should thank for the contribution of the sales team. Ryanair insists to offer lower airfares in European countries and try to increase sales continuously. Increased revenue is one of the major sources of finance. The strength of the performance is highlighted by the fact that the groups cash on hand is equivalent to 53.6% of annual turnover. This figure is a little bit high according to their sale growth. They should invest the cash flow to generate more return. But there is a special reason that they have to maintain a deposit US$500,000 with the guarantor bank for as long as the bank gave its guarantee. The operating expenses during the year are Ђ 229740; Net cash inflow from operating activities is 12304; profit and loss account is 112758. As the growth of the profit during the year, EPS increased by 17% to 35.16 and is based on 164,759,808 shares which represent the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding during the year. We can see the profit is increasing; the capital of the company is increasing. Because the market is growing, Ryanair should think about where they should invest and how. i.e. Invest new aircraft, improve quality of service or setup new routes. Ryanair announced a new investment program with a US$2billion order for up to 45 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft. Continued strong cash flows generated from trading operations combined with the proceeds of the London offering and the receipt of debt financing for the first of the Boeing 737-800 next generation aircraft, has allowed the group to increase its cash on hand by 74m. Before Ryanair makes decision about buying what type of aircraft, the two alternatives would be mutually exclusive, in that the choice of one will exclude the other. The company may use NPV and IRR to calculate which one may give more return. Appendices: Net Profit Ratio: In 2001, 54822/233736*100%=23% In 2002, 112758/298124*100%=38% Return On capital Employed: In 2001, 56736/149385*100%=38% In 2002, 68410/287752*100%`=28% Asset Turnover: In 2001, 233736/149385=1.56 In 2002, 298124/287752=1.04 Current Assets Ratio: In 2001, 88979/71877=1:1 In 2002, 197879/115319=2:1 Acid-Test Ratio: In 2001, (88979-6638)/71877=1:1 In 2002, (197879-13021)/115319=1:1 Total Gearing: In 2001, 14834/(134551+14834)*100%=10% In 2002, 34760/(252992+34760)*100%=12% Equity Gearing: In 2001, 14834/134551*100%=11% In 2002, 34760/252992*100% =13% Interest Cover: In 2001, 63017/(1087+13388)=4.4times In 2002, 76662/(239+11368)=6.6times Ratio Analysis Ratios are quiet common method of analyzing financial management. It refers to the use of simple ratios which are calculated from the figures of financial statements in order to measure certain aspects of a firms financial condition. Ratios make comparisons with: The performance of the business in previous years The budgeted or planned performance in the current years The performance of similar business The ratios make easier to make better decision. However, there are some limitations in ratio analysis. For instance, since ratios are constructed from accounting data, if we do comparison within two different firms, their accounting policies (i.e. depreciation charge, the accounting years) could lead to the inaccurate illustration. The Net Profit Ratio was dramatically increased by 15% during the year 2001 and 2002. Even though their expenses cost had increased by a certain percentages in different items and because of their low fares system. They still gained a high return in net profit when compared to 2001. The reason of this was because the rise of sales and the interest received. These revenues gave the company a good return that could cover the expenses and other additional costs. The increase in profitability reflects the positive impact of the growth in passengers volume because of the increase in seat capacity on exiting routes and the launch of new 7 European routes during the year. In the Return On Capital Employed Ratio the amount of money that the investors can get back after investing in the company, the ratio decreased to 28% in that year. The explanation of this figure was because their company needed to consider the contract that with Boeing worth US$2 billion by ordering for up to 45 aircraft in the coming years, in order to succeed the expansion of our company. Asset Turnover Ratio is a measure of productivity as much as profitability. Within 2001 and 2002, the ratio dropped from 1.56 to 1.04, it meant that more assets were to be used to generate every unit of sales .The reason was because their introduction on new fleet of 22 aircraft on our network of 27 routes in request to increase the level of passengers and the low fares system. According to the Current Asset Ratio, The company had a well cover of their current liabilities under current assets. Even though in Acid Ð C Test Ratio, which we examined that by excluding the inventories, their current assets also covered the liabilities by 1.14 in 2001, and 1.60 in 2002. It increased by 46%. From the current assets, cash was the major inflows to their company in the past two years. Especially in 2002, there was an increase in cash from 892160 TO 12742400. Move to the cash flows statement. Cash is King. Company fail, not because of their insufficient profits, but because they have run out of cash to pay their liabilities. Cash and bank balances should be kept to a minimum, as they earn nothing for the company, but make sure you have enough cash to pay employees and creditors. Cash generated from operating activities grew up for 25.6 million. This increase was due to the increase of sales and profits and the add back of the non-cash items primarily depreciation charge since they had a new aircraft during the year. The cash flows was from trading operations combined with the proceeds of the London offering and the receipt of debt financing for the first Boeing 737-800 next generation aircraft, has allowed the group to increase the cash on hands despite having to pay advance deposits to Boeing. The performance is highlighted by the fact that the cash on hand is equivalent to 53.6%of annual turnover. The next ratio is Gearing which means how reliable of the company on the financial institutions when raising the finance. Even though their ratio was slightly increased by2%, they were still in a low-geared situation in these two years. The interest cover were good since Ryanair only needs to pay interest once a year and they could pay 4.4 times in 2001 and 6.6times in 2002. The Earning Per Share considers the profits that could be paid to each ordinary shareholder. The increase in profit resulted in the increase in EPS. This also stated that the increase in the value of shareholders as the companys profit and traffic has grown. After finishing the ratio analysis, we can see that Ryanair is healthy. Here is the comparison ratio with other major airline companies and industrial average. After seeing this you will more agree that Ryanairs performance is good. Other non-financial consideration Ryanair has a bad reputation for over booking and early check-in time. On the other way, every company has limitation. For airline companies, these problems are normal. Ryanair changed their booking system last Christmas and the new system is more accurate and working well. Company said that they will not only improve the hardware but also the staff. There are a group of new staffs now is trained by American Airline. Conclusion After reading the research paper, hopefully you have an understanding of airline finance. Ryanair is a new member of airline companies (started from 1985). It is young and healthy. Based on Europe and has a strong relationship with America, there are lots of areas that it can improve and expand to. Ryanairs developing speed like a flying superman, going up and away. It is the kind of company we should put money in.

D-Day

D-Day What Was D-Day? In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the Allies launched an attack by sea, landing on the beaches of Normandy on the northern coast of Nazi-occupied France.   The first day of this major undertaking was known as D-Day; it was the first day of the Battle of Normandy (code-named Operation Overlord) in World War II. On D-day, an armada of approximately 5,000 ships secretly crossed the English Channel and unloaded 156,000 Allied soldiers and nearly 30,000 vehicles in a single day on five, well-defended beaches (Omaha, Utah, Pluto, Gold, and Sword). By the end of the day, 2,500 Allied soldiers had been killed and another 6,500 wounded, but the Allies had succeeded, for they had broken through the German defenses and created a second front in World War II. Dates:   June 6, 1944 Planning a Second Front By 1944, World War II had already been raging for five years and most of Europe was under Nazi control. The Soviet Union was having some success on the Eastern Front but the other Allies, specifically the United States and the United Kingdom, had not yet made a full-fledged attack on the European mainland. It was time to create a second front. The questions of where and when to start this second front were difficult ones. The northern coast of Europe was an obvious choice, since the invasion force would be coming from Great Britain. A location that already had a port would be ideal in order to unload the millions of tons of supplies and soldiers needed. Also required was a location that would be within range of Allied fighter planes taking off from Great Britain. Unfortunately, the Nazis knew all this as well. To add an element of surprise and to avoid the bloodbath of trying to take a well-defended port, the Allied High Command decided on a location that met the other criteria but that did not have a port the beaches of Normandy in northern France. Once a location had been chosen, deciding upon a date was next. There needed to be enough time to collect the supplies and equipment, gather the planes and vehicles, and train the soldiers. This whole process would take a year. The specific date also depended on the timing of low tide and a full moon. All of this led to a specific day – June 5, 1944. Rather than continually refer to the actual date, the military used the term â€Å"D-Day† for the day of attack. What the Nazis Expected The Nazis knew the Allies were planning an invasion. In preparation, they had fortified all northern ports, especially the one at Pas de Calais, which was the shortest distance from southern Britain. But that was not all. As early as 1942, Nazi Fà ¼hrer Adolf Hitler ordered the creation of an Atlantic Wall to protect the northern coast of Europe from an Allied invasion. This was not literally a wall; instead, it was a collection of defenses, such as barbed wire and minefields, that stretched across 3,000 miles of coastline. In December 1943, when highly-regarded Field Marshal Erwin Rommel (known as the â€Å"Desert Fox†) was put in charge of these defenses, he found them completely inadequate. Rommel immediately ordered the creation of additional â€Å"pillboxes† (concrete bunkers fitted with machine guns and artillery), millions of additional mines, and a half million metal obstacles and stakes placed on the beaches that could rip open the bottom of landing craft. To hinder paratroopers and gliders, Rommel ordered many of the fields behind the beaches to be flooded and covered with protruding wooden poles (known as â€Å"Rommel’s asparagus†). Many of these had mines fitted on top. Rommel knew that these defenses would not be enough to stop an invading army, but he hoped it would slow them down long enough for him to bring reinforcements. He needed to stop the Allied invasion on the beach, before they gained a foothold. Secrecy The Allies desperately worried about German reinforcements. An amphibious attack against an entrenched enemy would already be incredibly difficult; however, if the Germans ever found out where and when the invasion was to take place and thus reinforced the area, well, the attack might end disastrously. That was the exact reason for the need of absolute secrecy. To help keep this secret, the Allies launched Operation Fortitude, an intricate plan to deceive the Germans. This plan included false radio signals, double agents, and fake armies that included life-size balloon tanks. A macabre plan to drop a dead body with false top-secret papers off the coast of Spain was also used. Anything and everything was used to deceive the Germans, to make them think that the Allied invasion was to occur somewhere else and not Normandy. A Delay All was set for D-Day being on June 5, even the equipment and soldiers had already been loaded onto the ships. Then, the weather changed. A massive storm hit, with 45-mile-an-hour wind gusts and lots of rain. After much contemplation, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, postponed D-Day just one day. Any longer of a postponement and the low tides and full moon wouldn’t be right and they’d have to wait another whole month. Also, it was uncertain they could keep the invasion secret for that much longer. The invasion would begin on June 6, 1944. Rommel also paid notice to the massive storm and believed that the Allies would never invade in such inclement weather. Thus, he made the fateful decision to go out of town on June 5 to celebrate his wife’s 50th birthday. By the time he was informed of the invasion, it was too late. In Darkness: Paratroopers Begin D-Day Although D-Day is famous for being an amphibious operation, it actually started with thousands of brave paratroopers. Under the cover of darkness, the first wave of 180 paratroopers arrived in Normandy. They rode in six gliders that had been pulled and then released by British bombers.   Upon landing, the paratroopers grabbed their equipment, left their gliders, and worked as a team to take control of two, very important bridges: the one over the Orne River and the other over the Caen Canal. Control of these would both hinder German reinforcements along these paths as well as enable the Allies access to inland France once they were off the beaches. The second wave of 13,000 paratroopers had a very difficult arrival in Normandy. Flying in approximately 900 C-47 airplanes, the Nazis spotted the planes and started shooting. The planes drifted apart; thus, when the paratroopers jumped, they were scattered far and wide.    Many of these paratroopers were killed before they even hit the ground; others got caught in trees and were shot by German snipers. Still others drowned in Rommel’s flooded plains, weighed down by their heavy packs and tangled in weeds. Only 3,000 were able to join together; however, they did manage to capture the village of St. Mà ©re Eglise, an essential target. The scattering of the paratroopers had a benefit for the Allies – it confused the Germans. The Germans did not yet realize that a massive invasion was about to get underway. Loading the Landing Craft While the paratroopers were fighting their own battles, the Allied armada was making its way to Normandy. Approximately 5,000 ships including minesweepers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and others – arrived in the waters off France around 2 a.m. on June 6, 1944. Most of the soldiers on board these ships were seasick. Not only had they been on board, in extremely cramped quarters, for days, crossing the Channel had been stomach turning because of extremely choppy waters from the storm. The battle began with a bombardment, both from the armada’s artillery as well as 2,000 Allied aircraft that soared overhead and bombed the beach defenses. The bombardment turned out to be not as successful as had been hoped and a lot of German defenses remained intact. While this bombardment was under way, the soldiers were tasked with climbing into landing craft, 30 men per boat. This, in itself, was a difficult task as the men climbed down slippery rope ladders and had to drop into landing craft that were bobbing up and down in five-foot waves. A number of soldiers dropped into the water, unable to surface because they were weighted down by 88 pounds of gear. As each landing craft filled up, they rendezvoused with other landing craft in a designated zone just outside of German artillery range. In this zone, nicknamed â€Å"Piccadilly Circus,† the landing craft stayed in a circular holding pattern until it was time to attack. At 6:30 a.m., the naval gunfire stopped and the landing boats headed toward shore. The Five Beaches The Allied landing boats were headed to five beaches spread out over 50 miles of coastline.   These beaches had been code-named, from west to east, as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. The Americans were to attack at Utah and Omaha, while the British struck at Gold and Sword. The Canadians headed toward Juno. In some ways, soldiers reaching these beaches had similar experiences. Their landing vehicles would get close to the beach and, if they were not ripped open by obstacles or blown up by mines, then the transport door would open and the soldiers would disembark, waist-deep in the water. Immediately, they faced machine-gun fire from the German pillboxes. Without cover, many in the first transports were simply mowed down. The beaches quickly became bloody and strewn with body parts. Debris from blown up transport ships floated in the water.   Injured soldiers that fell in the water usually did not survive – their heavy packs weighed them down and they drowned. Eventually, after wave after wave of transports dropped off soldiers and then even some armored vehicles, the Allies started making headway on the beaches. Some of these helpful vehicles included tanks, such as the newly designed Duplex Drive tank (DDs). DDs, sometimes called â€Å"swimming tanks,† were basically Sherman tanks that had been fitted with a flotation skirt that allowed them to float. Flails, a tank equipped with metal chains in front, was another helpful vehicle, offering a new way to clear mines ahead of the soldiers. Crocodiles, were tanks equipped with a large flame thrower. These specialized, armored vehicles greatly helped the soldiers on Gold and Sword beaches. By early afternoon, the soldiers on Gold, Sword, and Utah had succeeded in capturing their beaches and had even met up with some of the paratroopers on the other side. The attacks on Juno and Omaha, however, were not going as well. Problems at Juno and Omaha Beaches At Juno, the Canadian soldiers had a bloody landing. Their landing boats had been forced off course by currents and thus had arrived at Juno Beach a half hour late. This meant that the tide had risen and many of the mines and obstacles were thus hidden under water.   An estimated half of the landing boats were damaged, with almost a third completely destroyed. The Canadian troops eventually took control of the beach, but at a cost of more than 1,000 men. It was even worse at Omaha. Unlike the other beaches, at Omaha, American soldiers faced an enemy that was safely housed in pillboxes located on top of bluffs that soared 100 feet above them. The early-morning bombardment that was supposed to take out some of these pillboxes missed this area; thus, the German defenses were nearly intact. The were was one particular bluff, called Pointe du Hoc, that stuck out into the ocean  between Utah and Omaha Beaches, giving German artillery at the top the ability to shoot at both beaches. This was such an essential target that the Allies sent in a special Ranger unit, led by Lt. Col. James Rudder,  to take out the artillery on top. Although arriving a half hour late because of drifting from a strong tide, the Rangers were able to use grappling hooks to scale the sheer cliff. At the top, they  discovered that the guns had been temporarily replaced by telephone poles to fool the Allies and to keep the guns safe from the bombardment. Splitting up and searching the countryside behind the cliff, the Rangers  found the guns. With a group of German soldiers not far away, Rangers snuck in and detonated thermite grenades in the guns, destroying them.   In addition to the bluffs, the crescent-shape of the beach made Omaha the most defensible of all the beaches. With these advantages, the Germans were able to mow down transports as soon as they arrived; the soldiers had little opportunity to run the 200 yards to the seawall for cover. The bloodbath earned this beach the nickname â€Å"Bloody Omaha.† The soldiers on Omaha were also essentially without armored help. Those in command had only requested DDs to accompany their soldiers, but nearly all of the swimming tanks headed toward Omaha drowned in the choppy waters. Eventually, with the help of naval artillery, small groups of men were able to make it across the beach and take out the German defenses, but it would cost 4,000 casualties to do so. The Break Out Despite a number of things not going to plan, D-Day was a success. The Allies had been able to keep the invasion a surprise and, with Rommel out of town and Hitler believing the landings at Normandy were a ruse for a real landing at Calais, the Germans never reinforced their position. After initial heavy fighting along the beaches, the Allied troops were able to secure their landings and break through German defenses to enter the interior of France. By June 7, the day after D-Day, the Allies were beginning the placement of two Mulberries, artificial harbors whose components had been pulled by tugboat across the Channel. These harbors would allow millions of tons of supplies to reach the invading Allied troops. The success of D-Day was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. Eleven months after D-Day, the war in Europe would be over.

Topic to be selected from a list Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Topic to be selected from a list - Essay Example The government of United Kingdom introduced a scheme known as Sure Start in 1989 to ensure that children receive the best possible start in life (Thompson, 2010). This initiative was led by Gordon Brown, who was the chancellor of Exchequer during that time (Thompson, 2010). The goal of this program was to provide a good start to the children, so that they can build upon it in the future. The support is provided in terms of ensuring good education beginning from the early years; providing facilities for childcare; ensuring good health care and ensuring family support for children’s well-being (Roberts, 2000). Additionally, the project also has the larger goal of community development so that children can have a head start to in their adult life as a result of spending their childhood with a robust and healthy community (Roberts, 2000). This study takes a closer look at the contribution of Sure Start to the lives of children and families in the UK. It also attempts to assess the impact, the challenges and the future outlook related to this program. The study starts by documenting the origins and functioning of this scheme and then moves on the various contributions that it has made to the lives of children and families. Then, it also takes a look at both the local and national assessment of the scheme, the view of researchers and its future outlook. The performance of Sure Start has been under the scrutiny in recent times and scholars as well as the media have been debating on the effectiveness of this program. Hence, it is necessary to understand the ways in which this program may have had an impact on both The research is undertaken through a literature survey and review of available research and literature on the topic of project Sure Start. As such, numerous journal articles, books, newspaper articles, and authentic websites were perused and

Examine it from 1978 (the year China adopted a capitalist economic Essay

Examine it from 1978 (the year China adopted a capitalist economic system) to present. Analyzing the country from the 1990s to t - Essay Example Introduction Before 1976, China’s economic ideology was purely communism. The death of Mao Zedong in 1976 precipitated leadership decisions, which were significant. No one would foretell that the end of Maoist Socialism in China would result into what modern scholars refer to as China’s great transformation (Wang & Coase 1). China became capitalist and mostly productive (Shaw 1). It became one of the most democratic income distributors to the rest of the world. Despite the rise of the Chinese economy, existing statistics reveal that most Chinese are still poor; in fact, most Chinese still face challenges in exercising their freedom and protecting their rights. Tony 1 postulates that one of the most overlooked astounding narratives about China is that, since the economic resurgence of china in 1978, the country has become an unequal society to the extent that it rates high in the Asian continent. Since 1978, the Cina's Gini coefficient of general family income distributi on surpasses both Indonesia and India, and it is now approaching Malaysia and the Philippines, which are unequal in Asia. This paper seeks to document a hallmark feature of china’s capitalism, with close review as to how the economy has reformed. i. Politics and Policy Deng’s skeptical slogan of ‘Letting some Chinese get rich first’ marked the outset of inequality in China. This became a source of concern for his predecessors, who prompted political moves to distance themselves from their predecessor. Between 1995 and 2002, a development strategy, popularly known as ‘Great western Strategy’, which gave greater emphasis on investing in poor provinces, was adopted (Jane 1). The program also included alleviation of rural poverty through support to farm production, rural educational and training, and emigration into ecologically sustainable areas. The implementation of these policy initiatives has yet faced numerous challenges. For example, tax re bates for local governments tend to be biased towards urban areas, this leaves rural areas depressed out in the cold thus, not doing anything on the urban-rural gap. The complexity behind Chinese politics is worth noting. A debate as to whether the Chinese Government should worry about political destabilization to compact inequality is intriguing. The political elites, the protagonist’s side of Jiang, argue that it is not a pressing problem while Hu and Wen argue it is. With Hu and Wen ruminating openly that inequality is a threat to political stability, their opponents take comfort because they understand that the relationship between poverty and inequality, and protests against social movements are often attenuated (Tony 12). ii. Inequality and Poverty According to Shujie, Yao and associates, China’s largest component of inequality is best illustrated by the rural-urban gap. In 2002, for example, the average urban: rural per capita was expressed in the ratio 3: 1 (Bl echer & College 3), which economic analysts described as staggering, and almost unheard in developing nations. However, China’s extremely egalitarian distribution of land has reduced rural inequality, coupled with its policy on land reform and collectivization, the approach that those molded the collective land distribution to households in the 1980s, and the ongoing restrictions on the growth of a farmland market. Today, rural inequality in Chin