The Provinces of the Roman Empire (Circa 120 CE)

Roman provinces (Latin proviniciae, singular provincia) were administrative and territorial units of the Roman Empire, established by various emperors as revenue-generating territories throughout Italy and then the rest of Europe as the empire expanded. The governors of the provinces were often selected from men who had been consuls (Roman magistrates), or former praetors (the chief justice of magistrates) could also serve as governor. In some places such as Judaea, the comparatively lower ranking civil prefects were appointed the governor. The provinces provided a source of income for the governor and resources for Rome. Varying Borders The number and borders of the provinces under Roman rule changed nearly constantly as conditions altered in the various locations. During the latter period of the Roman Empire known as the Dominate, the provinces were each broken into smaller units. The following are the provinces at the time of Actium (31 BCE) with the dates (from Pennell) they were established (not the same as the date of acquisition) and their general location. Sicilia (Sicily, 227 BCE)Sardinia and Corsica (227 BCE)Hispania Citerior (eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, 205 BCE)Hispania Ulterior (southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, 205 BCE)Illyricum (Croatia, 167 BCE)Macedonia (mainland Greece, 146 BCE)Africa (modern Tunisia and western Libya, 146 BCE)Asia (modern Turkey, 133 BCE)Achaia (southern and central Greece, 146 BCE)Gallia Narbonensis (southern France, 118 BCE)Gallia Citerior (80 BCE)Cilicia (63 BCE)Syria (64 BCE)Bithynia and Pontus (northwestern Turkey, 63 BCE)Cyprus (55 BCE)Cyrenaica and Crete (63 BCE)Africa Nova (eastern Numidia, 46 BCE)Mauritania (46 BCE) Principate The following provinces were added under the emperors during the Principate: Rhaetia (Switzerland, Austria, and Germany, 15 BCE)Noricum (parts of Austria, Slovenia, Bavaria, 16 BCE)Pannonia (Croatia, 9 BCE)Moesia (Danube river region of Serbia, the Republic of Macedonia, and Bulgaria, 6 CE)Dacia (Transylvania, 107 CE)Britannia (Britain, 42 CE)Aegyptus (Egypt, 30 BCE)Cappadocia (central Turkey, 18 CE)Galatia (central Turkey, 25 BCE)Lycia (43 BCE)Judaea (Palestine, 135 CE)Arabia (Nabataea, 106 CE)Mesopotamia (Iraq, 116 CE)Armenia (114 CE)Assyria (disagreement on location, 116 CE) Italian Provinces Latium et Campania (Regio I)Apulia et Calabria (Regio II)Lucania et Bruttium (Region III)Samnium (Regio IV)Picenum (Region V)Tuscia et Umbria (Regio VI)Etruria (Regio VII)Aemilia (Regio VIII)Liguria (Regio IX)Venetia et Ager Gallicus (Regio X)Transpadana (Regio XI) Sources Pennell RF. 1894. Ancient Rome: From the Earliest Times Down to 476 A.D. Project Guttenberg.. Smith W. 1872. A dictionary of Greek and Roman Google Books. geography, Volume 2.

Exploration of Shakespeares Views on Kingship Through...

Exploration of Shakespeares Views on Kingship Through Macbeth Works Cited Not Included Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare in around 1606 and is Shakespeares shortest tragedy. He wrote Macbeth whilst James I was on the throne. James believed strongly in divine right. This may have helped Shakespeares views on kingship. In Macbeth there are four kings: Edward of England; Duncan; Malcolm and Macbeth. Of these four only Macbeth did not rule by divine right as he murdered the previous king so as to gain the throne. Also of these four only Macbeth can be described as a†¦show more content†¦He later betrays his country by swapping sides in battle. Duncan also has the disadvantage of being quite old. He is too weak to lead his army into war and has to rely on the Thanes. He doesnt give his plans a lot of thought. Duncan approves of violence and in Macbeths case, rewards it. The other characters in Macbeth greatly respect Duncan. Even Macbeth talks highly of Duncan both before and after Duncans death. People know that Duncan is a great king and hence he is treated with utmost respect. In Act 1 Scene 2 Ross says, god save the king. I believe that Duncan is also liked because when he speaks to people he speaks with dignity and respect for them and he is not patronizing. A good example of this can be found in Act 1 Scene 2 line 24 when says to the sergeant, O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!. It is must be remembered however that at that time people believed in the divine right of king. The king was seen to be Gods representative on earth and therefore the king was almost sacred in peoples eyes. Macduff in Act 4 Scene 3 line 109 refers to Duncan as a most sainted king. Even Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 6 respects Duncan by saying to him, at your highnesses pleasure. Overall I believe that Shakespeare wants to portray Duncan as a good king. He bestows on Duncan the virtues of being gracious, open,Show MoreRelated Kingship in Shakesperean Plays Essay2522 Words   |  11 PagesKingship in Shakesperean Plays Due to the powerful influence of the monarchy, the nature, duties and responsibilities of kingship were of particular interest to Shakespeare. The mark of a bad king was the decline of the political, social and economic climates, while the mark of a good king was the blossoming of such worlds. Therefore, the characteristics of the person occupying the kingship were crucial to the health of the nation. Shakespeare explores this issue in many of his plays by examiningRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare and Macbeth8813 Words   |  36 Pageshero was to be pitied in his fallen plight but not necessarily forgiven: Greek tragedy frequently has a bleak outcome. Christian drama, on the other hand, always offers a ray of hope; hence,  Macbeth  ends with the coronation of  Malcolm, a new leader who exhibits all the correct virtues for a king. Macbeth  exhibits elements that reflect the greatest Christian tragedy of all: the Fall of Man. In the Genesis story, it is the weakness of Adam, persuaded by his wife (who has in turn been seduced byRead MoreLiterary Group in British Poetry5631 Words   |  23 PagesThis is generally taken as marking the beginning of Anglo-Saxon poetry. Much of the poetry of the period is difficult to date, or even to arrange chronologically; for example, estimates for the date of the great epic Beowulf range from AD 608 right through to AD 1000, and there has never been anything even approaching a consensus.[2] It is possible to identify certain key moments, however. The Dream of the Rood was written before circa AD 700, when excerpts were carved in runes on the Ruthwell Cross

Dick Smith Group Collapse a Case Study in Electronics Retailing

Question: Discuss about theDick Smith Group Collapse Case. Answer: Reasons that Resulted in Collapse of Dick Smith Group Collapse of the Dick Smith Group has raised several questions on the area of accounting profession. Ample accounting reasons are held responsible for the failure of the group. He consequences of accounting treatment of rebates is an aspect of the collapse story of Dick Smith Group and for this reason will be undoubtedly be a centre of attention of additional questioning. Treating rebates inefficiently was considered a reason for its collapse (Zeff 2016). The accounting team of Dick Smith Group has been treating rebates in a way that has ultimately resulted in inflated earnings. Overstatement of the performance contributes to another reason. Such issues concerning the accounting standards interpretation took place within the entity and were deemed violation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Moreover, International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators (IFIAR) has revealed an audit quality issue to be the result of the companys collapse. IFIAR was not yet satisfied about the fact that the company failed to address and understand the drawbacks in the quality of audit. Several other reasons those resulted in the collapse of the company includes ample strategic management blunders that encompass excessive purchasing of the inventories to fierce expansion, wrong selection of product and depending on excessive debt by the group (Dorminey et al. 2012). Moreover, Dick Smith Group was also alleged by the bank regarding breech of its borrowing agreements. Directors and officers of the Group encouraged or failed in controlling the practice of taking buying decisions concerning increasing rebates in inclination to a vital criteria like consumer demand and the capability to sell offerings within desired time to gain profit. Management Actions that Contributed To the Demise of the Group Earnings management serves as a strategy employed by the management of Dick Smith Group in deliberately manipulating its earnings to ensure that the earnings figure is aligned with its pre-determined target (Fang et al. 2015). Such practice is conducted for the income smoothing purpose. The management actions that contributed to the demise of the Dick Smith are: Inventory Management in Dick Smith Group- Dick Smith Groups inventory issues started to turn out to be apparent in the second half of 2015 and the end of the November, the company indicated that it would write down its inventories value by 20%. The company brought its inventory for estimating a particular sales level. However, it was observed that it did not attain the sales level and accordingly it declared clearance sale by decreasing prices of its old stock by 70% (Degeorge et al. 2013). The management of the company discovered alternative funding but they also gathered a view that success in attaining alternative funding that further was not observed to be in a timely manner for supporting the companys short term funding needs and facilitate it to order needed inventory over next few weeks. Due to such faulty management decision, Dick Smith struggled a lot in clearing out excess old inventory but it also faced considerable issues in attaining enough finance to acquire new stocks. Private Equity Floats are not considered the Way it seems- The function of a private equity group Anchorage Capital within the history of Dick Smith contributed to the collapse of the company. Anchorage purchases business of the Group and floated it within the Australian Securities Exchange that increased the companys cash flow and profitability. The management of the company implemented turnaround programs within a space of nine months focused on enhancing the companys cash flow (Weiss 2014). This resulted the company to claim that its initial public offering was observed to be drastically overvalued. Such valuations turned out to be clearly ridiculous which further contributed to the collapse of Dick Smith Group. Consumer Service Matters within the Competitive Market- The management of Dick Smith Company failed to offer efficient online services to its consumers. The group was alleged of not delivering online order even after several weeks and the service representatives did not address their complaints. Failure of the basics and fundamentals of the companys management functions has contributed to the demise of the company. Additionally, Dick Smith has experienced considerable enquiries from the market because of its decreasing share value (Carnegie and O'Connell 2012). Moreover, cash receipts were observed to be insufficient in addressing commitments. Excess dependence on rebate-driven inventory purchasing contributed as a major factor that resulted in mismanagement of the companys inventory and its collapse. In such case, increased discounts were required for selling the rebated stock that destroyed margin uplift that the rebate intended to attain. Stakeholders are the persons who have interest in the operations of a business and they are affected by the actions of the business. A company has several stakeholders. There are two kinds of stakeholders in a business. They are Internal Stakeholders and External Stakeholders. The same theory is applicable in the case of the retain company Dick Smith. In the company, there are several stakeholders who may have been affected by the business failure of the company. They are employees, creditors, debtors, shareholders, government and others. There are two groups of stakeholders those may have resulted in the fall of the companys profits. They are the employees of the company and the shareholders of the company. The details are given below: Employees are the heart of any company as the whole operation of the company depends on them. Employees are involved in the process of production to delivery of the product to the end customers. Thus, any company is wholly dependent on the employees. On the other hand, the company is the source of income of the employees. The get salary from the company in exchange of the service they provide to the business. Due to the fall of Dick Smith, employees may have affected the most as they will lose their job (Chang 2015). Another group of stakeholders who have been affected the most by the collapse is the shareholders of the company. They are also called the owners of the company. A lot of shareholders have invested their money in Dick Smith Company by looking at the healthy financial statement of the company. The collapse of the company has affected the share price of the company. As a result, it is bound to affect the shareholders wealth. As the failure of the company is a major one, the investors have lost the whole amount of money they have invested in the companys stock. On the other hand, there is no chance of recovering the money in the near future. Thus, this is a total loss of money for the investors or the shareholders of the company (Manigart and Wright 2013). There are enough reasons contribute to the cause of reaction to the accounting standard. As per the CPA Chief Executive Alex Malley, there are some codes of ethics which continuously monitor the accounting profession. This ethics suggest that the accountants should work according to the public interest. In the case of Dick Smith collapse, the two main reasons are mistreatment of rebates and the fault in auditing. On the other hand, the accountants of the company have not treated the revenue and the inventory of the company according to the accounting principles. This total process has been contributed to the wrong decision making of the company. In case of the auditors, they have not audited the financial statement of the company on the basis of public interest. Thus, the financial statement of the company did not reflect the real picture of the company. Hence, the accounting profession has failed to provide value and expertise in the business of Dick Smith (Addis 2016). Every profession has some major principles which help to provide better quality from the profession. The same is applicable for the accounting profession. There are some principles and conceptual frameworks in the accounting system. In case of Dick Smith, the professional accountants should consider the calculation of rebates to repair the damage. The miscalculation of the rebates from the suppliers has caused the accounting wrong for the company. Hence, the rebate should be calculated in the proper manner. On the other hand, the auditor should audit the financial report of the company correctly (Craig, Smieliauskas and Amernic 2014). Two suggestions are provided in the context of the collapse of Dick Smith Company. They are: All accountings of a company should be according to the accounting principles. There are various accounting principles available. The accounting calculations should follow those accounting rules and regulations. The accounting principles say that there is a code of ethics as well code of principles which must be followed while accounting. All material facts of the company should be correctly considered at the time of the preparation of financial report (Zadek, Evans and Pruzan 2013). Another suggestion is that the auditors should audit the reports neutrally. An auditor is a representative of the public. Thus, he should take this fact in mind while auditing. On the other hand, an auditor cannot make any ill agreement to the board of directors of the company. This is against the ethics of the audit (Smith 2014). Reference List Addis, J., 2016. Retail sector wrap: One opportunity and plenty of worry.Equity,30(3), p.6. Carnegie, G.D. and O'Connell, B.T., 2012. Understanding the responses of professional accounting bodies to crises: The case of the Australian profession in the 1960s.Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal,25(5), pp.835-875. Chang, P.L., 2015. The Abandoned Stakeholders: Pharmaceutical Companies and Research Participants.Journal of Business Ethics, pp.1-11. Craig, R., Smieliauskas, W. and Amernic, J., 2014. Assessing Conformity with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Using Expert Accounting Witness Evidence and the Conceptual Framework.Australian Accounting Review,24(3), pp.200-206. Degeorge, F., Ding, Y., Jeanjean, T. and Stolowy, H., 2013. Analyst coverage, earnings management and financial development: An international study.Journal of Accounting and Public Policy,32(1), pp.1-25. Dorminey, J., Fleming, A.S., Kranacher, M.J. and Riley Jr, R.A., 2012. The evolution of fraud theory.Issues in Accounting Education,27(2), pp.555-579. Fang, V.W., Huang, A.H. and Karpoff, J.M., 2015. Short selling and earnings management: A controlled experiment.The Journal of Finance. Manigart, S. and Wright, M., 2013. Reassessing the relationships between private equity investors and their portfolio companies.Small Business Economics,40(3), pp.479-492. Smith, M., 2014.Research methods in accounting. Sage. Weiss, J.W., 2014.Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Zadek, S., Evans, R. and Pruzan, P., 2013.Building corporate accountability: Emerging practice in social and ethical accounting and auditing. Routledge. Zeff, S.A., 2016.Forging accounting principles in five countries: A history and an analysis of trends. Routledge.

Taylor Pennington Essays - Packaging Materials, Food And Drink

Taylor Pennington May 25, 2016 Period 4 3469005306705 Smallest circles- Bubble Wrap, this acts as a shield which keeps everything in place and adds an extra layer of protection. Medium circles- Marshmallows Cookie Crisp Cereal, these will reduce the impact of the egg to the ground. Largest Circle- Egg, The purpose of the project. Rectangle - Plastic Container, which holds all items in place.4000020000 Smallest circles- Bubble Wrap, this acts as a shield which keeps everything in place and adds an extra layer of protection. Medium circles- Marshmallows Cookie Crisp Cereal, these will reduce the impact of the egg to the ground. Largest Circle- Egg, The purpose of the project. Rectangle - Plastic Container, which holds all items in place. My container design is a plastic container containing a plastic bubble wrap lining which is the smallest circles around the edge of the rectangle. The larger circles are marshmallows and cookie crisp cereal which I placed inside the container. The largest circle is where the egg will be placed. I created it by placing a sheet of plastic bubble wrap around the edges and on the bottom of the container. Next, I placed marshmallows and cookie crisp cereal in the middle of the container leaving space for the egg. The bubble wrap, which I used as the lining will act as a shield and also will withstand the force of the impact to help protect the egg. Bubble wrap is also designed for using in packaging and moving so it will prevent items from breaking. The marshmallows and cereal will also absorb the force of the impact to prevent the egg from breaking. These two items are small and also like packaging nuts which are made so objects don't break. The plastic container will be the best thing for keeping the materials in tact since it won't break from falling. My container will extend the impact time in many ways. The first is that the marshmallows and cereal will act as a cushion which will reduce the force of the impact to the egg. The bubble wrap also acting as a cushion gets any open spaces that the marshmallows and cereal aren't protecting. The bubble wrap will also keep the egg in tact after a nasty break. My idea is basically a big cushion that will protect the egg.

Biography of Dom Pedro I, First Emperor of Brazil

Biography of Dom Pedro I, First Emperor of Brazil Dom Pedro I (October 12, 1798–September 24, 1834) was the first Emperor of Brazil and was also Dom Pedro IV, King of Portugal. He is best remembered as the man who declared Brazil independent from Portugal in 1822. He set himself up as Emperor of Brazil but returned to Portugal to claim the crown after his father died, abdicating Brazil in favor of his young son Pedro II. He died young in 1834 at the age of 35. Fast Facts: Dom Pedro I Known For: Declaring Brazils independence and serving as emperorAlso Known As: Pedro de Alcà ¢ntara Francisco Antà ³nio Joo Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim Josà © Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim, The Liberator, The Soldier KingBorn: October 12, 1798 in the  Queluz Royal Palace  near  Lisbon,  PortugalParents: Prince Dom Joo (later King Dom  Joo  VI), Doà ±a  Carlota JoaquinaDied: September 24, 1834  at Queluz Palace, Lisbon, PortugalAwards and Honors:  Multiple Brazilian and Portuguese titles and honorsSpouse(s): Maria Leopoldina, Amà ©lie of LeuchtenbergChildren: Maria (later Queen Dona  Maria  II of Portugal),  Miguel,  Joo,  Januria,  Paula,  Francisca, PedroNotable Quote: It grieves me to see my fellow humans giving a man tributes appropriate for the divinity, I know that my blood is the same color as that of the Negroes. Early Life Dom Pedro I was born with the lengthy name of Pedro de Alcà ¢ntara Francisco Antà ³nio Joo Carlos Xavier de Paula Miguel Rafael Joaquim Josà © Gonzaga Pascoal Cipriano Serafim on October 12, 1798, in the Queluz Royal Palace outside of Lisbon. He was descended from royal lineage on both sides: on his fathers side, he was of the House of Braganà §a, the royal house of Portugal, and his mother was Carlota of Spain, daughter of King Carlos IV. At the time of his birth, Portugal was ruled by Pedros grandmother Queen Maria I, whose sanity was quickly deteriorating. Pedros father Joo VI essentially ruled in his mothers name. Pedro became heir to the throne in 1801 when his older brother died. As a young prince, Pedro had the best schooling and tutoring available. Flight to Brazil In 1807, Napoleon’s troops conquered the Iberian Peninsula. Wishing to avoid the fate of the ruling family of Spain, who were â€Å"guests† of Napoleon, the Portuguese royal family and court fled to Brazil. Queen Maria, Prince Joo, young Pedro, and thousands of other nobles set sail in November of 1807 just ahead of Napoleon’s approaching troops. They were escorted by British warships, and Britain and Brazil would enjoy a special relationship for decades to follow. The royal convoy arrived in Brazil in January of 1808: Prince Joo set up a court-in-exile in Rio de Janeiro. Young Pedro rarely saw his parents; his father was very busy governing and left Pedro to his tutors and his mother was an unhappy woman who was estranged from her husband, had little desire to see her children, and lived in a different palace. Pedro was a bright young man who was good in his studies when he applied himself, but he lacked discipline. Pedro, Prince of Brazil As a young man, Pedro was handsome and energetic and fond of physical activities like horseback riding, at which he excelled. He had little patience for things that bored him, such as his studies or statecraft, although he did develop into a very skilled woodworker and musician. He was also fond of women and began a string of affairs at a young age. He was betrothed to Archduchess Maria Leopoldina, an Austrian Princess. Married by proxy, he was already her husband when he greeted her at the port of Rio de Janeiro six months later. Together they would have seven children. Leopoldina was much better at statecraft than Pedro and the people of Brazil loved her, although Pedro found her plain and continued to have regular affairs, much to Leopoldinas dismay. Pedro Becomes Emperor of Brazil In 1815, Napoleon was defeated and the Braganà §a family was once again rulers of Portugal. Queen Maria, by then long descended into madness, died in 1816, making Joo king of Portugal. Joo was reluctant to move the court back to Portugal, however, and ruled from Brazil via a proxy council. There was some talk of sending Pedro to Portugal to rule in his fathers place, but in the end Joo decided he had to go to Portugal himself in order to make sure that Portuguese liberals did not entirely do away with the position of the king and royal family. In April 1821, Joo departed, leaving Pedro in charge. He told Pedro that if Brazil started moving toward independence, he should not fight it and instead make sure he was crowned emperor. Independence of Brazil The people of Brazil, who had enjoyed the privilege of being the seat of royal authority, did not take well to returning to colony status. Pedro took his fathers advice, and also that of his wife, who wrote to him: The apple is ripe: pick it now, or it will rot. Pedro dramatically declared independence on September 7, 1822, in the city of So Paulo. He was crowned emperor of Brazil on December 1, 1822. Independence was achieved with very little bloodshed: some Portuguese loyalists fought in isolated locations, but by 1824 all of Brazil was unified with relatively little violence. In this, Scottish Admiral Lord Thomas Cochrane was invaluable: with a very small Brazilian fleet, he drove the Portuguese out of Brazilian waters with a combination of muscle and bluff. Pedro proved himself skillful in dealing with rebels and dissidents. By 1824, Brazil had its own Constitution and its independence was recognized by the United States and Great Britain. On August 25, 1825, Portugal formally recognized Brazils independence; it helped that Joo was the king of Portugal at the time. A Troubled Ruler After independence, Pedro’s lack of attention to his studies came back to haunt him. A series of crises made life difficult for the young ruler. Cisplatina, one of Brazil’s southern provinces, split off with encouragement from Argentina: it would eventually become Uruguay. He had a well-publicized falling-out with Josà © Bonifcio de Andrada, his chief minister and mentor. In 1826 his wife Leopoldina died, apparently of an infection brought on after a miscarriage. The people of Brazil loved her and lost respect for Pedro due to his well-known dalliances; some even said that she had died because he hit her. Back in Portugal, his father died in 1826 and pressure mounted on Pedro to go to Portugal to claim the throne there. Pedro’s plan was to marry his daughter Maria to his brother Miguel, which would make Maria queen and Miguel regent. The plan failed when Miguel seized power in 1828. Abdication of Pedro I of Brazil Pedro began looking to remarry, but word of his poor treatment of the respected Leopoldina preceded him and most European princesses wanted nothing to do with him. He eventually settled on Amà ©lie of Leuchtenberg. He treated Amà ©lie well, even banishing his longtime mistress, Domitila de Castro. Although he was quite liberal for his time- he favored the abolition of slavery and supported the Constitution- he continually fought with the Brazilian Liberal party. In March of 1831, Brazilian liberals and Portuguese royalists fought in the streets. He responded by firing his liberal cabinet, leading to outrage and calls for him to abdicate. He did so on April 7, abdicating in favor of his son Pedro, then 5 years old. Brazil would be ruled by regents until Pedro II came of age. Return to Europe Pedro I had great troubles in Portugal. His brother Miguel had usurped the throne and had a firm hold on power. Pedro spent time in France and Great Britain; both nations were supportive but unwilling to get involved in a Portuguese civil war. He entered the city of Porto in July of 1832 with an army consisting of liberals, Brazilians, and foreign volunteers. Things went poorly at first because King Manuels army was much larger and laid siege to Pedro in Porto for over a year. Pedro then sent some of his forces to attack the south of Portugal, a surprise move that worked. Lisbon fell in July 1833. Just as it looked like the war was over, Portugal got drawn into the First Carlist War in neighboring Spain; Pedros assistance kept Queen Isabella II of Spain in power. Death Pedro was at his best in times of crises, as the years of warring had actually brought out the best in him. He was a natural wartime leader who had a real connection to the soldiers and people who suffered in the conflict. He even fought in the battles. In 1834 he won the war: Miguel was exiled from Portugal forever and Pedros daughter Maria II was placed upon the throne. She would rule until 1853. The warring, however, took its toll on Pedros health. By September 1834, he was suffering from advanced tuberculosis. He died on September 24 at the age of 35. Legacy During his reign, Pedro I was unpopular with the people of Brazil, who resented his impulsiveness, lack of statecraft, and mistreatment of the beloved Leopoldina. Although he was quite liberal and favored a strong Constitution and the abolition of slavery, Brazilian liberals constantly criticized him. Today, however, Brazilians and Portuguese alike respect his memory. His stance on the abolition of slavery was ahead of its time. In 1972, his remains were returned to Brazil with great fanfare. In Portugal, he is respected for overthrowing his brother Miguel, who had put an end to modernizing reforms in favor of a strong monarchy. During Pedros day, Brazil was far from the united nation it is today. Most of the towns and cities were located along the coast and contact with the mostly unexplored interior was irregular. Even the coastal towns were fairly isolated from one another and correspondence often went first through Portugal. Powerful regional interests, such as coffee growers, miners, and sugarcane plantations were growing, threatening to split the country apart. Brazil could very easily have gone the way of the Republic of Central America or Gran Colombia and been split up, but Pedro I and his son Pedro II were firm in their determination to keep Brazil whole. Many modern Brazilians credit Pedro I with the unity they enjoy today. Sources Adams, Jerome R. Latin American Heroes: Liberators and Patriots from 1500 to the Present. New York: Ballantine Books, 1991.Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the Present.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962Levine, Robert M. The History of Brazil. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.

Eurozone crisis roars back to savage Spain Article Analysis Essay

Eurozone crisis roars back to savage Spain Article Analysis - Essay Example Spain is considered one of the most important economies of the world. Considering this importance of the Spanish economy, several economies of the Eurozone as well as of the world have expressed concerns regarding the effects this economic trouble this will create throughout the world. These factors will be discussed in this assignment in detail later and economic theories will be presented to analyze if the Spanish government has been right in implementing its policies or not. The article which will be discussed in this assignment is regarding the economic crisis which Spain is facing and the troubles that lie ahead for Spain in the foreseeable future. The article was written by Liam Halligan who is the chief economist at the Prosperity Capital Management, and this article was published in the Daily Telegraph. Spain as mentioned above has long been considered one of the world’s most important economies with its great potential in real estate and investments from foreign companies. Spain is the fourth largest economy in the Eurozone and the world’s twelfth biggest economy. This has actually raised more fears that if such a huge economy goes bust, then to what extent will it negatively affect the European and worldwide economies. The Spain crisis started in 2008 when the worldwide and European recession arose and the debt crisis began to take dominance. All of a sudden, the unemployment rates increased drastically and the burden fell on the people as well as the government because it had much lower tax revenues and a lot of social benefits to distribute in addition to the repayment of debts which were previously borrowed in the early 2000’s. ... In the early 2000’s, the Spanish economy went through a boom in real estate and this triggered a huge amount of private borrowing from European Central Banks (ECB). At that point, no one had predicted that the year 2008 will prove to be a disaster for most of the European economies. When the Eurozone crisis struck, the banks and financial institutions started to demand their money back due to funds shortage. Also several economies who had lend the money to Spain asked for servicing its debts due to the fact that they needed money to counter the recession. At this point, the prices of property began to fall due to the recession and the borrowers were finding it harder to service the debts because the investments for which they had borrowed money were turning out to be bad investments. Today, the private sector debt in Spain is around 300 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is considered extremely high. Figure 1: Spain government Debt to GDP Ratio (Trading Economic s) The Figure 1 above shows that the Spanish government debt to GDP ratio stands at 60% which is high for a country whose private sector is leveraged with debt to an astonishing figure of 300 percent. With Spain being indebted to other economies, mostly European, to such an extent, the time was fast approaching when it had to repay its debt gradually year by year. When the time of servicing the debts came, it had to borrow more money from other sources so that it could repay the previously borrowed money. With the Spanish economy already so highly leveraged, the European Central Bank and financial institutions were reluctant to give them the money. With this reluctance, the

Plato and a More Definitive Understanding of Art and Philosophy Essay

Plato and a More Definitive Understanding of Art and Philosophy - Essay Example Plato bases his argument upon several highly subjective and controversial premises: a) art in the Republic should first be didactic with the purpose of inculcating the virtues of being a good person, b) Those who merely seek the reflections of the forms and not the forms themselves are not artists and c) Most people view illusions as reality; only the artists/philosophers see the light. Naturally, theses statements not only represent a great range of issues, they encourage detractors to focus upon the inherent flaws and weaknesses that are therein represented. In this way, the following essay will seek to provide the reade with an informed understanding of the inherent weakness of Plato’s approach to the issue of art/philosophy. Naturally, the first level of argument which can be discussed is with regards to how Plato defines virtue. As one might expect, many pages and indeed entire passages of Plato’s work have been concentric on defining virtue in the means through wh ich it can be maximized within our world. However, with that being said, it must be understood that virtue within the specific delineation of what defines arts and how it should be represented to the populace is ultimately a subjective understanding. In such a way, by promoting the belief that art should only be exhibited if it entails the possibility of fostering virtue and promoting the â€Å"goodness† of the person is something that cannot be defined by a single understanding and should not be presented as the benchmark by which art should be manifested. By providing something of a tangential analysis, the author can point to the fact that Nazi Germany fostered what they understood to be a â€Å"virtuous† society that fostered the goodness of the stakeholders that they deemed fit to be included within such a definition. Moreover, the totalitarianism of the Third Reich was not only visited upon the way in which ethnic minorities were treated, it also was expanded to the way in which political ideology, philosophy, and indeed art itself was presented. It does not take a great deal of historical analysis to point to the fact that the third right was heavily involved in promoting its own version of what art and artistry should entail. So much was the Third Reich interested in this specific understanding of redefining art that they even presented their own populace a traveling art exhibit which was dubbed as â€Å"degenerate art†. The ultimate purpose for referencing the third right within this understanding of Plato’s virtuous end good definition of art is with respect to the fact appointed to the ultimate subjectivity that a society and/or an individual may ascribe with regards to the way that art can and should look. Such inherent weakness points to the fact that an all-inclusive and simplistic definition of how art should be manifested should be shined and the individual should seek a more realistic delineation of the way in which art is defined and represented within a particular society/group. Another noted shortcoming with regards to Plato’s definition of art/philosophy and the means by which it should be integrated with the populace is with respect to the fact that he denotes that those who merely seek the reflections of the forms and not for themselves are not artists. Although it is with great respect that this author approaches the writings an understanding of Plato, it must also be understood that what is being referenced within this particular definition of what art should and should not be is a highly personal view upon what defines this genre. Ultimately, the definition of who is responsible for reflecting these forms and not focusing upon the form itself is a definitive right of the philosopher/artist to represent the subject matter in the