Foreign Policy from 1515-1529 in England Essay Example for Free

Foreign Policy from 1515-1529 in England Essay How Far do you agree that Foreign Policy failed from 1515-1529 failed to make England stronger as an international power? Initially, Henry and Wolsey created a reasonable foreign profile. They managed to maintain this for 10 years until 1525. However a massive decline occurred subsequently it wasnt long before the pair found themselves out of the Major League of European Countries and neither France nor Spain cared who it made allegiances with. England was at a disadvantage from the outset; with very limited resources compared to France and Spain. Alone England didnt stand much chance of survival and therefore it was vital that England formed alliances with other international powers. On august the 15th 1521, Henry VIII and Emperor Charles V formed a secret treaty known as The Treaty of Bruges. It provided for a joint invasion of France; primarily before March 1523. This in one respect merely defined the dependence Henry and Wolsey had upon Charles. This was mainly due to the reliance Englands economy beheld upon the Flanders Cloth Market. Nevertheless, the treaty never materialised and whilst she displayed and attempt to resolve this in autumn 1523, they could do little without the support of Charles V. There was a constant need to show his worthiness and match up to wealthier kings such as Francis I. Henrys favourite way was though extravagant wars. From 1511-1525 he spent an equivalent of 1.4 million on wars, whilst his annual income was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½110,000. This put England fundamentally on huge strains and it was up to Wolsey to turn this around. 1518, the Treaty of London prior to all discussed, a treaty of diplomatic importance influencing England to be noticed by other countries. This was a universal peace collective and signed by all major leaders. This gave England support from over countries and also made them noticed. It was a non aggressive treaty and agreed that none of the countries would attack one another, and if they were, they were support one another. This was Wolseys finest hour. It reflected glory upon Henry VIII, putting the pair in good terms with one another as well as with all other major countries. It also meant that if any country broke away from the treaty, then war would b veiled upon them. However, at the same time it wasnt entirely successful. It only lasted for a short time and inevitably war broke out from an alliance between Spain and England against France. Another very important affair to mention was the Field of The Cloth of Gold which occurred from June 7th to June 24th in 1520. It was a meeting between the two kings Henry VIII and Francis the I of France and its aim was to increase the bond between the two kings, furthering England profile internationally. Each kind tried to outdo the other. The proof of Henrys attempts was that in one month 2200 sheep were consumed. In the fields past the castle, 2800 tents were erected for less important visitors. Even though it made a great impression, politically it did very little. Hence the war previously discussed a year later. The decline of Wolseys success made England lose its profile it started with. In 1525 was the introduction of the Amicable Grant. When Wolsey tried to raise more money through the Amicable Grant it depicted the anger within England itself. Wolsey needed to raise taxes (1525) in order to cover the cost of taking France to war. However it was strongly opposed and subsequently Wolsey had to back down and reduce the payments for the 1523 subsidy 10,000 men converged in Lavenham. In summery this lost England support of Charles V which inevitability meant the only way was to make a peace treaty with France. The Treaty of More, in 1525. Meanwhile again Wolseys attempts failed. France undermined England and formed an alliance with Charles V leaving England no stronger than to begin with. A long term affect of this, is that it meant Henry lost his trust in Wolsey causing the downfall in 1529. As well very importantly was Henrys divorce to Catherine of Aragon and its international relevance. Catherines nephew was Charles V, a may with great power. He threatened the Pope to not go ahead with the annulment. Wolsey was in a predicament, if he allowed the annulment his own life was in risk, but the time he wasted trying to decide one way another outraged Henry emphatically. So much so that Henry stripped him from his title.

Staging in Six Characters in Search of an Author :: essays papers

Staging in "Six Characters in Search of an Author" Pirandello's masterpiece, "Six Characters in Search of an Author" is well known for its innovative techniques of characterization, especially in the fullness of character as exhibited by the Stepdaughter and the Father, but it is especially renowned, and rightfully so, for the brilliant staging techniques employed by its author. Pirandello uses his innovative staging techniques specifically to symbolize, within the confines of the theater, the blending of the theater and real life. Chief among these, of course, is the way in which the author involves the audience in his production, to the point which, like a medieval audience, they become part of the action, and indeed, a character in its own right. The use of lines provided in the playbill was the first of its kind; never before had an author dared to ask the members of the audience to perform, even though unpaid, and indeed, paying for the experience themselves. But without those lines, how much less impressive would that moment be when the Director, understandably at the end of his rope with the greedy characters (who have been from the start trying to coerce him into writing a script for non-union wages), shouts "Reality! Fantasy! Who needs this! What does this mean?" and the audience, in unison, shouts back, "It's us! We're here!" The moment immediately after that, when the whole cast laughs directly at the audience, pointing at them in glee, is nearly unbearable for an audience, as shown b! y the riot after the first performance, when the audience not only ripped the seats out of the theater, but stole the popcorn. Pirandello also used a technique he inherited from the "Cirque de Soleil," involving a trapeze hung from the catwalk. But though the trapeze was not in itself his own invention, its use during the intermission as a means to annoy the audience was absolutely innovative. He had gotten the idea from watching the inhabitants at the mental institution in Switzerland where his wife was recuperating from a Venetian holiday. The Swiss hospital, renowned for its experimentation, had started a program of gymnastics, meant to boost the patients' self-esteem. The Stepdaughter's foray above the audience's heads, during the "intermission," is a direct reflection of that Swiss technique; no one before Pirandello had dared to use it in the theater before, but it not only symbolized neatly the problems with defining reality inherent in the text, but kept the audience from actually getting a rest during the intermission, since

Lessons from the Fog of War Essay

The War in Afghanistan was launched on October 7, 2001 by the United States and the United Kingdom in response to the September 11, 2001 Al Qaeda attacks. It marked the beginning of President George Bush’s Great War against Terrorism. The Iraqi War refers to the United States-led invasion of Iraq which began on March 20, 2003. The invasion was prompted by the common belief amongst the US-led coalition that Saddam Hussein had managed to achieve nuclear and chemical warfare capability that could fall into the hands of terrorists. In both the cases the United States and its allies have got bogged down in situations where it they can neither afford to pull out nor up the ante and charge forward. Robert McNamara who was the Secretary of Defense under President John F Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson speaks about his experiences of war and the lessons he learnt from them during his eventful career in the award-winning documentary The Fog of War. The very title of the documentary is a statement on the nature of war which McNamara says is â€Å"so complex that it is beyond the capability of the human mind to fully comprehend it. † In the documentary, McNamara basically speaks about his experiences of the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnamese War of the 1960s and 1970s. McNamara believes that the United States was able to avoid a war that would probably have turned nuclear and could still manage to get the Soviet missiles off Cuban soil primarily because it could empathize with its enemy. The United States was able to appreciate the exact political situation Nikita Khrushchev was in when the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States came to a head. In the face of his party hardliners Khrushchev needed a face-saving excuse to get out of Cuba and avoid a possible nuclear war. In the case of Vietnam, however, this was not possible as the United States did not know the Vietnamese well enough to be able to empathize with them. The situations in Iraq and Afghanistan are also similar to Vietnam. Did the United States and it allies care to know the Iraqis or the Afghans well enough to be able to empathize with them? In the case of Saddam Hussein, the United States failed to appreciate the political circumstances that guided the actions of the dictator and clubbed him together with the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks. In doing so, they have created a situation which could have very well turned advantageous for the terrorists. The situation in Iraq is now quite the perfect breeding grounds for terrorists who see the United States and its allies as the enemy that wants to destroy them and their religion. In Afghanistan too, despite all claims that the United States may make, for the Afghan the every American represents an enemy who has bombed their homes and killed their near and dear ones. Referring to his tenure in Ford, McNamara gives the example of their effort to analyze accident data to device ways and means to provide safety to people in cars. Once they were able to get the accurate data, McNamara and his colleagues found that problems in packaging people in cars were the main cause of fatalities in accidents, and could come up with simple safety devices such as the seat belt which resulted in the saving of more than 20,000 lives every year in the United States alone. The importance of getting the data, and the accurate data, is quite evident in the case of Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Both the United States and the United Kingdom failed to obtain accurate data in the case of Iraq and also in the case of Afghanistan to a certain extent. With accurate data not being available, things were bound to go wrong. The very next lesson that McNamara speaks of in the documentary becomes immediately applicable in the case of both Iraq and Afghanistan – the fact that what we see believe in and see can often both be wrong. McNamara cites the example of the supposed torpedo attacks by North Vietnamese patrol boats on the US destroyer Maddox on August 2, 1964 and again on the Maddox and its sister ships on August 4, 1964. The August 2 attack was real enough, but President Johnson and the United States did not believe it to be true and chose to ignore it; the August 4 attacks were most probably conjured up by predisposed and stressed minds, but were taken to be real enough by the United State’s administration to launch attacks on North Vietnam. The dictum that we see what we choose to believe in is exemplified in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq. The United States believed that Iraq had manufactured nuclear weapons and that both Afghanistan and Iraq supported Islamic terrorists, and literally saw what they believed in. These attitudes precipitated both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The failure to find Saddam Hussein’s stockpile of nuclear arsenal proved the belief long, albeit too late. The deteriorating conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan and the continued resistance of the people have also made it clear that the populations under seize hate the occupation forces not because Iraqis and Afghans are terrorists but because they perceive the Americans as aggressors. And more and more of the occupied people turn towards the terrorists. Thousands of people have died from both sides of these wars. McNamara however feels proportionality should be a guideline of war. That raises the question whether the destruction of the Iraqi and Afghan societies and deaths of the thousands of American soldiers on the battlefield can be justified proportionally by the objectives that these wars hope to achieve. The end of global terrorism would demand a heavy price, but is this the right price to pay? McNamara says that one has to engage in evil in order to do good, the deaths and destruction in Iraq and Afghanistan could very well be the necessary evil to achieve the good of ridding the world of terrorism and making it a far more safer and secure place for the future generations. Yet human nature will never change, and McNamara admits that every general makes mistakes in wars. So are Afghanistan and Iraq mistakes, or they still shrouded in the fog of war?

Personal Recount Essay

Megan did not have a bright attitude towards school. She was always not looking forward to studying because she has problem coping in school. Whenever they bring in a new topic, she sighs heavily knowing she would take a long time to understand it even though it is considered an easy topic to the rest of the class. She was always positioned last in class and having a mere fifty-five percent and below for her percentage in exams and tests. Her position in level is one of the bottom few. She did not like being in a school filled with intellegent students. Her teacher, Mrs Tay, had asked the class to prepare a short speech to say in front of the class on what they want to be when they grow up and what are they are going to do to achieve their goal. Most of the students had said that they want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a banker or even an Army Sergent. Many of them had bright futures waiting for them. They all wanted to complete their Masters and futher their education abroad. When it came to Megan’s turn, she look down into her script nervously and read out her speech. She was hesitant to speak the truth but she decided that she should not be embarrased as she too has embitions. She wanted to be a veternarian to help cure sick and needy animals as she had once lost her dog in a car accident. Many of her classmates were shocked. They did not expect a weak student to have high embitions. After speaking out, her classmates shouted from their seats, saying she can do it. Mrs Tay gave words of encourangement which made her delighted. After class, Megan went up to Mrs Tay. She asked her if she could have one-to-one sessions with her to help her. Mrs Tay gladly took her under her wings. As months pass and her PSLE finishing, Megan made an increasing improvement. She was now confident in her work, partake in class work and volunteer to help others. Teachers were saying among themselves that she has changed into a positive and outspoken person unlike before. She was the role model of many students in her school. When the day of the results of the PSLE came, Megan was confident. She knew she had done her best regardless of her aggregate. Mrs Tay passed to her her certificate and it shows A for most of her subjects. Megan jumped for joy and many of her friends went up to her to congratulate her. Her effort paid off. If she had not shared her embitions, she wouldn’t be excelling in her subjects.

Conjugating Croître in French

Conjugating Croà ®tre in French In French, there are a few options for saying to grow. One of those is  croà ®tre  and is the subject of this verb conjugation lesson. Yet, you may also wish to learn or use the verbs  grandir  (to grow)  and viellier (to grow old)  as well. Conjugating the French Verb  Croà ®tre Verb conjugations are required to express the verb in the present, future, or past tense. For instance, growing and grew are English conjugations, though in French things are a little more complex. Thats because we must be concerned about the subject pronoun as well as when the verb is happening. Croà ®tre  is an  irregular verb, meaning that it does not follow a standard conjugation pattern. You will need to memorize these conjugations without the help of any similar verbs you may already know. Yet, once you identify the endings for  croà ®tre, they can also be applied to accroà ®tre (to increase)  and dà ©croà ®tre (to decrease). When studying these conjugations, watch out for the changes to the verb stem. Some replace the circumflex à ® with an I and in others forms, you will find a circumflex à » in its place. This is a rather tricky conjugation, so take your time. Using the table, pair the appropriate subject pronoun with the verbs tense. For instance, I grow is je croà ®s while we will grow is nous croà ®trons. Subject Present Future Imperfect je croà ®s croà ®trai croissais tu croà ®s croà ®tras croissais il croà ®t croà ®tra croissait nous croissons croà ®trons croissions vous croissez croà ®trez croissiez ils croissent croà ®tront croissaient The Present Participle of  Croà ®tre The  present participle  of  croà ®tre is  croissant. This is a verb, though in some circumstances its also an adjective, gerund, or noun. A Past Tense Form of  Croà ®tre The  passà © composà ©Ã‚  is a common way to form the past tense in French. To create it, first conjugate the  auxiliary verb  avoir  to match the subject, then add the  past participle  crà ». As an example I grew becomes jai crà » and we grew is nous avons  crà ». More Simple Croà ®tre  Conjugations to Know The conjugations explained above should be the focus of your French studies at first. As you progress, you may also need or encounter one of the following forms of  croà ®tre. The subjunctive verb form will apply when the action of growing is in some way questionable or uncertain. Likewise, the conditional form is reserved for the times when the action may or may not happen because its dependent on certain conditions. Its likely that you will only see or use the passà © simple and imperfect subjunctive in formal writing. In this case, being able to recognize these forms as croà ®tre  is most important, especially with the change to à ». Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je croisse croà ®trais crà »s crà »sse tu croisses croà ®trais crà »s crà »sses il croisse croà ®trait crà »t crà »t nous croissions croà ®trions crà »mes crà »ssions vous croissiez croà ®triez crà »tes crà »ssiez ils croissent croà ®traient crà »rent crà »ssent There may also be times when you need to use  croà ®tre  in the imperative verb form. When doing so, you do not have to include the subject pronoun: use croà ®s rather than tu croà ®s. Imperative (tu) croà ®s (nous) croissons (vous) croissez

Definition and Examples of Critical Thinking

Definition and Examples of Critical Thinking Critical thinking is the process of independently analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information as a guide to behavior and beliefs. The American Philosophical Association has defined critical thinking as the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment. The process gives reasoned consideration to evidence, contexts, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria (1990). Critical thinking is sometimes broadly defined as thinking about thinking. Critical thinking skills include the ability to interpret, verify, and reason, all of which involve applying the principles of logic. The process of using critical thinking to guide writing is called critical writing. Observations Critical Thinking is essential as a tool of inquiry. As such, Critical Thinking is a liberating force in education and a powerful resource in one’s personal and civic life. While not synonymous with good thinking, Critical Thinking is a pervasive and self-rectifying human phenomenon. The ideal critical thinker is habitually inquisitive, well-informed, trustful of reason, open-minded, flexible, fair-minded in evaluation, honest in facing personal biases, prudent in making judgments, willing to reconsider, clear about issues, orderly in complex matters, diligent in seeking relevant information, reasonable in the selection of criteria, focused in inquiry, and persistent in seeking results which are as precise as the subject and the circumstances of inquiry permit.(American Philosophical Association, Consensus Statement Regarding Critical Thinking, 1990)Thought and LanguageIn order to understand reasoning [...], it is necessary to pay careful attention to the relationship between thought and language. The relationship seems to be straightforward: thought is expressed in and through language. But this claim, while true, is an oversimplification. People often fail to say what they mean. Everyone has had the experience of having their \ misunderstood by others. And we all use words not merely to express our thoughts but also to shape them. Developing our critical thinking skills, therefore, requires an understanding of the ways in which words can (and often fail to) express our thoughts.(William Hughes and Jonathan Lavery, Critical Thinking: An Introduction to the Basic Skills, 4th ed. Broadview, 2004) Dispositions That Foster or Impede Critical thinkingDispositions that foster critical thinking include [a] facility in perceiving irony, ambiguity, and multiplicity of meanings or points of view; the development of open-mindedness, autonomous thought, and reciprocity (Piagets term for the ability to empathize with other individuals, social groups, nationalities, ideologies, etc.). Dispositions that act as impediments to critical thinking include defense mechanisms (such as absolutism or primary certitude, denial, projection), culturally conditioned assumptions, authoritarianism, egocentrism, and ethnocentrism, rationalization, compartmentalization, stereotyping and prejudice.(Donald Lazere, Invention, Critical Thinking, and the Analysis of Political Rhetoric. Perspectives on Rhetorical Invention, ed. by Janet M. Atwill and Janice M. Lauer. University of Tennessee Press, 2002)Critical Thinking and Composing- [T]he most intensive and demanding tool for eliciting sustained critical thou ght  is a well-designed writing assignment on a subject matter problem. The underlying premise is that writing is closely linked with thinking and that in presenting students with significant problems to write about- and in creating an environment that demands their best writing- we can promote their general cognitive and intellectual growth. When we make students struggle with their writing, we are making them struggle with thought itself. Emphasizing writing and critical thinking, therefore, generally increases the academic rigor of a course. Often the struggle of writing, linked as it is to the struggle of thinking and to the growth of a persons intellectual powers, awakens students to the real nature of learning.(John C. Bean,  Engaging Ideas: The Professors Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical  Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom, 2nd ed. Wiley, 2011)- Finding a fresh approach to a writing assignment means that you must see the subject without the blinders of preconception. When people expect to see a thing in a certain way, it usually appears that way, whether or not that is its true image. Similarly, thinking based on prefabricated ideas produces writing that says nothing new, that offers nothing important to the reader. As a writer, you have a responsibility to go beyond the expected views and present your subject so that the reader sees it with fresh eyes. . . .[C]ritical thinking is a fairly systematic method of defining a problem and synthesizing knowledge about it, thereby creating the perspective you need to develop new ideas. . . .Classical rhetoricians used a series of three questions to help focus an argument. Today these questions can still help writers understand the topic about which they are writing. An sit? (Is the problem a fact?); Quid sit (What is the definition of the problem?); and Quale sit? (What kind of problem is it?). By asking these questions, writers see their subject from many new angles before they begin to narrow the focus to one particular aspect.(Kristin R. Woolever, About Writing: A Rhetoric for Advanced Writers. Wadsworth, 1991) Logical Fallacies Ad Hominem Ad Misericordiam Amphiboly Appeal to Authority Appeal to Force Appeal to Humor Appeal to Ignorance Appeal to the People Bandwagon Begging the Question Circular Argument Complex Question Contradictory Premises Dicto Simpliciter, Equivocation False Analogy False Dilemma Gamblers Fallacy Hasty Generalization Name-Calling Non Sequitur Paralepsis Poisoning the Well Post Hoc Red Herring Slippery Slope Stacking the Deck Straw Man Tu Quoque

W1 Disc Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation Essay

W1 Disc Strategic Management of Technology and Innovation - Essay Example In an article entitled â€Å"Managing Technological Innovation – Opportunity Recognition and Conflict Management† written by Agarwal (2010), the other provided two guidelines for strategic management of technology and innovation through market analysis and creative thinking. This is consistent with the guidelines discussed by White & Bruton (2011) who emphasized the need to be â€Å"proactive rather than reactive† (p. 26). The assumption of a proactive stance is analogous to the proposed conducting of a market analysis to â€Å"create the need for innovation† (Agarwal, 2010, p. 4). Likewise, as revealed, â€Å"there was some creating thinking that led to the emergence of IT† (Agarwal, 2010, p. 4). The encouragement of creative thinking is one of the crucial motivational tools that managers could instill as part of assessing the strengths of weaknesses of the organization’s work force, which is a necessary element in strategic management. The advice of Agarwal (2010) corroborates the managerial guidelines expounded by White & Bruton (2011) to manage technology and innovation