The Contributions of Catherine II (Catherine the Great), Empress of Rus

The Contributions of Catherine II (Catherine the Great), Empress of Russia Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, empress of Russia (1762-96), did much to transform Russia into a modern country. Originally named Sophie Fredericke Augusta, she was born in Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland), on May 2, 1729, the daughter of the German prince of Anhalt-Zerbst. At the age of 15 she went to Russia to become the wife of Peter, nephew and heir of Empress ELIZABETH. Elizabeth died on Dec. 25, 1761, and Catherine's husband succeeded as PETER III. The new ruler soon made himself unpopular, especially with certain army officers. Led by Aleksei ORLOV (whose brother Grigori was Catherine's lover), the officers staged a coup in June 1762. Peter was deposed (and subsequently murdered), and Catherine became absolute ruler of the largest European empire, whose language she never learned to speak correctly and without accent. At the age of 33, Catherine was not only a handsome woman (whose numerous love affairs dominate the popular accounts of her life), but also unusually well read and deeply involved in the cultural trends of her age. She was a tireless worker and knew how to select capable assistants--for example, Nikita PANIN in foreign affairs, Aleksandr SUVOROV in the military, and Grigory POTEMKIN in administration. Imbued with the ideas of the Enlightenment, Catherine aimed at completing the job started by Peter I-- westernizing Russia--but she had different methods. Unlike Peter, she did not forcibly conscript society into the service of the state, but rather encouraged individual initiative in pursuit of self-interest. She succeeded to a degree with the upper classes, but did nothing for the overwhelm... ...re of the Black Sea. The fertile lands of the Ukraine were also opened for settlement and soon became the granary of Europe. Catherine also participated in the partitions of Poland (1772, 1792, and 1795), bringing a large part of that country under Russian rule. By the time of Catherine's death (Nov. 17, 1796), modern Russian society was organized and its culture had struck firm roots. Russia was also playing a determining role in world affairs. Bibliography: Alexander, John T., Catherine the Great: Life and Legend (1989); Cronin, Vincent, Catherine, Empress of All the Russians (1978); Grey, Ian, Catherine the Great (1961; repr. 1975); Maroger, Dominique, ed., Memoirs of Catherine the Great, trans. by M. Budberg (1961); Oldenbourg, Zoe, Catherine the Great, trans. by Anne Carter (1965); Raeff, Marc, ed., Catherine the Great: A Profile (1972).

George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essay -- 1984 by George Orw

The book 1984 by George Orwell is merely a warning of what could happen to a society in the future after many years of decline. In the nineteen fifties it was thought of as a prophecy. Many people actually thought that George Orwell was a madman for predicting all of these events in this book to happen in the year 1984.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The story takes place in Oceania that is as a big country where there are smaller parts to it, like London where the main character Winston Smith lives. London is the former capital of the former country England. Obviously the story takes place in the year 1984. There are three classes living in Oceania: the Inner Party, the Outer Party, and the Proles. The Inner Party makes up about only two percent of the population. The Inner Party is the ruling party. The Outer Party makes up of about fifteen percent of the population. All of the daily administration is handled by the Outer Party. The Outer Party is described as small, powerless, and indispensable. It is the equivalent of a middle class. The Inner party selects a small number of the Outer party to join the Inner Party. Then there are the Proles who make up the rest of the population.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Government in Oceania is divided into four gigantic Ministries: The Ministry of Truth, The Ministry of Peace, The Ministry of Love, and The Ministry of Plenty. The Ministry of Truth controls the news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace controls all of the concerns of war. Th...

Computer Networks :: Technology, Network Resources

Computer networks like internet necessitate network resources, i.e. bandwidth, buffer spaces, etc in order to accommodate the arriving packets at router buffers [25]. When the arriving packets cannot be accommodated due to lack of network resources, this indicates occurring congestion at router buffers of networks [21]. Congestion can deteriorate a network performance [22, 25] through growing the packet loss probability due to overflow as well as the mean waiting time for packets in the queueing network. In addition, congestion may reduce the throughput and increase the packet dropping probability precedes the router buffers have overflowed. Congestion can also generate unmaintained average queue length ( ), and this may lead to build up the contents of router buffers, and thus many arriving packets may drop or lose at the router buffers. Many researchers have proposed methods with aim to control congestion at router buffers of networks [1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 14, 15, 16], i.e. AQM methods [1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16]. Each AQM is proposed as a congestion control method that identifies congestion at router buffers in an early stage, which means before the router buffers have overflowed. The most known AQM method is RED [14], Gentle RED [16], the Adaptive GRED [2], Adaptive RED [15], Random Early Marking (REM) [7], Dynamic Random Early Drop (DRED) [8] and some discrete-time queue analytical models [1, 4, 5, 6] which were constructed depending on some of AQM techniques. For example, DRED analytical models which they constructed by analysing two queue nodes [5] and three queue nodes [1] based on DRED and using discrete-time queues mechanism [26]. GRED analytical model [4] and BLUE analytical model [6] were constructed depending on GRED and BLUE, respectively and utilising discrete-time queues mechanism. As mentioned previously, RED was proposed as a congestion control method, but RED can degrade the network’s performance due to the following causes: 1) abruptly RED can increase its arrival rate aggressively, thus the RED’s router buffers may overflow. Therefore, every arriving packet will lose. 2) At a particular time, the RED’s congestion measure ( ) value may be below the value of minimum threshold position at the router buffer ( ). This indicates no packet can be dropped. However, for a short time the arrival rate increases and making the router buffer overflowing. Nonetheless, the value increases but still smaller than the value of .

A Good Man Is Hard to Find – Reflection Paper

Character as Reflection in O’Connor’s, â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† In O’Connor’s â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find,† the grandmother is faced with her own moral beliefs. Throughout the story, she proves to be self center and hypocritical. Although her family wants to go to Florida for vacation, she tries to persuade them to go to Tennessee because she wants to see her â€Å"connections. † She uses scare tactics and guilt as tools. Appearances are also important to her, she believes she is judged by her appearance and she judges other by theirs.She dresses well so others will know she â€Å"is a lady. † She presents herself as a good, Christian woman, but as the plot unfolds, her true colors are exposed. When she is confronted with the Misfit, her only concern is herself. For instance, when her family is taken into the woods to be killed, she tells the Misfit that he is â€Å"a good man† and because she is a lady, he wouldn’t shoot her. Also, trying to save herself, she frequently tells him he should pray. Ironically, she doesn’t pray for herself. Similar essay: Reflection Paper Martial LawInstead, The Misfit seems to question the existence of God. He doesn’t admit to his crimes and, therefore, doesn’t feel he should be punished for them. He states he doesn’t remember doing them and this is the reason he now signs his name, for proof. Similarly, the grandmother doesn’t take responsibility for her actions. She doesn’t say she is sorry for placing the family in this situation. As she continues to discuss The Misfits salvation, her own faith is shaken and she is forced to question her own beliefs.She questions whether Jesus raised the dead. The Misfit states that if he had seen Jesus raise people from the dead, his life would be different. This is a pivotal moment for the two. They make a connection and the grandmother realizes they are more alike than she thought, neither is truly good and both are misfits. Connor Flannery. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Short Fiction Classic and Cont emporary. Sixth ed. Pearson Prentice Hall X. J. Kennedy. Dana Gioia. Longman, New York 2000. 330-346.

Philosophies & Democracy Essay

Democracy and capitalism gave way to concentration of wealth amongst a small group of people. Private entrepreneurship got a boost due to capitalism. Given this scenario, many private entrepreneurs rose to build their industrial empires. There are many examples, where, the starting point of a given business was zero, and it rose to become a leading international business house. Increase in business, resulted in exaggerated accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, and that was the time, when these new class of rich entrepreneurs, gave a thought to the society, in which they have been operating, and which has supported their enterprise in its rise. Carnegie Melon, at the beginning of industrial revolution, and Bill Gates, at the end of the twentieth century, are two solid examples of business rise from zero to international giants. Both of them, spent their full life, in amassing wealth, and as they grew, they started framing corporate philosophies, which put society at the focus of their activities. While they applied the rule of ‘everything is fair in business’, they turned towards society at the fag end of their lives. Corporate philosophies, by and large have nothing new to say, except that they work for the society, and they care for their customers. All corporate philosophies are concentrated around these central themes, in different words and sentences. Often, it is proved that corporate philosophies are not as sweet as they sound. When it comes to business, these philosophies are sacrificed, partially or fully. Was only genuine software skill responsible for the stupendous rise of Bill Gates and Microsoft? Of course no. There is in fact, considerable shrewdness going into the rise of Microsoft. In fact, corporate houses, as they grow, turn their attention towards betterment of society, in one or the other way. There are numerous examples to prove this, in the time gap between Carnegie Melon and Bill Gates. However, they are targeted at multiplication of business. An average American fully understands the implications of these corporate philosophies, and their implied meanings. For example, when cyber attacks started assuming alarming proportions, Bill Gates ordered a change in their corporate philosophy. It implied change in the approach of all software development. Now, instead of adding new features to the software, the focus was to be laid on protection of the software, because, Bill Gates argued, â€Å"In the past, we’ve made our software and services more compelling for users by adding new features and functionality, and by making our platform richly extensible . . . but all those great features won’t matter unless customers trust our software,† wrote Gates. â€Å"So now, when we face a choice between adding features and resolving security issues, we need to choose security. † ( Trustworthy computing, para 2) â€Å"Some of Microsoft’s perennial critics claim the initiative is long overdue, and question whether or not Microsoft will follow through on its promises, as the company could be forced to bear a reduction in the number of new features in its programs and significant new product delays. Some go further in arguing that such a massive security initiative cannot be undertaken without subjecting the Windows operating system source code to public domain — something the company has fought hard to avoid†. Writes an observer, in his opinion. ( Trustworthy computing, Para 4) What is true of Microsoft , is perhaps true of other companies also. An average American is well aware of the status of the company, and its capacity to deliver the promised goods, and is also right in judging the ethical behavior of a company. Conclusively it can be said that despite the tall claims made by the corporate philosophies, the average American of the ins and outs of that firm. References: 1) Trustworthy computing, Security and privacy deemed Microsoft’s top priorities, retrieved on 5 May 2009 from :

Padini

Name of the company : Padini Holding Berhad 1. Picture 1 – Padini Outlet Padini Holding Berhad engage with one of the most profitable businesses activities which is investing in shopping mall and retail industry and brand outlet especially in garments and fashion accessories. Padini Holding Berhad already create their market share in domestic and international level and some of the brand under Padini Group is well known in fashion industry. Padini Holding Berhad put a label of various brand in its product and distributed to all outlet under its name locally and even in foreign market. There is many brand under Padini Group such as Vincci, Seed, Padini Authentics, PDI, Padini, P & Co, Miki Kids, Miki Mom and also many multi – brands and some of the brand is already breach the foreign market such as Vincci/VNC, Seed and Padini Authentics. Picture 2 – Padini’s Product Padini Group usually involve in providing and production of management service, dealers of garments, ladie’s shoes, children garments, maternity wear, bags and fashion accessories. All of this product being marketed under popular brand. 2. Brands-Foreign Only| Location| 2008| 2009| Vincci/VNC Franchise StoreDealer Stores| ASEANSaudi ArabiaUAE AustraliaOmanIndiaSyriaThailand| 15184-14-11| 19207-1-112| SEEDFranchise StoreDealer Stores| Saudi ArabiaThailand| 519| 721| Padini AithenticsFranchise Store| Saudi arabia| 5| 8| TOTAL| | 82| 96| Table 1 The tables above provide a snapshot of the Group’s retail network, broken down according to their brands and market in 2008 and 2009. Chart 1 Chart 1 represents the percentage of income from two different market which is the domestic market and foreign market. For the financial year 2009, recorded Group’s domestic operations accounted for 89% or nearly RM 425. 4 million and the rest represent foreign market which is 11% and nearly RM 52. 5 million and both market contribute up to RM 477. 9 million. Exports for the year by the Group increase by some 31% or RM11. 9 million compared to 2008 and the total export value for year 2009 is up to RM50. 1 million. The entire positive outcome is due to strong marketing strategy such as: 1. The opening of new outlet 2. Improving existing outlet 3. Extension of management 4. Adapt with consumers culture Picture 3 – internationalization By using the foreign or international model to represent their product, Padini Group manage to breach the foreign market and catch a market share among the foreign nation and 11% of income from abroad can be considered as a positive outcome. 3. One of the main reasons why Padini Group is being accepted in the foreign market because of their observations through research and development to produce products based on consumers demand. Consumers demand usually being influence by their culture and comprise of lifestyle, income, weather and geographic somehow. For example for domestic market, Padini Group produce T-Shirt based on local normal size whereby not too large and maybe a bit smaller compared to the foreign size of T-Shirt that produce by Padini Group. Due to hot weather in Malaysia, the material also a dry-fit material whereby can absorb liquid and allow air to flow through the material and make user feel more comfortable. The sense of acquiring brand also influences a person to buy product from Padini Group due to highly known branded garments retailer. By knowing that most of the consumers is from middle income category and their adapt by offering an affordable price for a branded products. (example; discounts) Picture 4 – Strategy to and adapt with local market Padini Group also done the similar approach to the foreign market by considering the size, lifestyle, weather, geographic and four season (summer, winter, autumn, spring) . Most of their foreign outlet is located in the Arabian nations which is highly known a hot weather country and in order to adapt with the local need and culture, Padini Group did produce product that make the Arabian consumers feel comfortable and stylish.

Disease Trends and the Delivery of Healthcare Services Essay

Aging and obesity are two components of disease trends in the United States. Studies, reports, articles, and many other forms of information have been conducted or written to see just how these components of disease trends will influence the delivery of health care. If Americans keep indulging, we will be the largest country in the world, and that is not speaking geographically. Not since the beginning of man has the world had so many older people. There is a large percentage of elderly, more so than ever before. This has not always been the case. It is documented, in 1930, that America’s aged 45-64 numbered less than 5. % of the American population. This day and age if you had 8 people at least one of them is 65 or older. From 2000 to 2010 that age group grew to 26. 4 percent of the American population. By the 2030 there will be 72. 1 million older people in the U. S. This is caused because of the â€Å"Baby Boomers†, people born between 1946 and 1964, are coming of retirement age (Transgenerational, 2013). . Environmental factors of ageing play a large role in the majority of cases of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease; two diseases that are closely related to ageing. Exposure to toxic chemicals and other pollutants, diet, exercise, and socioeconomic stress can also play a large role on how ageing can be affected. The coming of the millenniums the aging population has become a major demographic trend in the United Sates. Improved health and longevity and declining fertility have had a growth spurt in the older populations dramatically. Here are some interesting facts. A swelling Population (Transgenerational, 2013) * For the first time in history, people aged 65 and over will soon outnumber children under the age of 5. Throughout the world today, there are more people aged 65 and older than the entire populations of Russia, Japan, France, Germany and Australia—combined. * By 2030, 55 countries are expected to see their 65 and older populations at least 20 percent of their total. * By 2040, the global population is projected to number 1. 3 billion older people—accounting for 14 percent of the total. * By 2050, the U. N. estimates that the proportion of the world’s population age 65 and over will more than double, from 7. 6% today to 16. 2%. As the number of the elderly increases, public health challenges increase. At least 80% of people over 65 years of age have a chronic health condition and at least 50% have two chronic health issues. Diabetes, affects close to one out of five persons over the age of 65. Diabetes causes increased morbidity and health care cost is increased. Diabetes will intensify as the population ages; with more people over the age of 70 having the largest increase. By 2050 we are looking at least 8. 6 million men and women over the age of 70 with diabetes. Alzheimer is another disease affected by ageing. As adults live longer the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease, also increases. Close to 10% of over 65 and close to 47% over 85 suffer from this degenerative and debilitating disease (Transgenerational, 2013). A chronic condition, such as arthritis, is another disease affected by ageing and is a huge cause of disability. As the elderly are living longer there are more complications related to health than most anything else related to ageing. Everyday new medications ad new technologies are being created and can be contributed to people living longer. However, what the body is like at 55 years is not the same as it is at 75 years. You do not heal as fast or as well, therefore the rehabilitation process will take longer and cost more. The most common condition touching those 65 and older is coronary heart disease, and then stroke, cancer, pneumonia and the flu (AgingCare, 2013). Hip fracture from falls is another common factor of health complication in the elderly. Many of the elderly have at least one of the following ailments not previously mentioned, and some with two or more: (AgingCare, 2013) * Breathing Problems * Depression * Incontinence (urine and stool) * Cancer * Eye problems (cataracts, glaucoma, Macular Degeneration) As the body gets older, other things to be aware of are: (AgingCare, 2013) * A slower response time, which is really important when assessing if a person can drive handle a vehicle. * Thinner skin, which can lead to breakdowns and wounds that don’t heal quickly * A declining immune system, which can make warding off viruses, bacteria and diseases difficult * Reduced sense of taste or smell, which can lead to reduced appetite and dehydration Current and future trends of obesity are not looking too promising for Americans. Americans are fat, and we lie about it. Most women say they do not weigh as much as they really do and both men and women say they are taller than they really, so the body mass index are not true rates, either (insidermonkey, 2010) If we continue with the current trends of the past 30 years, we could be looking at 100% of an overweight population. By 2048, all African-American women could be obese and at least 90% of all Hispanic men could obese, too. 100% of the population overweight is another story. Here are some interesting facts: (insidermonkey, 2010) * Non-Hispanic black people have the highest obesity rate of 36. 8%. Hispanics have an obesity rate of 30. 7% Non-Hispanic white people have an obesity rate of 25. 2%. * Other races, such as Asians, have the lowest obesity rate of 16. 7%. * The obesity rate of people aged 18-29 is 20. 3%. * The rate is 27. 8% for 30-39 age group, 29. 4% for 40-49 age group, 31. 1% for 50-59 age groups. The obesity rate declines slightly to 30. 9% for the 60-69 age groups * Those who manage to stay alive past the age of 69 have an obesity rate of 20. 5%. Obesity is one of the factors causing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes (insidermonkey, 2010). A large portion of people that are obese are also diabetic. Environment, behavior and biology are the ntricate interactions from Obesities end result. The current obesity epidemic is caused more by the environmental factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle, setting and watching TV or playing games, eating fatty high calorie foods, than the actual biological factors. People watching televisions are flooded with commercials showing all the comfort foods craved by the public. The convenience of a drive through restaurant is more appealing to some than the grocery store and cooking a healthy meal. The fast food we buy is packed in portion sizes that are way out of line with the federal recommendations. Moreover, the imbalance if calorie intake and physical expenditure has decreased in today’s lifestyle. Fighting the obesity epidemic requires environmental and social policy changes, mainly in the portion sizes, making healthful foods more readily available and promoting physical activity. Obesity is known as the plague of the 21st century. Obesity is beginning to be one of the â€Å"sensitive† issue in the U. S. and people are afraid to discuss the issue because political correctness. Statistics do not tell the true story and are grossly underestimated. There are parts of the U. S. hat the obesity rates are highest and that is the Midwest and the South; the home of fried chicken and potatoes and gravy. The obesity rates are the lowest on the West coast and the Northeast; obviously, a fish eating population. A fun fact; the US is biggest Big Mac consumer in the world (insidermonkey, 2010). It is agreed by the healthcare professionals that the more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to have health problems. Overweight or obese people are at higher risk for chronic diseases (WebMD, 2012). If a person’s weight is at 20% over the maximum healthy weight considered for their height, they are thought to be obese. Those at greatest risks for overweight/obesity related conditions include: (WebMD, 2012) * People with a family history who have had heart disease or diabetes are more likely to develop these problems if they are obese. * High blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, or high blood sugar levels are all warning signs of some obesity-associated diseases. * â€Å"Apple† shaped. People whose weight is mostly around their stomachs may be at greater risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or cancer than people of the same weight who are â€Å"pear-shaped† (they carry their weight in their hips nd buttocks) (WebMD, 2012). Obesity can cause your health to suffer tremendously. It is harder on your heart and all your organs. A few of the main health issues can be blood pressure, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol and an over-all metabolic syndrome, this is a combination of a your blood sugars, blood pressure, high cholesterol and high triglycerides (agingc are,2013). Caring extra weight on your body frame also can be contributed to osteoarthritis. Sleep apnea is another health complication that can be linked to obesity (agingcare, 2013). You over-all quality of life may not be as good as it could be if you were not obese. Some of these issues may be, depression, discrimination, physical discomfort, shame, and even social isolation (Mayo Clinic, 2012). In 2030, it is estimated the older generation is be 20% of the American population. As people age in the future they will enjoy longer lives and better health. Older people will also be more active than in past generation; if the percentage of the elderly can stay below the obesity levels. Having the number of aged increased, there will be an increase in health-care cost, too. Many elderly will be independent and take care of themselves but many will also depend on the care of long-term facilities. The issue with this can be that the number of working tax payers may decreased in relativity to the number elderly increase. So, we might see inadequate public resources and less people being able to formally care for the elderly. The obese population already have a large medical costs of obesity are as high as $147 Billion. On average, obese people have medical costs that are $1429 more than medical costs of normal weight people (insidermonkey, 2010). Getting older is something we have no control of. We do have the control to prevent ourselves from becoming obese. We have control over what we put in our mouths. We have control over how we treat our bodies. If we are obese in our younger years, there is a possibility that we won’t make to our older years. It would be nice to know in 2030 we are not going to have a nation of old fat people. How we treat our bodies and how we teach our children to treat their bodies will tell how we are going to age and what quality of life we are going to have.