The Vikings Essay examples -- History Historical Research Papers

The Vikings Typically, the image of a Viking is a barbaric, bearded man plundering and destroying a neighboring village. This is actually the stereotypical viewpoint. In actuality, Vikings, have a very different image. For example, Vikings did not wear furry boots or furry armor, they did not have horned helmets, they invaded Britain, and they also were the first to discover America! They were also experts in nautical technology, crafts, trading, warfare and many other skills (Jonsson 1). With all of these traits, the Vikings seem like an unstoppable force in the European continent. But, who were the Vikings? The Vikings were actually venturesome seafarers. This means that they were travelers who were constantly exploring and looking for new areas of land. There roots can be traced all the way back to 6000 B.C. were nomadic men traveled in primitive crafts up the Denmark coast. Fast forward two millennia and these nomadic people have established permanent homes, but still using the boat for food and travel. As stated before, they were not just raiders, although they did do this frequently, but they were actually expert traders, trading all around the world. It wasn’t until around 793 A.D. that a Viking explosion took place in northern Europe (Jonsson 2). Raids began to take place on neighboring villages and their places of worship. To some this is the only type of knowledge they have about Vikings. However, their culture was something to be admired. Trading, religion, and everyday life are all important parts of a Viking culture. Trading was a critical part to the culture life of a Viking. This task brought in many important goods that the Vikings needed to live an ordinary life. The Vikings were the international tradesmen of their time. In Constantinople (Istanbul) they traded silk and spices for slaves that they had brought from Russia. They Amber they found in the Baltic area and they brought furs, skins, and walrus tusk ivory to the trading towns in Western Europe from the northern parts of the world such as Greenland. The Vikings founded trading cities in Scandinavia such as Birka, Ribe, Hedeby and Skiringsal. In Ireland they founded terrific trade in Dublin and, in England, they made the city of York flourish to become the most important trading town outside of London (La Fay 149-150). At a time when old trade routes between east and west thro... ...of goods with the Vikings. In everyday life, every one of us is in search of the right food, the best and warmest clothing, and the perfect place to live. Religion is still important to the American people, just like it was to the Vikings way back then. And even today, the American people exchange goods through the use of trading. However, in the present, we use plenty of money to get the supplies we need to survive. The Vikings culture can be seen as a way of survival. If they didn’t work hard enough to get the items they needed to survive, they would die off. So, the Vikings were more than a bunch of wild men running around northern England destroying cities and killing people. They strived to lead a healthy life to the fullest extent possible during their time. Many people in northern England who are descendants of the Vikings are proud to be a progeny of such a dominant and prestigious culture.BIBILIOGRAPHY Works Cited La Fay, Howard. The Vikings: Washington, D.C., National Geographic Society, 1972 Jensen, Ole Klindt. The World of the Vikings: London, England. Berne Convention, 1967 Wernick, Robert. The Vikings: Morristown, New Jersey. Time-Life Books Inc. 1979

The Young Goodman Brown Story, An Act of Faith :: Free Essay Writer

In his story "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne cleverly projects his attitude about the Puritan religion choosing a Christian love over the Puritan religion in this story of a mans journey to a revival. The name Hawthorne gave to his character is also significant as it implied Goodman Brown was a good man and the color brown meant that he was not perfect nor was he evil. This story highlights Goodman's commitment and faith to his wife's love and Christianity over the Puritan religion ultimately causing him to be subjected to suspicion by the community at a time where witch-hunts subjected the innocent to suffering and death. The story takes place at sunset in a Salem village during a difficult time for religion. Goodman keeps from his wife the details and purpose of his journey. He tells her good bye and makes it obvious he is leaving her behind out of obligation. He intentionally describes his wife's beauty as well as her love and desire for him. He did this to convey the first time he overcame temptation in favor of his religious obligation. His wife Faith reveals her inner desires for him. She attempts to convince him to stay but he externally exhibits his commitment to his religion obligation to make the journey while internally he is unsure about his religious convictions. Goodman reassures his wife of his faith in their relationship and assures her of his return. No doubt Hawthorn meant to show Brown's faith in the couples love for each other and the difficult choice he made to go on his journey. He leaves her behind, which shows that he is leaving sin behind because he resisted the temptation to s tay due to his obligation to go. "Dearest heart, " whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were close to his ear, "pr'ythee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed tonight. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she's afeard of herself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in the year! " "My love and my Faith, " replied young Goodman Brown, "of all nights in the year, this one night must I tarry away from thee. My journey, as thou callest it, forth and back again, must needs be done 'twixt now and sunrise. As a result, Goodman and his wife were fulfilling their obligations and obedience to each other.

Business Environment Essay

Introduction: In this assignment I will be explaining how the two businesses that I have chosen from my previous assignment P3, how they present the organisational structure and how strategic planning helps them achieve its purposes and aims. This assignment will include the following * The aims of Coca- Cola and Nike * How the strategic planning helps them both to achieve these aims * How the organisational structure helps to achieve the aims of both organizations The aims and purposes of Coca Cola: The mains aim of Coca cola is to revive the world in mind, body and soul. Coca Cola Company is to provide to ensure this the company ensure that all employees are working to their highest standards test product that they can to the public, and create customer satisfaction. o create the best product, in the quickest possible time to make sure that there is an ability for quick distribution. The main goals and objectives of Coca-Cola are to be the finest beverage sales and customer Service Company. This means being the first or second brand in every group in which then can contest, being the customers most appreciated supplier and establishing a winning and inclusive culture. They also aim to never let their high standards of quality fail. To do this, there are strict evaluations at each stage of the manufacture of all products at Coca Cola production plants, throughout the day. When distributing any products, Coca Cola arrange with the distribution companies what standards Coca Cola expect from them. This means that the customer will always be to create a value and make a difference- everywhere they engage and to inspire moments of optimism through their brands and actions The aims and purposes of Nike: Nikes main objective is to develop products that help athletes of every level of ability reach their potential, to create business opportunities that set Nike apart from the competition and to provide value for its shareholders. As they are in the private sector the main objective would be to make a profit. However with all organisations this would be surrounded with other aims and objectives that their organisation may have set in place at the beginning of their campaign. For example Nike has an aim to be the largest sporting organisation for the foreseeable future, which they are currently achieving. Other aims and objectives that Nike may set out would be to improve the working conditions of the factories in the Less Economically Developed Countries. How strategic planning helps Coca-Cola achieve its aims: Coca-Cola is a household name the company can control soft drink market. Their success can be attributed to their overall strategy to produce and promote their products. Coca-Cola decided to build global brands to bottlers throughout the world. And a portion of the proceeds goes toward advertising to build and maintain brand awareness. Coca-Cola is responsible for producing and distributing to vending machines, supermarkets, restaurants, and other retail outlets. However, the advertising is left up to Coca-Cola. In addition, they must sign an agreement that prohibits them from distributing competing cola brands. Their strategy is simple, yet dynamic. It forces bottlers to enter into exclusive agreements, which creates a high barrier to entry into the industry. Any potential competitor must create their distribution network rather than use the existing one. And the large amounts of money spent on advertising helps to develop a global brand name and differentiate their products. How strategic planning helps Nike achieve its aims: The strategic plan aims to focus Nikes vision and priorities in response to a changing environment and to ensure that members of the Nike are working towards the same goals. Strategic management harnesses the full potential of an Nike by integrating daily operational decisions into the strategic process. Strategic management is a task for the whole company all the time. It is a way of thinking and a guide to action, and should govern the behaviour of everybody concerned. It enables Nike to think through and document what they are doing, for whom they are doing it, and why. How organisational structure helps Coca-Cola to achieve its aims: The Coca-Cola Company, have built flexible structures which, wherever possible, encourage teamwork. For example, at Coca-Cola Great Britain any new product development (e.g. Coca-Cola Vanilla) brings together teams of employees with different specialisms. At such team meetings, marketing specialists clarify the results of their market research and testing, food technologists describe what changes to a product are feasible, financial expert’s reports on the cost implications of change. How organisational structure helps Nike to achieve its aims: The organizational structure of a Nike helps affect a workplace culture, employee motivation, performance and cooperation. Selecting the correct structure that compliments Nike’s goals and objectives can positively affect employee’s behaviours and attitudes, as well as a lead to more effective teamwork and networking opportunities that build stronger worker relationships throughout the Nike industry’s. Planning and implementing an organizational structure will help determine the necessary workforce talent to build a successful business like Nike. Conclusion: What I have learnt is that how they style of organisation helps them to fulfil their purposes through there aims and purposes for example, They have built flexible structures which encourage great team work for both organisations. Also and through their strategic planning for example Strategic management is a task for the whole company all the time so they need to organise the company in order to a achieve the best successful organised business.

Learning Chinese: A fashionable trend Essay

Learning mandarin has caught the attention of millions of people, emerging as a new must have language in many Asian countries, Europe and the USA, having many desperately trying to master one of the world’s hardest languages. Mandarin is seen as a key skill for people hitching their futures to China’s economic rise, bringing huge benefits and advantages. Since English is spoken so universally, it no longer offers companies and employees the edge it once did. As China is rising, the world is embracing Mandarin, where it is spoken by one out of every six people on earth. In South Korea, there was an increase of 66% over the past five years of students learning the Chinese language. Japanese secondary schools have also been offering mandarin courses, the most taught foreign language after English. Moreover, Thailand’s Ministry of Education has decided to include Mandarin education in all high schools starting 2008, and later on planning to expand it to junior high and elementary. Chinese is daunting to learn for many, because of the tones used in speech, and the thousands of characters that must be memorized to be considered literate. Nevertheless, this has created a flourish in language centers, educational programs and improvement of electronic dictionaries teaching mandarin, as several countries such as the U.S just don’t have enough trained mandarin teachers. â€Å"The level of interest is high, but the level of expertise is low,† says Scott Mc Ginnis, an academic adviser at the Defense language Institute in Washington. The Chinese language was once discriminated against during the Cold War, being considered the language of the enemy. Right wing governments in Asian countries feared their regime would be toppled by the spread of communism. However, there are no longer any prejudices against the language, and even considered fashionable. Many teenagers have used pop icons as an inspiration for learning the Chinese language, in hopes of decoding what is said during popular watched soaps and songs lyrics. â€Å"Since Chinese is the language spoken by the largest population, in addition to many markets which have flourished in China, learning Mandarin would be a great benefit, since its is expected for China to become a hub for the future economy,† commented Yeh, a Taiwanese 8th grader, fortunately having Chinese as her mother tongue.image00.png As China’s economic clout grows, learning Mandarin offers a strategic advantage such as reducing misunderstandings. Even though many predict it wouldn’t overtake English as the common language, mastering the language would provide an edge in the 21st century. America Losing Its Dominanceimage01.png The U.S has steadily begun to lose its dominance in areas such as science, and innovation against Europe and Asian countries such as Japan, China, Singapore and Taiwan. Foreign advances in science often exceed America’s, as industrializing countries are catching up aggressively. David Baltimore, president of the California Institute of Technology and a 1975 Nobel laureate in Medicine, puts it bluntly: â€Å"We can’t hope to keep intact our standard of living, our national security, our way of life, if Americans aren’t competitive in science. Period.† European scientists have been making vast achievements, such as detecting methane in the atmosphere of planet Mars. In addition, Asia has been growing technology and innovative wise, seeing output number of papers skyrocketing to a peak. The stance that America has in the scientific world is being shaken, competed and rivaled by foreigners. Even though many say President Bush is to blame by failing to provide enough money for research, the charge has been denied, stating that research budgets during the Bush administrations have been higher than ever before. image02.png The numbers of doctorates and scientists have been falling drastically these previous years according to Dr. Hicks of Georgia Tech. Scientific papers have been falling by 10% due to rising foreign competition, and also a brain drain crisis. The number of doctoral students from China, India and Taiwan planning to stay in the United States began to fall by the hundreds, returning to their own countries. These numbers are significant since researchers from foreign countries account for more than a quarter of industrial patents awarded each year in the U.S. â€Å"After the September 11 crisis, and tightening security on visas, I no longer want to go to the U.S for higher education as it is complicated, and would rather go elsewhere†. Taiwan and Singapore are surging way ahead of the U.S in electronics, and China rapidly growing on medical apparatus. These cause fewer skilled jobs in America, and a decrease of discoveries and innovations. Several private groups in Washington have begun to promote industrial vigor, and agitate for action in order for the U.S to have a place in the scientific society. Since science and technology are key to economic growth and prosperity, Jennifer Bond, the U.S. council’s vice president for international affairs stated, â€Å"They’re [foreign countries] catching up to us,† warning Americans not to â€Å"rest on our laurels.†

17th Century English Theater

This paper discusses playhouses and theaters in England in the 17th century. The paper shows that the English stage during the late 17th century was a time of rebuilding, and also a time of creation. There were many different ideas on what theater should be and it was very common for one person to have an idea, and as soon as it was known, opposing ideas were quickly published, followed by various defenses of the original idea. The paper discusses several people who were well known for their opinions from that time period, including Jeremy Collier, John Dryden, Alexander Pope, William Congreve and William Stubbs. When the Stuart Dynasty returned to the throne of England in 1660, the playhouses were reopened. In August, Charles II issued patents for two companies of players, and performances immediately began. However, theater had evolved a bit. The Royalty and the Nobility, as well as a few independent companies now owned theatrical troupes. Often the ones that had permanent theaters such as Convent Garden, Drury Lane and Dorset Garden had Noble backers to provide for the upkeep. Costumes were often second hand garments that the nobility no longer desired. Slowly the better-kept theaters became places to see and be seen. Often what was going on in the auditorium was just as much, or more interesting then what was on stage. The style of the play writing was of a lesser form then that of the Elizabethan plays. It frequently utilized stereotypes and stock characters.

Wales (stateless nation) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Wales (stateless nation) - Research Paper Example Wales was earlier inhabited by the Celtic Britons and it was only after the Romans withdrew from the regions of Britain sometime during the 5th century that it was freed, and thus, in today’s modern period, Wales is one of the places which is acknowledged as having a Celtic background or influence. (Bodlore-Penlaez, Mikael) The first King of Wales, Gruffyd ap Llwelyn was crowned in 1507 and Edward I of England took over at the time of his death. There are a number of castles and forts which were built around Wales during the period of monarch, which have now been protected as UNESCO World Heritage sites. After heavy research it was found out that the region of Wales has had human inhabitation since the last 29,000 years dating back to even the ice age. After that, the Neolithic period also witnessed a large number of people settling around the area, which then gave way to the Bronze Age and the Iron Age with respect to Celtic cultures. A large amount of human activity has been taking place since these periods around the region of Wales with respect to maritime trade, land trade, as well as creation of machinery, tools and other such equipment. (Who Were the Celts?) The Romans invaded Wales for a period of three centuries and during the time that they were there; they set up a very good military base of their own. They founded the town of Caerwent in Wales and since Wales has very good mineral resources, they exploited these resources and gave birth to technology with the help of gold, silver, copper, bronze as well as zinc. The only language spoken at the time was Latin in Wales. The Romans tried their best to spread their culture as well as set up industrialization as far as they could, and even religion and socio-economic culture in present day Wales is seen as a reflection of whatever was set up during the Roman Empire. A large number of Roman dynasties also came into view during this time, set up mostly in

Chapter 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Chapter 8 - Essay Example The author here is asserting that, from the time we enter this world, none of us has the guarantee of leading a life free from suffering. Suffering and pain do not discriminate between the rich and the poor, the powerful and the common man, young and old, or male and female. However, Kushner also gives hope to his readers by stating that at least we can have faith in a higher power that provides us with the strength and courage we require to bear the numerous challenges and obstacles that life is constantly throwing at us. In my career as a nurse, I constantly encounter patients suffering from various incurable diseases or devastating injuries, which make many of them, lose the motivation to continue pushing on with their lives. Many of them slide into depression, and just as many develop suicidal tendencies. Empowerment and support provision are two essential nursing concepts which enable nurses to provide patients with the desire to persevere through their challenges, and to acquire the urge to live a normal life once again. A nurse is the most accessible healthcare professional that patients can access in a healthcare setting which has the capacity to cater to terminally ill patients. Therefore, the nurse has to be someone that terminally ill patients can obtain inspiration from when they have lost hope of recovering. Many patients belong to a mainstream religion, which could be Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or other little known religions. Thus, when afflicted with incurable diseases or those that are difficult to cure, they tend to turn to their religious beliefs in search of faith healing. A nurse can do a lot to relieve them from their suffering by reinforcing their religious beliefs and assuring them that suffering does not choose its victims but rather, it is God’s will and purpose. As Kushner asserts, the various ways through which God works are beyond human understanding, but through faith, we believe that all of it is