Ramses Ii Essays - Ancient Egyptian Mummies, Ramesses II

Ramses Ii Essays - Ancient Egyptian Mummies, Ramesses II Ramses Ii While visiting the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, I found numerous works of art that interested me. I was able to appreciate these works more than before because of the knowledge I now possess after having taken this class thus far. Understanding the background, time periods, and history of the works that I was practically analyzing at the museum, made the pieces even more interesting and valuable to behold. The piece of work that captured my eyes the most was the statue of Ramesses II (?). This statue was found at the Heracleopolis, Temple of Harsaphes, in Egypt. This sculpture was made somewhere between 1897 and 1834, during Egypts Middle Kingdom. The artist was probably an ancient Egyptian who was patroned by the Pharaoh Ramesses II himself. According to the museums description of the work, Ramesses II seized this sculpture from a former ruler and the head was replaced to fit Ramesses satisfaction. This is a historical piece to preserve his power and immortality. This statue is an example of freestanding sculpture or sculpture in the round. It has been carved and chiseled out of Quartzite stone. This particular stone is composed mainly or entirely of quartz. The stone is compact and is a form of metamorphosed sandstone in which silica, or quartz, has been deposited between the grains of quartz of which the sandstone is essentially composed. Quartzite has a smooth fracture and is found primarily among ancient rocks. The subject and iconography of the work is to emphasize the success, reign and power of Ramesses II. According to the museums description, the sculpture also functioned as a place for the non-priests of the community to place votive offerings for the gods of the temple. The non-priests were not allowed in the temples hence the sculpture must have been near the entrance of the temple. There is a slab in front of the pharaohs feet where offerings would have been placed. The statue is rather large and stands approximately 10 feet high and 5 feet wide. The mass of the sculpture is almost overpowering to the observer. Egyptian art is known to be very compact, and this characteristic is evident in the statue of Ramesses II. The sculpture stays within the frame of the stone, nothing in this piece protrudes outside of its frame. The pose of the Pharaoh is consistent with Ancient Egyptian art as well. The Pharaoh is seated with his hands placed on his upper legs. His arms are close to his body at both sides, and his legs are close together and connected to the throne he sits upon. He sits upright in a tranquil manner reflecting power and kingship as well. His body is bilaterally symmetrical while his pose is frontal and his movement is suppressed. Ramesses II wears a headdress and a fake detachable beard (which is missing) to denote his rank. This visual evidence, (hairstyles, clothes, objects), is common in Ancient Egyptian art to symbolize the status of the figure. When the pharaoh is portrayed, he usually has an elaborate headdress, is larger in scale than other figures around him, wears an elaborate patterned kilt, and is in perfectly fit form. The Ancient Egyptians idealized the body of the pharaoh and were not realistic when it came to portraying the actual facial characteristics of the pharaoh. Although the statue is not being compared to other figures in the work, one can tell by its stance, dress, and mass that the figure is important. Another characteristic of this sculpture is the bulls tail on the back of his kilt, which is visible hanging between his legs. The bull, in Ancient Egypt, was accepted as a sign of power and was associated with the status of the pharaoh. The bull can be seen in many other Ancient Egyptian works of art involving the pharaoh. The sculptures space and form takes up a three dimensional quality and is meant to be viewed from all sides. It is composed into a block of stone. This three-dimensional sculpture occupies both mass and volume. The carving technique used in the sculpture is known as subtractive, taking away from the original form of the stone. The slab of

Economic Recovery of Greece Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Economic Recovery of Greece - Research Paper Example The state made efforts to keep the economy going by spending a lot which consequently increased the country’s debt level in the eurozone. Further efforts were made to reduce the impact of the economic crisis where the Greek State borrowed a loan of â‚ ¬45 billion on 23 April, 2010 from the European Union and the IMF. This was in attempt to cater for its financial requirements for the remaining period of 2010. Their efforts were futile as standard and Poor’s cut the country’s debt rating to junk status a few days after acquiring the loan. The move was in fear of a possible default by the country where the investors were likely to lose 30-50% of their savings. As a result the securities market in the world and the entire euro currency went dipped low in reaction to the S & P downgrade (Stein, 2006). Below is an explanation as to why the European Central Bank must keep the level of interests low with the intention of rescuing Greece. Justification as to why the i nterest rates must be kept low to help Greece The lowering of the interest rates will give some relief to Greece particularly with its delicate Southern tier. The banks in Greece will eventually borrow heavily from the European Central Bank since the bank will find it difficult to hold more cash in the central bank when borrowing is low. Lending in the private markets will also increase which will enable the households and business free up their cash for more expenditure and investment that can improve the economy of the country. The interest rates of the loans are closely pegged on the formal policy rate hence in one quarter point European Central Bank decrease will eventually reflect into â‚ ¬2.5 billion less yearly payment of interests as approximated by economists (Stein, 2011). Efforts have been by the eurozone monetary policy through the European central bank to help in rescuing Greece which has been coordinated by several actions. This is in response to the escalating thre at of the world’s economy as a result of the crisis in Greece. First and foremost, the European Central Bank made a cut on the interest rates to a record low of 0.75%. This was an urgent move to counter the extreme run of the economic information. However, this has driven the strong shift in recuperating the State’s bond purchase policies or flooding banks with a long lasting liquidity term (Bartha, 2011). According to Butler (2010), the European Central Bank is also anticipated to make a further cut with more measures to enable the Greece economy to come back to its feet. Consequently, the Bank of England whose lending rates are currently hitting low of 0.5% has intentions of rejuvenating its printing procedures and purchasing of US$ 78 billion of its assets. This is in line with its freshly established monetary guidelines to assist in lifting the eurozone out of downturn. The reaction by the European Central Bank to ease the market tension has been implemented throug h cutting of borrowing costs for debts by 25 basis units. The interests’ rate record low of 0.75% has the main purpose of promoting the declining eurozone economy. The justification for this move was instigated by the increased pressure on European Central Bank by the investors and other stakeholders such as the IMF to take bolder steps in countering the economic downturn. Hence the European Central Bank had to buy back most of the sovereign debt securities for Greece distressed economy. Besides, the cuts and the

Food processing and nutrition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Food processing and nutrition - Essay Example The research paper â€Å"Food processing and nutrition† describes the methods of food processing and modern methods of preservation as a great benefit for proper nutrition. Food processing is a method by which raw ingredients are changed into food by either using chemical or physical means. Food can also be changed into other various forms through processing. The importance of food processing is to produce food forms that can be easily marketed and consumed by human. The process involves methods such as emulsification, liquefaction, mincing, pasteurisation, macerating, cooking, pickling and many more. Food packaging and preservation usually follow the processing. Preservation methods include but are not limited to freezing, drying and other chemical means. Food processing and preservation has been found to have a number of importance and impact in the human health. The benefits of food processing and preservation are widely known. These include improvement of nutritional value and flavor. It also lengthens the duration of food. However, some negative impacts are also discussed in this paper. Food processing and preservation has uncountable benefits. They include removal of harmful germs, easy transportation, easy digestion, increased flavor, easy to cook and many others. Since the arrival of this technology, human beings have been enjoying and appreciating all the aforementioned benefits. The food preservation has just sealed food security by ensuring there is a consistence supply.

Richard and the Battle of Bosworth Essay Example for Free

Richard and the Battle of Bosworth Essay On 22nd August 1485, King Richard III lost the Battle of Bosworth to Henry Tudor. One of the main reasons for him losing was due to his unpopularity with the people and his nobles. Richard was disliked by many of his nobles because he gave power to nobles from the north, which he knew, annoying the nobility in the south of England. This meant that in the battle he had little support, and some of his nobles, such as the Stanley’s fought for Henry. Richard was also disliked by the people of England. He seized the crown in 1483, and rumours spread that he killed his two nephews. This made him disliked, and few people supported him. Another reason Richard lost the Battle of Bosworth was because of the Stanley’s changing sides. The Stanley’s controlled around 6000 of Richards troops, around half of his overall army. Although the Stanley’s began the battle on the side of Richard, they changed during the battle. This meant that Richard has far fewer troops than he may have anticipated, and had the Stanley’s not changed sides, it is possible that Richard would have won. Many of Richards other nobles were also unreliable, such as Northumberland. He did not help Richard when he needed it, refusing to bring in Richards reserves, and eventually surrendering, giving Henry an advantage over Richard, helping him to win. Another reason Richard lost was because of the support Henry had from the King of France. In 1485, the King of France wanted to distract Richard from invading France, so he gave Henry an army to invade England. When Henry landed in Wales with these extra men, many people joined him on his march through Wales to Bosworth, increasing the size of his army greatly. Another factor leading to the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth was Richards’s hesitance on the battlefield. Richard did not take advantage by attacking Oxford whilst he was deploying his troops. This allowed Oxford to launch an attack on Norfolk, who was soon killed. Although Surrey takes command, Richard lost men fast. Richard was so hesitance because he was so unsure of his support. A final factor which lead to the defeat of Richard at the Battle of Bosworth was the growing mistrust for Richard. Many Yorkists became so unhappy with the situation in England that they looked elsewhere for help. Many of them turned to Henry, and supported him in training and creating an army for him to fight with. This support from people once loyal to Richard led to him losing the battle because he did not have enough people fight for him, as many people in England were behind Henry.

Progressivism Essay -- History Essays Progressive Era

Progressivism The age of progressivism was a time where the middle and lower classes joined together to attack the upper crust elites. During the populist movement there was more of a separation of classes; the farmers blamed just about everyone, especially the more cosmopolitan population, for their economic loss at the end of the nineteenth century. Towards the beginning of the twentieth century however, the rich kept getting richer and the poor got poorer. When the Industrial Revolution was at its peak, the railroad owners and developers saw a large increase in their revenue. The gap between the middle class and the upper class very quickly became much larger. Small town community leaders, who were role models for their town, now had to answer to big business, starting the status revolution. The lower and middle classes were worried because democracy is now being threatened by the monopolies that controlled the economic swing of the United States. The classes fought back by t rying to win over some of the â€Å"outsiders† of the country, ie immigrants, Jews, different races. The goal was to win them over by cleaning up some of the slum areas where these populations lived. Religion played a role in which slums would be cleaned up. The Roman Catholics that emigrated from Ireland had the stereotype of being alcoholics; the Jews from Eastern Europe had the stereotype of being money grubbers. The majority of the American population, white, protestant, workers, had a hard time trusting the outsiders of the country. Many different historians compare and contrast the benefits of this time and the repercussions it had left. For some groups, it was a pivotal moment in history for them but for others, laws were mad... ... Different discriminated groups came together to forge a bond to get their voice heard in America; the middle and lower â€Å"wasp† classes teamed with the immigrants against big business and prevailed. These coalitions, helped shape the social scene for the beginning of the twentieth century. The progressive era left its mark in the United States history. Works Cited Paula Baker, â€Å"The Domestication of Politics: Women and American Political Society, 1780-1920,† The American Historical Review 89 (1984): 620-647. Peter Filene, â€Å"An Obituary For ‘The Progressive Movement’,† American Quarterly 22 (1970): 20-34. Richard Hofstadter, The Age of Reform (New York: Vintage Books, 1955): 16-18. Richard McCormick, â€Å"The Discovery That Big Business Corrupts Politics: A Reappraisal of the Origins of Progressivism,† The American Historical Review 86 (1981): 247-274.

Adolescence and Adulthood

Adolescence can be defined as a transional stage that encompasses changes in the mental and physical domains of human development which occur between childhood and adulthood. This transition is composed of social, biological and psychological changes.The psychological or biological changes are believed to be the most easiest to detect and to measure objectively. Adolescence is also believed to be a very crucial stage of life where adolescents are confronted by very highly changing situations.They become moody and ever stressed by the enormous changes occurring in their lives. Majority of these changes are observed in their sexual behavior following the commencement of puberty (Huston, Ripke, 2006, p.16). Changes also do occur at large in their social behavior with adolescents taking more time to spend with their peers as opposed to their parent something that was common in the previous stage.It is a period of crucial decision making about their lives. It is a time they get to know wh ich courses they take, which subjects to pursue, and which university join.According to Erikson’s psychosocial theory, adolescence is a stage of emotional up evils which stems from emotionally disturbed adolescents. According to him adolescents typically under go a period of identity diffusion which encompasses strong feelings of uncernity.At this period, adolescents desire to achieve a sense of identity.That is a state of being, feeling at home in one’s body and a sense of understanding where one is heading to with inward assuredness anticipated with a lot of recognition from others who count in their lives. However, adolescents find it hard to accomplish all this because of the on going rapid social and biological changes which are equally disturbing in the process of drawing decisions about life (Kroger, 2006, p.43).In this context adolescents are said to be typically undergoing identity crisis a period of mental confusion about who they are or where they are headin g to. According to Erickson it is important for adolescents to undergo this stage for it enables them to resolve their identity issues allowing them move on towards forming stable adult identities. The uncertainties or diffusions experienced by adolescents occur in four different patterns.First is the intimacy stage where adolescents become afraid of giving their commitments to others in fear of losing identity. The second stage is the diffusion of time a period that is filled with disbelief   with the possibility that time may come with different changes and yet violent and fearful.The third stage is the diffusion of industry which basically involves an inability to concentrate towards one activity or rather an enormous energy directed towards one single activity (Craig, 1992, p.28). The final stage in is the negative identity which is characterized by a snobbish or a scornful hostility towards the duties offered as proper and desirable by ones family and community.According to E rikson, these changes take different roots in both boys and girls. Boys develop a sense of identity a bit earlier than girls. This difference is attributed to the fact that girls’ identity is dependent on their social status (Craig, 1992, p.69).Eventual casual examinations explain that adults vary enormously from adolescents in the kind of paths taken in life. Majority of these differences occur as a result of changes in the levels of motivation, interest and personalities of individual or rather because of unexpected or unwanted life events.However, most adults initiate more close life friends than adolescents, have jobs to attend to, have children to care for and this explains that they have more common themes to share in life. Therefore, adulthood is a composition of several life themes that help describe the common developmental milestones in adulthood.In this view, Erikson also identified four levels that cover the childhood stage and further divided life during adolesce nce and adulthood into four other stages with each stage carrying its own developmental crisis (Zanden, 1978, p.51).  According to him, each stage brings forth a negative or positive outcome. Those who experience negative outcomes find it hard to resolve conflicts occurring in succeeding stages. At adolescent, majority of individuals strive to overcome role confusion and fight for a sense of identity. At this point attention is focused on peers. At early adulthood most adults begin to commit themselves to intimacy and love relationships while others develops a sense of isolation with social focus being focused on establishing friendship.At middle adulthood, adults begin to take up responsibility by propagating their own generation to care for and they also extend their concerns to caring for others in society at large (Kroger, 2006, p.103). Their focus at this stage is based on productivity and social work. Those who don’t achieve this become self –centred or stagnat ed.Erikson refers these two extremities as stagnation versus generativity.Generativity in this context is used to refer to those with interest in establishing and guiding the next generation. This stage is later followed by a stage of self evaluation to gauge how successful one was. It begins with the onset of old age and focus is on humankind. ReferenceCraig, G (1992). Human Development. New York: Prentice HallHuston, A & Ripke, M (2006). Developmental Contexts in middle childhood: Bridges to Adolescence and adulthood. New York: Cambridge University PressKroger, J. (2006). Identity Development: Adolescence through Adulthood. New York: SABEZanden, J (1978) Human Development. London: Knopf

David Kennedy s Over Here The First World War And...

David Kennedy’s Over Here: The First World War and American Society gives the reader an in depth description of American history during Americas involvement in World War I. The book covers from President Wilson’s war message to Congress on April 2, 1917 to the Armistice on November 11, 1918 pointing out major dilemmas within the country, whether they are political, social, or cultural. Kennedy starts the book out with a prologue that sets the scene. After the prologue, Kennedy jumps into explaining the war and the thoughts of the American people about the war that was carried into the battlefield. During this time, Wilson had just won his re-election of 1916, which was won by promising to keep America out of the war. So it was not hard to†¦show more content†¦This became a feud within the country on topics such as what war meant to the education system. With many people still questioning the war, the Committee on Public Information was formed. Lead by George Cr eel, the main focus of the Committee on Public Information was to get America on the same page regarding the war; and determined they were. Throughout the war, pamphlets were handed out to the American people. Nearly 75 million pamphlets were handed out (there were more than 30 different pamphlets) to the public. These pamphlets came in many varieties of languages and explained America’s involvement with the war. As time went out, the Committee of Public Information began to push the war stronger and stronger through propaganda. This was not the approach that Creel preferred. Creel preferred the softer approach of persuasion by letting the statistics do the persuading. Soon the Committee of Public Information began to lose touch with its original goal. The Committee became submerged with patriotism with the population in its sight. As more time went on, their goal became less about persuading America and more about purifying America by any means. For many people, the war was not only over seas. Our own people were now bringing the war onto home soil. In June of 1917, the Espionage Act of June 1917 was passed. This act permitted Postmaster-General Burleson to censor United States mail at his