Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Essay - 2751 Words

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Throughout the Victorian era humanity was obsessed with social status and took every opportunity to search for meaningful existence within society. ‘Great Expectations’ follows Pip’s journey from childhood to adulthood, acquainting with both the true and false qualities of a ‘gentleman’. All through the novel, social class provides an arbitrary, external standard of value by which the characters judge one another. During Pip’s progression of becoming a ‘gentleman’ he realizes appearance is not the main quality a gentleman should posses. Dickens provides Pip, the protagonist, with extreme challenges involving his genteel qualities to expose the obvious need of†¦show more content†¦Pip - â€Å"I was haunted by the fear that she would, sooner or later, find me out, with a black face and hands, doing the coarsest part of my work, and would exult over me and despise me.† Pip’s desire for becoming a gentleman an d reaching up to Estella’s wishes largely surpassed his childhood. With Estella’s negative thoughts about Pip, he began to feel discontent with the existing life he had, â€Å"Biddy, I am not at all happy as I am. I am disgusted with my calling and with my life. I have never taken to either, since I was bound.† – Pip. As a character, Pip’s idealism often leads him to identify the world rather narrowly, and his tendency to generalize situations based on exterior values leads him to behave badly toward the people who care about him. When Pip receives his mysterious fortune, he immediately begins to act as he thinks a gentleman is supposed to act, which leads him to treat Joe and Biddy snobbishly and coldly. â€Å"Well, Joe is a dear good fellow- in fact, I think he is the dearest fellow that ever lived- but he is rather backward in some things, for instance, Biddy, in his learning and his manners.† Pips arrogance towards Biddy grows as he speaks; he often captured her words and twisted themShow MoreRelatedGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1113 Words   |  5 Pagesadventures that the male characters go on. This seems to be relevant in a lot of movies and books like the story Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. In Great Expectations there are multiple female characters like Es tella, Biddy, and Miss Havisham who all play a large part in the main character, Pip’s life. One of the first that we meet the character Estella in Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations is when Pip goes to Miss Havisham’s to play with her. The two kids play the game beggar my neighbor when EstellaRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1347 Words   |  6 Pagespoor status of the economy, social mobility does not seem to be occurring at high rates, with the poor getting poorer and rich getting richer. Despite this, social mobility is alive and well, and has been for centuries. In his novel, Great Expectations, Charles Dickens voices the concerns of many that lived in Victorian England during the 19th century by promoting such a desire to live life in a more prosperous social class. One of the most fundamental and reoccurring themes in the novel is that ofRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1426 Words   |  6 Pages Twelve-year-old Charles dickens gets ready for bed after a long day at the blacking house. These Victorian-aged memories will provide him with many ideas for his highly acclaimed novel Great Expectations. Set in 1830 England, Great Expectations is a coming-of-age story about a common innocent boy named Pip and his road to becoming a gentleman through the influence of others. Pip is influenced both positively and negatively by Estella, Herbert, and Magwitch. Estella left a huge impression on PipRead MoreGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens984 Words   |  4 PagesCharles Dickens utilizes his life for inspiration for the protagonist Pip in his novel Great Expectations. They both struggle with their social standing. Dickens loved plays and theatre and therefore incorporated them into Pip’s life. Dickens died happy in the middle class and Pip died happy in the middle class. The connection Dickens makes with his life to Pip’s life is undeniable. If readers understand Dickens and his upbringing then readers can understand how and why he created Pip’s upbringingRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations943 Words   |  4 Pages This is true in many cases but none as much as in Great Expectations. In many ways the narrator/protagonist Pip is Charles Dickens in body and mind. While there are many differences between the story and Charles Dickens life there remains one constant. This constant is the way Pip as the narra tor feels, because these feelings are Dickens s own feelings about the life he lead. Since Great Expectations was written towards end of Charles Dickens life, he was wiser and able to make out the mistakesRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens1375 Words   |  6 PagesGreat Expectations by Charles Dickens and The Talented Mr Ripley by Anthony Minghella present similar criticisms of society to a large extent. Both of these texts consider the criticisms of rich social contexts (wealth and status), societal morality (whether a society is good or not. Status [can lead to the wrong people being in a high position i.e. making bad decisions affecting the community/society] Appearance [society appears to be moral/good (if you’re from a higher status) {dickens criticisesRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1223 Words   |  5 PagesBeloved author Charles Dickens was born on February 7, 1812 in Portsmouth, England. Growing up in a life of poverty, his childhood hardshi ps provided the inspiration to write a myriad of classic novels including his 1861 seminole masterpiece, Great Expectations (â€Å"BBC History - Charles Dickens†). Great Expectations follows the life of an orphan named Pip, who’s perspective of the world is altered when he is attacked by an escaped convict in his parents’ graveyard in the town of Kent. Throughout hisRead MoreGreat Expectations By Charles Dickens924 Words   |  4 Pagesa character driven novel, or a mix of the two. In order for a novel to be character driven, it must revolve more around the characters’ individual thoughts, feelings, and inner struggles, rather than around the quest of the story. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is a character driven novel. While the story does have a plot, it is not contingent upon that plot, but rather is reliant upon its characters and their natures. This is evident from the beginning of the novel. From the opening ofRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1669 Words   |  7 PagesCharles Dickens He was one of England s greatest authors of the 1800 s, better known as the Victorian era. The various themes and ideas of that time are perfectly showcased in his many novels and short stories, such as Nicholas Nickelby, Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities, and A Christmas Carol. Much of the inspiration for these works came from the trials and conflicts that he dealt with in his own life. His volumes of fictional writing show the greatRead MoreCharles Dickens Great Expectations1017 Words   |  5 Pagesexperiencer is somewhere else absorbing knowledge of a different setting.This abstract adventure is seized by author Charles Dickens in Great Expectations. Great Expectations is historical fiction giving readers comprehension of the Victorian Era.Upon the reading, readers begin to catch on the intended purpose and its significance. A person who lived during the Victorian Era was Charles Dickens himself.He grew up during a time where differences in social class were to an extreme degree.Dickens went through

The Ice Man, Haruki Marukami - 969 Words

Dr Icelove: Or I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Male Dominated Cultures â€Å"The Ice Man† by Haruki Murakami is a woman’s conflictive narrative incurred when facing a new identity spurred by the marriage of a man that does not fit her societal norms. She develops a relationship with a person dubbed the Ice Man even after a friend acknowledges he was different from them. The man’s unusual characteristics do not fit any niche she has come across in Japan. As their courtship turns into marriage, family protest and friends are unaccepting of the union. Marked the black sheep of family and ostracized by friends, she is left alone as he takes a job in a meat warehouse. Lonely, she†¦show more content†¦Why a woman would find herself in such a lonely state as a result, the reader must understand some of the traditional social hierarchy in Murakami’s choice of setting. Japan sociologically holds strong ties to their ancestry where families are so lely represented by the husband or father. Author and philosophy professor Miura Atsushi describes Japanese women as â€Å"non-holders of class status, who reach their social position only vicariously by means of marriage† (Schad-Seifert 149). When the wife selects the Ice Man as her husband, she has taken on a lesser identity than she previously held. The lower social status is the reason for the ostracizing from her former class. Sociologist Hara Junsuke and Sayama Kazou note that the interior of â€Å"Japan has always been a socially and economically divided society in which polarization is not a recent phenomenon† (Schad-Seifert 139). Differing classes of people do not intermingle with one and another. The South Pole is a metaphor representing the Ice Man’s class that she hasn’t been able to adopt. The wife is still seen as an outsider even though she married out of her family and friend’s social standing. A woman without her own group is left alienated and lonely. Murakami is using his knowledge of Japan’s culture to portray the internal conflict a person has trying to leave their roots and groups not allowing assimilation into their differing

Social Networking Is Bad for Teens Free Essays

Imagine this: A utopian society that doesn’t have the dangers of cyber bullies or cyber bullying. No more headlines or news articles talking about the girl who killed herself because she was cyber bullied on a social networking site. In a society where you can relax and relinquish those thoughts at the back of your mind about what people think about you over that social networking site. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Networking Is Bad for Teens or any similar topic only for you Order Now Unfortunately, that’s fantasy, because teens are always using these sites, which can lead to a danger little by little every day. For those teens that abundantly use social networking sites, you may think it gives you jubilance and entertainment, but social networking sites are much worse than you think. Social networking is terrible for teenagers because it is distracting, it often leads to miscommunications and misunderstandings, and it is dangerous. To begin with, social networking is terrible because it is distracting to teenagers. Some teens that have homework to do are sometimes hoarding the computer, social networking instead of doing their homework. When their parents would tell them to do their homework, they’ll say they’ll get to it. Do you think they were actually listening while commenting on their friend’s picture on Facebook? They were probably not. This distracting â€Å"obsession† can also have an effect on their English grammar. Some English teachers are disappointed to see some students use the â€Å"chat language†, which is commonly used in social networking sites. This includes: lol, btw, brb, ttyl, l8r, etc. Social networking can also lead to the loss of focus in school. According to News Today News, â€Å"[N]early half of the five hundred teachers surveyed believe that this [obsession] affects children’s ability to concentrate in class and follow the lessons. † Students can be distracted during a lesson, thinking about that person they sent a friend request to, or if anyone commented on their newly uploaded picture. This â€Å"obsession† about social networking is distracting to teens, and is preventing them to from getting back on track in school. Not only is social networking terrible because it is distracting, but it can also cause miscommunications and misunderstandings. Now imagine you have your birthday party coming up and you invite your new friend. The problem is that your new friend doesn’t know where your house is. Through Twitter, you give directions to your house. Your big day is here, and an hour later, your friend still didn’t show up. Eventually, you find out that she ended up somewhere else from the directions that were written in a kind of â€Å"chat language† that she couldn’t understand. The next thing you know is that you’re in a fight with your friend over a miscommunication through a social networking site. Fights commonly occur between teens through a miscommunication or a misunderstanding from a social networking site. Another conflict that could result in a fight is if you post a comment or upload a picture on a social networking site, and your friend takes it for something else and finds it offending. Maybe you were just trying to be sardonic, but that’s not how your friend saw it. One of the most common results for this misunderstanding is a fight between the two. There are so many miscommunications and misunderstandings that happen every day because of social networking sites. Besides social networking being terrible because of the many miscommunications and misunderstandings it causes, it can be terrible because it is very dangerous. The dangers of a social networking site can start with sending a friend request to someone that you don’t know. All you know is what’s written on their profile, but could all of that be true? Maybe they say they’re around your age and live near you, and you think they could be fun to hang out with. The reality is that they could be an ominous serial killer who’s three times your age, lives on the other side of the country, and is trying to track you down. That person can do this if you put too much information on your profile and make it public for everyone to see. On a social networking site, anyone can find you, if it’s either a family member or a complete stranger. Another danger is the dangers of cyber bullying. Very easily, someone at your school can post a comment about something embarrassing that happened to you for everyone to see. Once you know that everyone knows about that embarrassing incident, you don’t want to show your face anywhere anymore, and you just can’t go on. This can lead to suicidal thoughts, which is the dangerous part. Just because someone said something about you, it doesn’t mean that you should end everything right there. Still, many teens do try to end their life because of what people are saying about them through a social networking site, and they just can’t take in all of the bullying and cyber bullying from that. Social networking sites come in a package deal: either you get it with accepting all the dangers, or you don’t get it at all. Social networking is a big problem in our modern-day society, but there can be a solution to that. The problem is that many teens don’t try. That’s why social networking is terrible for teenagers; it is a distraction that they can’t get away from, it can cause miscommunications and misunderstandings that can’t be fixed because some teens don’t know how to deal with their feelings, and it has so many dangers that teens don’t know how to react to. There could be many ways to end the negative side of social networking, but many people don’t try. To those who abundantly use social networking sites, now is the time to face the facts. Try to put an end to the distractions, the miscommunications and misunderstandings, and the dangers. How to cite Social Networking Is Bad for Teens, Papers

Company Law for Flitcrofts Case - MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theCompany Law for Flitcrofts Case. Answer: The Doctrine of Capital Maintenance In corporate law, one of the most important regulations is the capital maintenance doctrine. It states that any organisation has the right to receive the necessary compensation for its issued shares, and the affiliates will be paid the received capital only under certain conditions. The capital is accumulated by the organisation for the security of the companys beneficiaries. In order to ensure lawful dispersion of the capital, the proceedings are managed by the Court (Tomasic 2015). The case Trevor v Whitworth (1887) saw the establishment of this doctrine. A company owned by the House of Lords could not procure its own shares to prevent a decrease in their capital. Moreover, there was an implication that no capital would be given to the affiliates without the Court imposing a decrement. Jessel M.R. cited the key features of this doctrine in the context of the Flitcrofts Case. The following are the key features: firstly, shares cannot be bought by an organisation itself. Secondly, the reimbursements from the proceeds are the rights of the stakeholders. Thirdly, no monetary aid is to be issued by any organisation for buying its own shares. The legal rules regarding write-offs in the reserves of a company are also charted out by this doctrine. Initially, the doctrine had been established over the Company Act 2006 in England (Arnold 2017). In Australia, monetary aid to free and re-buy shares, problems related to the payments from the proceeds and the reduction in the share values of a company all are taken care of by this Act. Under sections 256A and 256C of corporate law, the Corporations Act 2001 of Australia introduced this Capital Maintenance Doctrine. It intends to safeguard the interests of the beneficiaries and the stakeholders, and makes sure that the negotiations between them are fair and just (Knapp 2013). If the stakeholders agree, the organisations share capital can be decreased, provided it does not bring about a compromise in the organisations ability to give them the funds, as mentioned in Section 256 C (Islam 2015). Section 256 B and 257 A enable an organisation to reduce their share capital and buy its own shares back, respectively. This provides improved security to the beneficiaries. To conclude, the doctrine was unsuccessful in providing legal immunity to the beneficiaries despite the many changes. The theories outlined by the doctrine can, however, be achieved by profitable and compliant methods. The Australian corporate law needs to implement a more efficient system to reconstitute any organisations limitations, thereby warranting an efficient strategy of growth. References Arnold, A.J., 2017. Capital reduction case law decisions and the development of the capital maintenance doctrine in late-nineteenth-century England.Accounting and Business Research,47(2), pp.172-190. Islam, M.S., 2015. The Doctrine of Capital Maintenance and its Statutory Developments: An Analysis.Northern University Journal of Law,4, pp.47-55. Knapp, J., 2013. A Reconsideration of Consolidation Accounting Requirements and Pre?acquisition Dividends.Australian Accounting Review,23(3), pp.190-207. Tomasic, R., 2015. The Rise and Fall of the Capital Maintenance Doctrine in Australian Corporate Law.

Ordinary People Movie Analysis free essay sample

People is about the Jarrett family once a family of four –now of three- live a comfortable upper-mid-class lifestyle in suburban in Lake Forest, Illinois, during the 1970s. In good times, they can weather anything, but when a storm comes along, there are dangerous flaws that there are not aware of. Love, once a feeling, is now nothing more than an expectation or an obligation especially for the mother. After the death of Bucky, his older brother Conrad became deeply troubled and depressed, blaming himself for the boating accident. He tried to commit suicide by slashing his wrists and was hospitalized in a mental institution. After Conrad is released from the hospital while he is physically cured, he is by no means emotionally cured, and at the request of his father, he begins to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Berger to help him gain more control, help him come to terms with his brothers death and learn how to cope with his everyday stressors. We will write a custom essay sample on Ordinary People Movie Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The movie focuses on his family life,  Conrad is becoming increasingly alienated from his mother, who he thinks wishes he wouldve died instead of his brother, because Bucky was the outgoing, handsome and perfect son. The mother She is beautiful and perfect†, a complete perfectionist who wants everything to appear to be normal and thinks Conrads suicide attempt was just to hurt her. She  doesn’t know how to deal with Conrad. She doesnt know how to really show affection for Conrad after Buck dies. She has become cold and withdrawn  while the father is paralyzed by sorrow and indecision about how to move on, and the remaining son is wracked by survivor’s guilt. The father tries way too hard to watch over Conrad because he blames himself for missing the warning signs before Conrads attempted suicide. The film will tell the story of how Conrad attempts to deal with the guilt he feels after his brother’s death, and the way they deal with it as a family, the lack of communication or affective communication and disagreements over what is priority for each member. Shows the dysfunctional nature of mother-child interaction and its devastating envelope of intense emotional pain and tragedy. 2. Identify major psychiatric disorders: Major Depression Disorder in the main character due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder . Textbook clinical manifestations: * Fatigue or loss of energy almost very day * Depressed mood * Feelings of worthlessness or excessive or inappropriate guilt * Reduced ability to concentrate or think, or indecisiveness * Insomnia or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day * Significant loss of interest or pleasure in all activities nearly every day (called anhedonia, this symptom can be indicated by reports from significant others). * Restlessness or feeling slowed down Recurring thoughts of death or suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, or plan of committing suicide. * Significant weight loss or gain (a change of more than 5% of body weight in a month) * Psychomotor agitation or retardation 4. Discuss the character clinical manifestation of the disorder He exhibits signs of depression and PTSD. He has trouble sleeping and has nightmares of trauma, which might have triggered those symptoms. He has survivor’s guilt, blames himself for a boating accident, which killed his brother. He is ruled by fear, has low self-esteem. He does not have an appetite, has very little social contact with his friends, cannot concentrate in class, is quitting the swimming team, and does not display good relationship with his parents. You also see him very anxious, disorganized and agitated behavior, pacing back and forth, talking to himself. 5. How does the protagonist’s mental illness and associated behaviors affect the family/friends/co workers/community? The father is portrayed as a unique example of fatherhood, especially understanding the demand of the situation and the dysfunction of the family. He tried to build a bridge between his wife and his son out of his natural instinct and the tendency that to maintain the secure structure of the family but ignoring the factor of human-mind complexities that were quite evidently. He tried to be the balance of the family, was suffering from frustration as he was not able to find any solution for the emotional agony between his wife and son. The conflict between his willingness to provide emotional support to his son and his wife’s unwillingness to convey any emotional message to Conrad made the father very emotionally vulnerable to a breakdown. The mother acts like an ogre and has no interest in any emotional communication with anyone in her family. She feels embarrassed of her own child, she feels like Conrad should be happy that he has a great family and that at least he is still alive; but deep down I think that she feels like he’s really guilty of his brother’s death and that he should’ve been the one that died, because his brother was stronger and was going to be able to cope with his death better not by trying to commit suicide. He’s isolating himself from his friends, especially from L, who was his and his brother’s best friend; his friend confronts him and asks him why he was to go through this alone and Conrad tells him that it just hurts too much being around him because it remind him of his brother. 6. Discuss how mental illness is portrayed in the movie? Positive or Negative   I think in a negative way due to a lack of knowledge back then. A mental illness was viewed as an embarrassment; people thought that just because you have a mental disorder you are crazy. The victims of mental illness are portrayed most often as aggressive, dangerous, and unpredictable. The main character is portrayed helpless, like he is unable to control his life and is dictated by the will of others. Although he was shown as a victim of verbal abuse, when pushed too far, he became dangerously aggressive and violent to the point where he punched one of his friends in school after he was being bullied. 7. Discuss social and or cultural attitudes in regard to mental illness as portrayed in the movie’s time frame. Compare it to present day attitude? This movie was filmed in the 1980’s which makes it play better than it would do in the present times;  because nowadays family dysfunction has become more openly acknowledged, and its often a lot more seamy and macabre than what is represented here. The title implies that the kinds of family fissures chronicled in the movie are commonplace, but the forward progress of time and the continued deterioration of the so-called â€Å"nuclear family† have diminished what was â€Å"ordinary† in 1980 to something â€Å"trite† in the 21st entury. Even though after 30 years this movie still holds and emotional value, but today this movie wouldn’t have had the  Ã‚  Ã‚   emotional punch that had in the 1980’s. 8. What treatments are utilized to treat the mental disorder? Where they effective? First treatment for the character was hospitalization in a mental hospital after he tried to commit suicide and was experienci ng an unhealthy grief. After he was released from the hospital he didn’t seek treatment until he was unable to cope with his every day life routine and with his own feelings. He attended psychotherapy twice weekly that helped him open up about his feelings, helped him learn coping with stress, and taught him how to express his feelings and not to bottle them up. At the end of the movie that was what helped the character and the father. He helped him with his insights. 9. How are mental health professionals portrayed in the movie? Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other health professionals who work with these patients, are often portrayed as â€Å"arrogant and ineffectual,† â€Å"cold-hearted and authoritarian,† â€Å"passive and apathetic,† or† shrewd and manipulative†. At the beginning he was obviously frustrated with his patient because of his inability to express his feelings. 10. Discuss moral and or ethical issues in the movie regarding mental illness? Then versus now. 11. How did you react to the characters of the movie on a personal level? Beginning vs by the end of movie. How did you react to the characters on a professional level? Did your views change? If so what point? Why? His character is foul-mouthed, disrespectful, giving tantrums here and there, but given his situation agreeable. 2. Does your knowledge of mental health/mental illness influence your response to the characters and their problems? 13. How did this film help you better understand mental illness and its treatments? I can understand better that anxiety is an essential part of the human condition, and that it needs to be confronted rather than avoided. And the more you bottle up your feelings and dont communicate the way you are feeling it just hurts you more and it can eve n become dangerous for you or anyone around you.

The Varied Size of the Roman Legions

The Varied Size of the Roman Legions Even in the course of a military campaign, the size of a Roman legion varied because, unlike the case of the Persian Immortals, there wasnt always someone waiting in the wings to take over when a legionary (​miles legionarius) was slain, taken prisoner or incapacitated in battle. Roman legions varied over time not only in size but in number. In an article estimating population size in ancient Rome, Lorne H. Ward says that up to at least the time of the Second Punic War, a maximum of around 10% of the population would be mobilized in the case of a national emergency, which he says would be about 10,000 men or about two legions. Ward comments that in the early, close-to-annual border skirmishes, only the number of men in half a conventional legion might be deployed. Early Composition of the Roman Legions The earliest Roman army consisted of a general levy which was raised from the aristocratic landowners .... based on the three tribes, each of which provided 1000 infantry.... Each of the three corps of 1000 comprised ten groups or centuries, corresponding to the ten curiae of each tribe.- Cary and Scullard The Roman armies (exercitus) were composed mainly of Roman legions from the time of the legendary reforms of King Servius Tullius [also see Mommsen], according to ancient historians Cary and Scullard. The name for the legions comes from the word for the levy (legio from a Latin verb for to choose [legere]) that was made on the basis of wealth, in the new tribes Tullius is also supposed to have created. Each legion was to have 60 centuries of infantry. A century is literally 100 (elsewhere, you see a century in the context of 100 years), so the legion would have originally had 6000 infantrymen. There were also auxiliaries, cavalry, and non-combatant hangers-on. In the time of the kings, there may have been 6 centuries of cavalry (equites) or Tullius may have increased the number of equestrian centuries from 6 to 18, which were divided into 60 units called turmae* (turma in the singular).Increasing Number of LegionsWhen the Roman Republic started, with two consuls as leaders, each cons ul had command over two legions. These were numbered I-IV. The number of men, organization and selection methods changed over time. The tenth (X) was Julius Caesars famous legion. It was also named Legio X Equestris. Later, when it was combined with soldiers from other legions, it became Legio X Gemina. By the time of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, there were already 28 legions, most of which were commanded by a senatorial legate. During the Imperial period, there was a core of 30 legions, according to military historian Adrian Goldsworthy. Republican Period Roman ancient historians Livy and Sallust mention that the Senate set the size of the Roman legion each year during the Republic, based on the situation and available men. According to 21st-century Roman military historian and former National Guard officer Jonathan Roth, two ancient historians of Rome, Polybius (a Hellenistic Greek) and Livy (from the Augustan era), describe two sizes for Roman legions of the Republican period. One size is for the standard Republican legion and the other, a special one for emergencies. The size of the standard legion was 4000 infantry and 200 cavalry. The size of the emergency legion was 5000 and 300. The historians admit of exceptions with legion size going as low as 3000 and as high as 6000, with cavalry ranging from 200-400. The tribunes in Rome, after administering the oath, fix for each legion a day and place at which the men are to present themselves without arms and then dismiss them. When they come to the rendezvous, they choose the youngest and poorest to form the velites; the next to them are made hastati; those in the prime of life principes; and the oldest of all triarii, these being the names among the Romans of the four classes in each legion distinct in age and equipment. They divide them so that the senior men known as triarii number six hundred, the principes twelve hundred, the hastati twelve hundred, the rest, consisting of the youngest, being velites. If the legion consists of more than four thousand men, they divide accordingly, except as regards the triarii, the number of whom is always the same.- Polybius VI.21 Imperial Period In the imperial legion, beginning with Augustus, the organization is thought to have been: 10 squads (contubernia - a tent group of generally 8 men) a century, each commanded by a centurion 80 men [note that the size of a century had diverged from its original, literal meaning of 100]6 centuries a cohort 480 men10 cohorts a legion 4800 men. Roth says the Historia Augusta, an unreliable historical source from the late 4th century A.D., may be right in its figure of 5000 for imperial legion size, which works if you add the 200 cavalry figure to the product above of 4800 men. There is some evidence that in the first century the size of the first cohort was doubled: The question of the size of the legion is complicated by the indications that, at some point subsequent to the Augustan reform, the organization of the legion was altered by the introduction of a doubled first cohort.... The principal evidence for this reform comes from Pseudo-Hyginus and Vegetius, but in addition there are inscriptions listing discharged soldiers by cohort, which indicate that about twice as many men were discharged from the first cohort than from the others. The archaeological evidence is ambiguous... at most legionary camps the pattern of barracks suggests that the first cohort was of the same size as the other nine cohorts.- Roth * M. Alexander Speidel (Roman Army Pay Scales, by M. Alexander Speidel; The Journal of Roman Studies Vol. 82, (1992), pp. 87-106.) says the term turma was only used for the auxiliaries: Clua was a member of a squadron (turma) - a subdivision known only in the auxilia- led by a certain Albius Pudens. Although Clua named his unit simply by the colloquial expression equites Raetorum, we can be certain a cohors Raetorum equitata was meant, perhaps cohors VII Raetorum equitata, which is attested at Vindonissa during the mid-first century. The Imperial Army Beyond the Legions Complicating questions of the size of the Roman legion were the inclusion of men other than the fighters in the numbers given for the centuries. There were large numbers of slaves and civilian non-combatants (lixae), some armed, others not. Another complication is the likelihood of a double-sized first cohort beginning during the Principate. In addition to the legionaries, there were also auxiliaries who were mainly non-citizens, and a navy. Sources Roman Population, Territory, Tribe, City, and Army Size from the Republics Founding to the Veientane War, 509 B.C.-400 B.C., by Lorne H. Ward;  The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 111, No. 1 (Spring, 1990), pp. 5-39A History of Rome, by M. Cary and H.H. Scullard; New York, 1975.The Size and Organization  of the Roman Imperial Legion, by Jonathan Roth;  Historia: Zeitschrift fà ¼r Alte Geschichte,  Vol. 43, No. 3 (3rd Qtr., 1994), pp. 346-362How Rome Fell, by Adrian Goldsworthy; Yale University Press, 2009.

Impacts and implications on the performance and growth of small and Dissertation

Impacts and implications on the performance and growth of small and medium-sized enterprises in London - Dissertation Example In this research paper, after a review of the existing literature, new econometric results on the impact and implications on the performance of SMEs, the ongoing evidences of 2009 and forecasts (2010-2013), and drive some key financial and economic policy implications. Financial crises have impacts on all the economic units as is in accordance to the case study of London and SMEs’ structure at micro and macro stages. The main purpose of this study is to determine how SMEs, which are considerably the smallest sections of economics and have a share rate of about 95% (percent) of both developing and developed countries’ economic compositions, have been both negatively and positively been influenced by the effects of financial downturn in London. Small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have been recognized as catalysts to spur the economic advancement of London. In this regards therefore, special focus has been given to the well being of these SMEs in recognition of the f undamental roles they play in economic advancement of the London’s economy. Several research findings indicate that the small business sector has a greater importance for the national economy, the employment and the innovative environment of a country-London. Despite the encouragement and support given to the SMEs, their success and failures compared gives a more picture of frequent failures due to internal and external environmental factors. This study, therefore, gives some recent and final data for the 2009 and forecasts for 2010-2013 on financial and economic downturn impacts on the SMEs’ performance in London. Key words: financial crisis, economic downturn, econometrics, Access to Finance (ATF), small and medium-sized enterprises. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦.†¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. i 1. CHAPTER ONE: GAP IN THE RESEARCH 1.1. Background of the study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦. 1 1.2. Competitive Advantage as Determinants of Success†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 1.3. Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in London †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...†¦.. 4 1.4. Research Problems†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 1.5. Main Objectives of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1.6. Specific Objectives of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 1.7. Research Questions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 1.8. Research Hypotheses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 1.9. Significance of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.†¦.. 11 1.10. Scope and limitations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦11 2. CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Financial and Economic Crises and Notion of SMEs†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..13 2.2. The Concept of Strategic Management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 2.3. The Effects of Financial and Economic downturn and External Environmental Factors on Performance and growth of SME in London†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 2.3.1. Porter’s generic strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.. 20 2.4. Threats of New Entrants†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦