How does the use of the Life of Hadrian for historical reconstruction Essay

How does the use of the Life of Hadrian for historical reconstruction support or problematize Hayden White's argument on the c - Essay Example The global nature of the world today necessitates scrutinizing of one’s views because there are so many historical points of view. The development of historiography means that the practitioner must develop his/her practice and conscience. Thus, Hayden White’s concept of narrative history is representative of constructivism in historiography. History is a difficult and ambiguous issue and may seem unreachable. However, it can be apprehended by structural thought. A historian should possess an array of skills, as well as the ability to utilize them in concert. For this reason, using the life of Hadrian to reconstruct history supports Hayden’s argument as it uses literature from other writers, some born a long time after his death, to reconstruct his story and that of the era he lived in. This is because little information about Hadrian exists with only snippets of information in historical texts. The 2nd century AD has numerous literary and documentary sources cove ring numerous issues. However, it is ironical that that little if any reliable historical narrative on the Roman emperors of this time exists. For this reason, Hadrian’s life can only be reconstructed using abbreviated accounts in Historia Augusta. Senator Marius Maximus, for example, proves to be a major contributor to the reconstruction of this period as he is quoted in the narrative. This is despite the fact that he lived two centuries after Emperor Hadrian’s death. For example, when reconstructing Hadrian’s interactions with the Spaniards after they refused to pay their levies, the text contends that â€Å"†¦to use the very words of Marius Maximus, and the others very vigorously, he took measures characterized by skill and discretion† (HA, Hadrian 39). Marius Maximus’ writings and works are used as the main basis for the Historia Augusta. The HA does seem to be based on hearsay and rumors and has signs of abbreviation and fabrication. For example, the author contends that â€Å"Even without the aid of a nomenclator he could call by name a great many people, whose names he had heard but once and then all in a crowd† (HA, Hadrian 65). For this reason, this historical narrative should be cautiously treated. However, seeing, as this is one of the only remaining sources still in existence about Hadrian and this era of emperors, it cannot be discarded. In fact, it becomes vital in filling in the gaps in the historical narrative of this period. Cassius Dio was a Roman Senator of Greek origin, and he lived in the third century. However, this does not stop the author of Historia Augusta from using him as a source to recreate this historical narrative. Again, this is because his writings deal directly with Hadrian and shed light on his life. Different from Marius Maximus, who has an unfavorable view of Hadrian, Dio is more favorable and so offers a different opinion of Hadrian that allows the writer to reconstruct Hadri an’s life. It is Dio who tells of Hadrian’s biography, which has since been lost by saying that, â€Å"So desirous of a wide-spread reputation was Hadrian that he even wrote his own biography† (HA, Hadrian 51). While the fact that Hadrian was known to love Greek culture, for example, the fact that he always reclined at table dressed either in a Greek cloak or a toga (HA, Hadrian 69), it offers

Antigone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Antigone - Essay Example The unity of action limits it to a single set of incidents which are related as cause and effect, "having a beginning, middle, and an end." Antigone, a play by Sophocles, is based on the story starting with two brothers, Polyneices and Eteocles, who died fighting a war against each other. Creon, the new king of thebes decided not to bury Polyneices as he considered him to be the rebel. Antigone, his sister thought that it was wrong and decided to carry out the deed herself. She called ismene outside the palace for her help but she refused. Meanwhile Creon went to the chorus of theban elders and asked them to support his verdict and they vowed allegiance to him. Then, a sentry came and told Creon that Polyneices has been buried by Antigone. Angry, Creon summoned the sisters and temporarily imprisoned them. Haemon, Creon’s son and Antigone’s fiance went to his father and tried to persuade him to release Antigone, but it only resulted in a quarrel. Creon then decided to sp are Ismene and to imprison Antigone in a cave. Then a blind prophet teiresias told Creon that the gods were siding Antigone and that he must spare her or face the wrath. The chorus and Creon decided to bury Polyneices.

Absorption costing and marginal costing compared Assignment

Absorption costing and marginal costing compared - Assignment Example In contrast to this, marginal costing, which is also called variable costing, takes into account only the variable cost as product cost for the calculation of profit. The profit calculation under this method involves two stages, namely contribution and profit. Contribution is the difference between sales proceeds and variable costs. The calculation of contribution is essential in certain types of firms where there are many period costs and also it is necessary to calculate the costs of each product and / or department or process. Once contribution is ascertained, the next step is the computation of profit of the business, which represents the overall profits of all product, department or process, by deducting fixed expenses from the contribution so achieved. If the contribution exceeds the fixed costs, the resultant figure is known as profit. When it is negative, the firm is incurring a loss. There are also chances of both contribution and fixed expenses being the same, such a situat ion is called no profit no loss point or technically, break-even point. Under absorption costing, all costs whether fixed or variable are treated as product costs. The cost units are made to bear the burden of full costs even though fixed costs are period costs and have no relevance to current operations. Under the marginal costing technique, however, only variable costs are treated as product costs and the fixed costs are transferred to costing profit and loss account in full to be deducted from the contribution to ascertain profit/loss Under absorption costing technique, inventories of work-in-progress and finished goods are treated at full costs, while marginal costing values finished and work-in-progress inventory at their variable cost. Naturally, the method of valuation has the effect of carrying over fixed cost to the subsequent period under absorption costing and this will not happen in the case of marginal

Understanding HR concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Understanding HR concepts - Essay Example Evidently, human resource managers use training as a performance appraisal tool, which they conduct either after selection of the employees or during a specific time of the year. Organizations such as Ubisoft initiate a yearly program of performance appraisal as part of their talent development strategy. The value of employee training is an issue that has drawn a lot of controversy within the field of research. Research shows that employee training is a complex and expensive process that demands both time and resources from the organization. Therefore, training increases an organization’s expenses within a year, a feature that has become undesirable for many organizations. During a century of intensive business competition, organizations are experiencing financial constraints and their priority is to minimise any expenses. Some organizations have eliminated their training programs as one way of cutting the costs of production. However, there is evidence that employee training may have a wide range of benefits for an organization. First, training keeps the employees motivated and gives them the zeal to work confidently within their department. Secondly, there is evidence that trained employees have a higher work output and this contributes to an increase in the profit generate d within a year. In addition, employee training helps to develop employee’s talents to help them grow as the organization grows (Bratton & Gold, 2001). This explains why large companies have elaborate training programs that seek to improve the employee performance. However, there are obstacles to employee training programs that the human resource managers must anticipate while implementing performance appraisal. Training may become ineffective when employee have acquired optimal performance and feel that they cannot learn more. In this case, investing in employee training does not improve worker performance. In other cases, the employees may feel

UK Fashion and Media Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

UK Fashion and Media Industry - Essay Example This industry for many years has grown tremendously becoming one of the notable industry in the UK. According to Fridson 2011, he provides that UK fashion and Media industry has a significant impact on the social and economic impact in the country. The fashion industry in the UK has become integrated into its citizens live hood. This has become turned fashion to be a possible trivial and enjoyable thus becoming more attractive to the potential and the prospective customers (Fridson 2011). This analysis is essential in the assessment of any market if it is worth to invest in it. This comprises the examination of the external macro-environment which is an important aspect of a company before preparing a business plan. The external environment examination is important in the decision-making process. It is also appropriate to carry out this analysis over sometime to ensure that all the uncertainties and the dynamic nature of the industry are addressed in the context of fashion industry market in the United Kingdom (Dransfield 2005). The fashion industry in the UK is considered one of the competitive markets the world. Big fashion companies such as Burberry, Marks & Spencer, TopShop, French Connection, and Supergroup. It is important to note that marketing consultancies and the media in the context fashion industry have a greater opportunity, in the provision of goods and services. This translates into the need for more consultancies and sound marketing techniques and strategies. Therefore it is a perfect consideration to acquire a UK marketing media agency. Most of the companies in the current corporate world consider growing their businesses by acquiring another company as a way of expansion. This is attributed to most new companies which are in their boom opting for mergers or acquisition. It is important for the buying company to take into consideration several factors before acquiring.

English and Spanglish Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English and Spanglish - Personal Statement Example Both Spanish and English occupy an important place in my life helping me to communicate and understand other people. In my life, language diversity begins with effective quality education, and whenever we will seek to create multifaceted cultural strategies in schools, they will be readily reflected in my social environments, for these are also shaped by those who graduate from schools and who are actively involved into various types of cultural initiatives that are closely aligned with the major goals in education. Effective communication is not possible without learning and demonstrating good communication skills. My impression is that the general attitude to this language group is hostility that is showed from the side of the white population. Amy Tan writes: "people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her" (Amy Tan). The combination of t hese skills is very important for facilitating effective communication. As for good communication practices, these practices are important for ensuring that my needs and interests are being heard and addressed. What is fundamental for effective communication is "active" listening. Traditionally, good listening entails listening to the content of the dialogue. In the major part of the cases the context of the dialogue is comprised of the tone and physical gestures. These are used by people to express the interests of the group. My English differs from other Englishes so I use many Spanish words and phrases which help me to express my emotions and feelings. Usually, I use these phrases at home and with my friends who understand them correctly. So, I try to avoid Spanishisms while communicate with other people. At present, I belong to Spanish language community. The major specific feature of this community is that the people show a specific kind of attitude to the Spanish spoken population of the island. Similar to Amy Tan, I experience that "there are other Asian-American students whose English spoken in the home might also be described as "broken" or "limited." And perhaps they also have teachers who are steering them away from writing and into math and science, which is what happened to me" (Amy Tan). This fact is very important since it can push language bearers to survive under the effect of many factors. The survival of the Spanish language is the thing that closely depends on the activities of the whol e group. The person that took an active role in the activities of the organization was projected to make a number of rather negative evaluations. Even now the group of rather negative evaluations still continues to be placed on Patois. Language use of these nations continues to be one of the things that still matters. Traditionally, this thing requires people to make little effort to provoke comments. My own experience in working with Spanish group indicates that the remnants of this accent still exist in our society. The main reason for that is the uniqueness of the Spanish language. Even now the language continues to be spoken in the U.S. This tendency remains to be supported by many U.S. residents. The main reason why U still use Spanish often can be simply described as "enjoyment". Once, I was also in the situation close to making a significant linguistic misstep. The situation

Traditional and Modern Theories of TAM proof reading Essay

Traditional and Modern Theories of TAM proof reading - Essay Example Tense, aspect and mood are all features of verbs, which are words used to describe actions or states of being. Plato defined verbs as denoting action whereas Aristotle described them as having â€Å"a composite sound with a meaning, indicative of time† (Binnick, 1991: 3). Thus, tense is the foremost feature of verbs. There are also other features such as number, person, and voice, but attention in this study is given to tense, as well as aspect and mood. Traditional English grammar in general derives from classical Greek and Latin. Within this framework, each word is assigned to one of usually eight parts of speech, and numerous rules are learned for composing sentences. This was a popular approach for learning the language until fairly recently because its effectiveness has been questioned. Modern theories have shown many deficiencies of the traditional grammar approach, which is typically complex and highly prescriptive. In practice, "There are matters of style, matters of change (albeit extremely slow change) and matters of dialect" (Bauer, 2007). Furthermore, substitution frames for example, do not always help, and they can become cumbersome for structuralists to define for all instances of word occurrences. Moreover, differences between form and function can arise. Descriptive grammarians on the other hand attempt to describe the language as well as explain why it is the way it is, and various theoretical models are used for the purpose. In this regard, Chomskys work on transformational generative grammar was very significant in shaping modern linguistic theories. The modern discipline of generative linguistics made its appearance from the 1960s. However, as many linguists have experienced, modelling verb systems of many languages is a very complex affair. Bache et al., (1994) view the semantic complexity of language-specific categories as â€Å"the main problem in the analysis of any verb system†