Mesopotamia and Egypt Essay

The early civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt were very similar, but they were also different in some ways. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt developed their civilizations centered on rivers, but these rivers were polar opposites. Mesopotamia was between two rivers called the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Egypt’s civilization developed around the Nile River. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers differed from the Nile River. The Nile River was calm, and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers were wild and very unpredictable. Since these rivers had opposite behaviors, Mesopotamia’s specialty was in irrigation, while Egypt was a more agricultural society. Mesopotamia and Egypt were very similar in their roots, but they also had distinctive forms of social organization and religious observance that developed because of the rivers that surrounded them. Mesopotamia’s social organization was a way to differentiate between rulers and those who were commoners. Each city-state in Mesopotam ia had elders and young men that made decisions for the community. Rulers protected their access to both political and economic resources by creating systems of bureaucracies, priesthoods, and laws. Priests and bureaucrats served their leaders well, defending and advocating rules and norms that validated the political leadership. Lists of professions were passed around so each person could know his or her place in the social order. The king and priest were at the top of the social structure followed by bureaucrats who were scribes, supervisors, and craft workers. The craft workers were jewelers, gardeners, potters, metal smiths, and traders; this was the largest group of the social structure. The craft workers were not slaves but they depended on their employer’s households. People rarely moved from one social level to another. Not only was there organization between society in general, but there was also specific organization between families. In families, the senior male became the patriarch. A family was made up of a husband and a wife who was bound by a contract that stated that the wife would provide children, preferably male, and the husband would provide support an d protection. If there was no male child, a second wife or slave could bear children to serve as the couple’s offspring. In families, sons would inherit the family’s property and the daughters would receive dowries. Priests were at the top of the social organization with the king because they lived in temples, which represented  the cities’ power. Bureaucrats were at the top of the social structure underneath the main people of power because they were scribes. Mesopotamia was the world’s first city to keep records and read, developing a writing system. Writing became important to the development of cities and enabled people to share information across greater distances and over longer periods of time. Scribes played a significant role in developing a writing system that people anywhere and in the future could decipherer. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers served as major communication and transportation routes for Mesopotamia. The need for a system of record keeping developed because farmers and officials needed a way to keep track of the distribution of goods and services. It was important to keep track of goods and services because long-distance trade was very important to Mesopot amia since it lacked many raw materials that were crucial to developing the city. On the other hand, in Egypt, the social organization was similar to Mesopotamia, but differed just slightly. At the top was a Pharaoh or also called a king was the center of Egyptian life followed by priests, scribes, craftsmen, and lastly farmers and slaves. The Pharaoh was at the center of life and had the responsibility to ensure that flooding of the Nile River continued without interruption and had the responsibility to develop a vibrant economy. Egyptians believed that the Pharaoh was a descendant from the gods. Egypt had one advantage that Mesopotamia did not have, the Nile River. The Nile River was navigable and provided annual floods. These annual floods allowed for regular moisture. Even though the Nile River did not fertilize the fields as wells as the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, the yearly floods meant that the topsoil was renewed every year, making the soil easy to plant in. Egypt also had the sun that allowed a bountiful agriculture. Egypt, similarly to Mesopotamia, was a scribe nation. Since little people were literate in both Mesopotamia and Egypt, a scribesâ €™ social status was increased automatically. However, even though both Mesopotamia and Egypt were scribal cultures, Egypt appeared to be more literate. This could be because Egypt developed later than Mesopotamia, and they may have used it more since Egypt had the Nile River. The Nile provided for good harvest allowing Egypt’s economy to flourish. Since Egypt had good harvest, they may have needed to keep better track of goods and services because they had more goods to keep track of since they had better harvest than  Mesopotamia. Social structure in Egypt and Mesopotamia was not the only thing that was affected by the rivers. Another aspect of early civilization that was affected by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Mesopotamia was religion. Mesopotamians had beliefs in gods that molded their political organizations and controlled everything. They believed the gods controlled weather, fertility, harvests, and the underworld. They had to respect their gods, but they also feared them because they were powerful. A major way for Mesopotamians to worship their gods was through the temples. Temples were gods’ homes and were the cities’ identity. To demonstrate cities’ power, rulers would elaborately decorate temples. The priests and other officials lived in the temples and worked to serve gods, the most pow erful immortal beings to the Mesopotamians. Temples ran productive and commercial activities and those that were close to the river would hire workers to hunt, fish, and collect. The temples were a way for people to worship their gods and show their faithfulness to them. Therefore, since the Mesopotamians believed that the gods controlled everything including weather and harvest, two important aspects in Mesopotamia civilization, it was important that they stay faithful to their gods since they did not have the best rivers. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers would flood if there was heavy rainfall during the height of the agricultural season. Thus, if they worshiped their gods frequently, the Mesopotamians may believe that the gods will bestow good weather eliminating floods more often, creating a better year of harvest. Like Mesopotamia, each region in Egypt had its own god. In addition, Egypt also had temples to worship their gods. In Egypt, gods were inactive and the kings, or pharaohs, were active. The pharaoh had responsibility to uphold cults while the priests were to uphold regular rituals. The pharaoh acted as a mediator between the gods and the people o f the city. He supported the gods through rituals held in temples, which the Egyptians contributed many resources to. Since trade from the Nile River allowed the city of Egypt to prosper economically, they had more resources to build more elaborate temples and later on pyramids. Pyramids were unique to Egyptian culture. The pyramids became a place for state rituals and were very important to Egyptian culture. Since Egypt prospered because of its location next to the Nile, they had an abundance of resources that was necessary to build the intricate temples. Both Mesopotamia and Egypt were  riverine cultures. Each city had its own unique social organization and religious beliefs, but they had similar roots. Both civilizations were scribal cultures, but since Egypt had the Nile River, the two civilizations differed. Since both civilizations were scribal, scribes attained great social status under the king and priests. Egypt prospered greatly from the resources that the predictable Nile River offered. Mesopotamia had the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that were unpredictable, but still provided for irrigation and allowed the city to advance in irrigation technology and opened the city up to the surrounding cities. Mesopotamia and Egypt both had polytheism and worshiped their gods in temples. Instead of referring to the king like in Mesopotamia, Egypt refers to the pharaoh. Egypt believed that the pharaoh communicated with the gods. The rivers in both Mesopotamia and Egypt opened these areas up to the rest of the world and allowed for great economic growth.

Miss Havisham…A Victim or a Villain? Essay

Was Miss Havisham a victim or a villain? This extremely eccentric character is absolutely essential to the plot of Great Expectations, for with malice intended, she greatly alters the paths of Pip’s and Estella’s lives, and with obsessive behavior destroys her own life. Miss Havisham was heir to a fortune that had been gained by successful industry rather than noble birth. Miss Havisham’s suitor, Compeyson, was, by social classification, beneath her. The fact that he jilted her and was of a lower station was a double blow to her obviously frail mental state. Dickens reminds us that even money earned by hard work rather than noble inheritance does not assure happiness. With this catalytic event, Miss Havisham committed pseudo suicide and confined herself to a mausoleum†¦Satis House. It is necessary for the reader to know that Miss Havisham’s psychotic behavior began precisely at 8:40 a.m. on what was to have been her wedding day. When Miss Havisham learned that she had been deserted by Compeyson, she was wearing just one shoe. â€Å"She had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on.† Dickens is emphasizing how suspended in time Miss Havisham remains. It does not seem a stretch to believe that Dickens was showing us how all of humanity is just one step from insanity. Dickens described Miss Havisham’s surroundings: the court-yard â€Å"but grass growing in every crevice,† and the brewery â€Å"all was empty and disused.† Metaphorically, the same words describe Miss Havisham and illustrate that a life of revenge is hollow and unattended. The humiliation and hurt Miss Havisham suffers at the hand of Compeyson causes her to coach her adopted daughter, Estella, in the many ways to break  a man’s heart. Incapable of doing it herself from her weakened and aging position, she uses Estella as her weapon of revenge. I am quite certain that Dickens arrived at Miss Havisham’s name by implementing some combination of words that provided him with a metaphorical laugh. I have my own interpretation; Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary shares my guilt. One definition of â€Å"have† is †¦ â€Å"to cause.† â€Å"Sham† is also defined as †¦ â€Å"something to be pretended other than it is.† To cause a pretension is exactly what Miss Havisham did to Pip by allowing him to think she was his secret benefactor. Miss Havisham was a victim only because she allowed herself to be. A strong person would have quickly realized that her life would be improved by being liberated from Compeyson, a white-collared criminal. Miss Havisham’s villainy is forgivable; her self-imposed insanity allows us to do that. Miss Havisham is a marvelous diversion for the reader: not quite believable, but oh, so interesting.

Global Communications Worksheet Essay

Transcribe the following welcome message for the employees from each country: I wanted to welcome you ASAP to our little family here in the States. It’s high time we shook hands in person and not just across the sea. I’m pleased as punch about getting to know you all, and I for one will do my level best to sell you on America. Complete the table below with your transcribed welcome messages. Also indicate whether each of the countries are more individualistic or relationship focused. Country Transcribe Welcome Message Brazil We wanted to welcome you to our family here in the States and thought it high time we shook hands in person and I am excited to get to know all of you and will do my best to sell you on America. Brazil’s culture is generally group-oriented and asserting individual preferences may be viewed as less important than conforming to a groups norms. Building lasting and trusting personal relationships is therefore critically important with Brazilians who generally wish to close any deals with someone with whom they have a strong bond. Russia I want to welcome you as quickly as possible to our little family here in the States. I think it is high time we met in person and not continue business across the sea. I look forward to getting to know all of you, and I will do my best to sell you on America. Those within the Russian culture have long been dominated by like the tsars and the Communist Party leaders. Because of this, many Russians do not have individual freedom and maintain a collectivist set of values. India I wanted to welcome you to our family here in the States and thought it was the right time to shake hands in person rather than do business across the sea. I look forward to getting to know you, and allowing you the opportunity to know us as well, and will do my best at selling you on America. Indian society is that of the collectivism view and it promotes social cohesion as well as interdependence. China I wanted to take a moment and welcome you as part of our family here in the States. I think the time for us to meet and shake hands in person has been long overdue. I look forward to getting to know one another and will do my best at selling you on America. In China, there is a collectivist approach in where the upholding of a stable and â€Å"in-sync† harmonious society is is seen to be the most important part of ethics.

A Job Costing System Accumulates Economics Essay

A Job Costing System Accumulates Economics Essay Chapter 14 A job-costing system accumulates and analyzes costs separately for each product or small batches of products. Examples of firms that use job-costing systems include law firms and firms that build custom houses. A process-costing system accumulates and analyzes costs by each process (or a department) rather than by each job. Examples of firms that use process-costing systems include steel mills and paper companies. Direct materials and direct labor are traced, and overhead is allocated. Work in process inventory is the inventory of unfinished products at the start of a period. Cost of goods manufactured is the cost of items finished and transferred from work in process inventory to finished goods inventory. Cost of goods sold is the cost of products sold in a period. It is the cost of items transferred from finished goods inventory to the income statement. A predetermined overhead rate equals expected overhead costs for the period divided by the expected activity level. Fi rms use predetermined overhead rates because actual overhead costs and activity volumes frequently fluctuate. A normal-costing system is a job-costing system that uses a predetermined overhead rate. Underapplied overhead means that the overhead applied to jobs is smaller than the amount actually spent on overhead. Overapplied overhead means that the overhead applied to jobs exceeds the amount spent on overhead. False – if a firm has underapplied overhead, the actual rate must have exceeded the predetermined rate. (1) correct rates are year end, (2) write off to cost of goods sold, and (3) prorate among inventory accounts and cost of goods sold. The adjustment will increase cost of goods sold and, in turn, decrease net income. The proration method allocates the under- or overapplied overhead to WIP inventory, FG inventory, and cost of goods sold in proportion to their unadjusted ending balances. Three accounts will be affected: (1) WIP, (2) FG, and (3) COGS. Income will be hig her under the proration method because some of the adjustment will be to the inventory account. Discussion Questions Job shops and process shops differ considerably in the extent to which we can trace costs to individual units and jobs. A pure job shop makes custom products. Each unit is a separate job and is unique. It is therefore possible to trace many costs directly to each job. However, in process shops, it is not possible to trace most costs to individual units. Rather, we can trace the costs, even for direct materials and direct labor, only at the process or departmental level. Yes. Each patient’s care may be viewed as a job. Many of the costs, including the costs of nurse care, attending physician’s time, medicines and drugs, room occupancy can be directly traced to the patient. Some indirect costs may still have to be allocated. However, such a system also has elements of process costing in that we might use pre-determined rates (e.g., $40 per hour of nursing or $100 per visit by a doctor) to determine costs rather than use actual costs. Business consulting firms are likely to have job-costing like systems. Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s have more of process costing-type environment.

Albert Einstein's Philadelphia Experiment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Albert Einstein's Philadelphia Experiment - Essay Example The Philadelphia experiment was done on a Navy destroyer escort, the USS Eldridge, which was fitted with required equipment and generators, began in the summers of 1943 and was initially a success to a limited degree. First, the experiment was conducted using domestic Animals on a ship; the animals were placed in metal cages on the USS Eldridge, the ship became invisible but when it materialized many of the animals were missing and some had radiation and burn marks on them, for the first time humans were not be tested. Yet the next time the Experiment was performed with a full crew aboard reportedly underwent the Philadelphia Experiment. The men on board did not know what was happening; they were only told that they were going to be made invisible with the ship. For the second time Eldridge being rendered almost completely invisible, with some eyewitnesses reporting a greenish fog; however, crew members complained of serious nausea afterward. At that time the experiment was altered b y the Navy, with the new goal being invisible to radar only. Equipments used were not recalibrated, and the Experiment was performed again with a new crew member and few scientists. This time, Eldridge not only actually became almost entirely invisible to the naked eye but actually vanished from the area entirely. Concurrent with the phenomenon, the U.S Naval base at Norfolk, Virginia, just over 375 miles away, reported sighting the Eldridge vanished again and reappeared in the Philadelphia, not only it was vanished and moved miles away but it was also years away. The effect of this experiment on the crew members was profound and almost all of the crew members were violently ill. Some suffered from mental illness because of the experience; behavior conforming to schizophrenia is described in some accounts. Some of the members were missing supposedly vanished and some were actually fused to the mental bulkhead. Some of the Survivors of the experiment said that they were horrified by the experiment and tried to jump out of the ship and went through a time travel, they were in the year 1983 and they met the scientist who was with them on the ship, they were very much scared and were asked to shut down the Machine on the ship and when they returned to the ship they switched off the machine, but it was too late. Some of the other sailor also went through time travel, they found themselves in a

Water Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Water - Assignment Example (Song, 2010). The city of Tucson, though, tries to manage its water demand and provide water to its citizens by means of three major water sources: Colorado River water intended to be delivered to the city under CAP – Central Arizona Project, groundwater and, finally, recycling of the water. (Central Arizona Project, 2011; Song, 2010). The latter technology is a newly-developed one and is applied by means of putting of the water back to the underground for its use in the future. There is also a technique unique for Tucson: in the western part of the city, there are big water basins serving as a water supply reservoir. (Song, 2010). The biggest role plays the water from Colorado River because, firstly, it is a natural source of water and is one of the most easily available, and, secondly, because this is a renewable source. The second role belongs to the underground waters because their level decrease year by year, and they should be used responsibly. The third role, which may become the first within the next years, plays the recycling technology because it is a new approach and needs deeper research and development of skills to maximize profits of its

Art using hand and brain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art using hand and brain - Essay Example I have been crazy about drawing since I was six years old. I have always been interested in pictures and paintings. Drawing has occupied my mind since I was a kid, and has strengthened its root as I have grown older. People see images everywhere around them, and think that the artists draw those images out of the blue, without much thought and without much effort. However, that is not true at all. The truth is that artists spend ample time in thinking about the ideas behind every picture, and them bringing those ideas to life using imagination and innovation. However, that imagination, originality, and creativity is a gift of God that only some people possess. Artists think a lot before creating a picture. This is because they hold the responsibility for the message that they have to convey through the picture. Sometimes, the picture does not even have to be beautiful to convey the message. The artist uses his brains to deliver the message in the most beautiful way, so that the peopl e do not only enjoy the beauty of the picture, but also get the message in it. Whenever I have to draw a picture, first of all I make a sketch of it using pencil. This sketch is not beautiful at all unless I try to put the idea I have in mind into the picture, using my imagination. But of course, I cannot bring the picture to life without using my brains. The imagination comes from the brain; whereas, the hand can only draw some lines here and there. Hand lays the foundation, and the brain builds the whole building on that foundation. After I have drawn the basic sketch, I put color and beauty in it, keeping in mind that the basic message gets conveyed properly. Most often, I try to convey message about life. Once, I drew a sketch of a dark sea with bright blue horizon. When it was only a pencil sketch, it conveyed no message. But in mind, I had made a picture of happiness and gloom. Since life is a combination of happy and sad moments, I colored the sea very dark to represent gloom , and colored the horizon very bright to represent happiness. The picture turned out to be very remarkable, as it was a combination of sparkling colors, which actually depicted a contrast as happiness and sadness. The point I want to mention is that hand can only draw a basic outline of a picture, but to convey the true message, the artist uses his brains, from where the imagination comes from. Innovation arises from mental understanding of the message. If I had not put in the colors in the above mentioned picture, there was no way to convey the message properly. I am also very fascinated by street art. It is also a beautiful combination of hand and brain. It is an art which, sometimes, is regarded as an annoyance or as an act of vandalism; but most often, it is considered as a means of expressing disapproval about social or political issues prevailing in the society. This aspect of expressing dissent and using art to ask questions from the public or the government makes street art a form of public art. It is actually one of the most convenient means for the artist to show to the superiors what the public is going through and what they want. People find street art interesting, capture images, and discuss them with curiosity. This makes them ponder over what is the idea behind. The artist makes extensive use of his imagination, and puts that imagination into reality through the use of hand and brain. Putting it all together, art cannot be expressed in its true form, if the artist does not know