Ulysses Simpson Grant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ulysses Simpson Grant - Essay Example He implemented strategies that mobilised the union army successfully concluding the Civil War in 1865. However the two terms of his presidency were comparatively less successful and almost all his attempts directed towards reconstruction and establishing social and economic stability in the states failed. The attempts to harmonise the society ultimately failed leading to an increasing divide in between the whites and blacks. During the earlier phase of the civil war Grant worked in the state of Illinois where he mustered in volunteers in the Galena regiment and later took it to the state capital, Springfield. s In the capital he continued mustering more individuals in the army and hence raising many regiments. Taking note of this acts of grant, and impressed with his performance, he was appointment as a colonel of the Illinois volunteer regiment. He inculcated military discipline in the newly recruited soldiers of the regiment. Grant, successfully as a leader, led these regiments against pro-Confederate guerrillas in Missouri and achieved initial success. Taking note of his exceptional performance, and on account of the leadership skills that he displayed, he was raised as brigadier general. Grant was successful in winning some of the earlier victories for the Union forces with the capture of Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River and Fort Henry on the Tennessee River. The unconditional surrender of confederate Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner, along with his 14,000 men made Grant a national figure almost overnight, and he was nicknamed "Unconditional Surrender". With this victory, he gained the promotion to major general of volunteers. However, with the spiritless and inefficient display at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee in April 1862, Grant earned the anger of the men in north. Later in 1862, Lincoln promoted Grant as the commander of all Union forces in western Tennessee and northern Mississippi. Besides leading his own Army of the Tennessee, Grant now had at its command, the Army of the Ohio. Grant worked out strategies for attack on Vicksburg in Mississippi, in the autumn of 1862. That was one of the Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Having failed in several attempts during the winter, Grant devised a new strategy of attack. In April 1863, marching his army towards south along the west side of the river, he took position on a point well below the heavily defended city. There, with the aid of the Union river fleet, he crossed the river and began a swift march eastward. On May 12, 1862 he captured Jackson, Mississippi, the capital of the state, directly east of Vicksburg. Then he turned west toward Vicksburg. Later, in the mid of May at Champion's Hill and Big Black River, Grant defeated General John C. Pemberton, commander of the Confederate forces defending Vicksburg, and drove him to prepared positions within the city. Grant's assault on the main Confederate works at Vicksburg failed, however, and he resorted to a siege or isolation of the city from supplies or reinforcements to compel it to surrender. The siege lasted six weeks. On July 4, 1863, bottled up on land and prevented by Union forces from escaping across the river, Pemberton surrendered his 30,000 men to Grant. With effective war strategies and able administration, he was able to convert this was in to victory, one of his

The smoking in ban south dakota Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The smoking in ban south dakota - Essay Example Cancer, heart diseases, cough, fever, head ache etc are some of the major health problems associated with smoking. Recently the state, South Dakota passed a law saying no smoking in bars restaurants or any public place where people work. Majority of the citizens like the law; however the bar and casino owners do not like it since they are losing business because of the law. Moreover, South Dakota is getting lot of tax revenues from gambling. Dead wood South Dakota is a gambling city. After the smoking ban was passed, dead wood has lost about 16% of its annual profits. Now the question is; should the state government give preference to the interests of the public or to the interests of the business people. This paper argues in favour of smoking ban in South Dakota. Dr. ... It is the basic duty of each government to protect the life/health and properties of its citizens. Smoking is one way of destroying the health of the people and the governments have the moral responsibility to ban it or control it with the help of law. At the same time tobacco products are good sources of tax revenues for the governments. Banning of smoking will result in big financial losses to the governments. When we consider the expenses the governments suffer for treating patients suffering from smoking related health problems, the tax revenue from tobacco product selling is negligible. A committed government can never think in terms of revenues at the expense of the health of its citizens. Cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, of which forty-three are known to cause cancer. Among the more toxic chemicals in tobacco are ammonia, arsenic, carbon monoxide, and benzene. Cigarette smoking is now known to cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart disease , stroke, multiple cancers (including lung cancer), and adverse reproductive outcomes. Smoking causes about 21 percent of all deaths from heart disease, 86 percent of deaths from lung cancer, and 81 percent of all deaths from chronic lung disease (SMOKING CESSATION) Smoking in public places not only cause disturbances to the nonsmokers, but also it causes severe health problems also to the nonsmokers due to secondary smoke. Morally it is an injustice that a non smoker became the victim of smokers. It is a fact that people can take their own choices with respect to smoking irrespective of the consequences. At the same time they must ensure that their choices may not do any

Two Stroke And Four Stroke Engine

Two Stroke And Four Stroke Engine To understand the differences between a two stroke and four stroke engines, we need to know how the four stroke engine works. In four stroke engine there are four stages: Intake: The piston travels down the cylinder while the intake valve is opened to allow a mixture of fuel and air to enter the combustion chamber. Compression: The intake valve is closed and the piston travels back up the cylinder compressing the gasses. Combustion: The spark plug ignites the compressed gas causing it to explode, which forces the piston down. Exhaust: The piston rises up the cylinder as the exhaust valve is opened, allowing the piston to clear the chamber to start the process over. Each time the piston rises and falls it turns the crankshaft that is responsible for turning the wheels. This is how fuel is converted into forward motion. The spark plug doesnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t fire in each revolution but instead fires once every other revolution. A camshaft must alternately tip a rocker arm attached either to the intake or exhaust valve. The rocker arm returns to its closed position according to the movement of a spring. The valves must be seated properly in the cylinder head to avoid compression leaks. Now that the four stroke engines mechanism is explained, it is inevitable to learn about the two stroke engine. The main difference between the two engines is that all four stages in the four stroke engine are integrated into only two phases, one downward stroke, and one upward stroke. Intake and exhaust are both integrated into the compression and combustion movement of the piston, eliminating the need for valves. This is accomplished by an inlet and exhaust port in the wall of the combustion chamber itself. Induction: the piston travels down the cylinder head, and it applies suction to the air-fuel mixture and exerts it into the cylinder. Compression: as the piston travels up to the top of the cylinder head, it applies pressure to the air-fuel mixture from the inlet port in the top of the cylinder head, making the air-fuel mixture ready for igniting by the spark plug. Ignition: the spark plug ignites the pressurized air-fuel mixture (otherwise known as the compressed air-fuel mixture), sometimes referred to as the power stroke. Exhaust: as the piston returns back to the top of the cylinder head after the air-fuel mixture has been ignited, the piston pushes the burnt gases out of the cylinder and through the exhaust system. Transfer Port: The port in a two stroke engine that transfers the air-fuel mixture from the bottom of the engine to the top of the cylinder. two-stroke-exhaust.gif 0003EDA6CENGIZ B9A1592C: Fig2: 2-Stroke engine After the fuel and air experience a relatively small explosion, the piston is driven down to the bottom of the stroke where the exhaust port is uncovered. Most of the gases are driven out in this phase. This process is easily seen with an outboard motorboat, evident by the multicoloured oil slick surrounding the engine, but it happens with all two stroke engines, which is considered one of the disadvantages that makes a designer overlook the use of a two stroke engine in their design. And that is because this process itself (along with burning oil) creates pollution and fuel efficiency issues. Development The idea to build a two-stroke engine goes back to the year 1879. But this engine became a qualitatively good product only after many years, when the German DKW company accelerated its development. Because of its disadvantages compared with the four-stroke engine, the two-stroke engine is used practically just in a small range of capacity, e.g. in small motorcycles considering that the processes involved in the two stroke engine only require the use of a small amount of parts and chambers, and that is why they are used in small applications. Formerly the engine was even used to power tiny cars. The main disadvantage of the two stroke engine would be the loss of fuel and oil (as oil is mixed with fuel, or induced with fresh air to lubricate the piston). And this oil is burnt and sent through the exhaust, as some of the fresh mixture would leave the combustion chamber unburnt. This would basically cause more emissions and dirtier exhaust that would damage the catalytic converter. In recent years, the re-appearance of direct fuel injection (as it already existed in diesel, and 1960s petrol Mercedes), is the main cause of this interest. As direct fuel injection (meaning the fuel injector would be in the combustion chamber such as the spark plug, and would induce the fuel directly in there, as opposed to standard injection where fuel is induced in the intake manifold on top of the valve). This direct injection would limit the fresh mixture loss in exhaust. The thermal post combustion: there is an air pump, called secondary air pump, pumping fresh air into the exhaust when engine is cold. As on cold starts you have a very rich mixture, meaning raw fuel leaving through the exhaust. The fresh air induced, along with the high temperatures of the exhaust, would cause the fuel in exhaust to burn, this would render the emissions cleaner, and would heat up the exhaust faster for the catalytic converter and oxygen sensors to work (as catalytic converters and oxygen sensors need temperatures around 600 degrees C to operate and clean the emissions). This thermal post combustion would clean the remaining raw fuel or hydrocarbons, and heat the catalytic converters and oxygen sensors, so they always work at optimal temperatures. Problems of the two-stroke engine Actually, the two stroke engine should perform twice the performance of a four stroke engine with the same cubic capacity. Although it is just possible to gain a performance that is about 50% better, but still the reasons are obvious; the cylinder cannot be filled up with the same amount of fuel as in the four-stroke engine, because the individual strokes are separated not so clearly which will reduce the amount of space and eventually reduce the capacity for carrying more fuel. If more fuel is induced, it leaves the combustion chamber through the ejection pipe without being burnt. Many concepts were developed to provide a better expulsion of the exhaust in way that the fresh gas doesnt leave the combustion chamber. Though all these inventions, the filling of the two-stroke engine is always worse than in the four-stroke engine, which loses fresh fuel only because of the overlap of the valve times (both valves are open for an instant). Beside these performance-technical problems, ther e are also increasing difficulties with the environment. The fuel mixture of the two-stroke engine often gets shifted with a certain quantity of oil because of the necessary lubrication. Unfortunately the oil gets burnt partly, too, and harmful gases are expulsed by the engine. Two stroke engines already have a lot of advantages over the standard four stroke engines Two-stroke engines do not have valves, which simplifies their construction and lowers their weight. Two-stroke engines fire once every revolution, while four-stroke engines fire once every other revolution. This gives two-stroke engines a significant power boost. Two-stroke engines are lighter, and cost less to manufacture. Two-stroke engines have the potential for about twice the power in the same size because there are twice as many power strokes per revolution. Disadvantages of 2 Stroke Engines: -Two-stroke engines dont live as long as four-stroke engines. The lack of a dedicated lubrication system means that the parts of a two-stroke engine wear-out faster. Two-stroke engines require a mix of oil in with the gas to lubricate the crankshaft, connecting rod and cylinder walls. Two-stroke oil can be expensive. Mixing ratio is about 4 ounces per gallon of gas: burning about a gallon of oil every 1,000 miles. Two-stroke engines do not use fuel efficiently, yielding fewer miles per gallon. Two-stroke engines produce more pollution from: 1- The combustion of the oil in the gas. The oil makes all two-stroke engines smoky to some extent, and a badly worn two-stroke engine can emit more oily smoke. 2- Each time a new mix of air/fuel is loaded into the combustion chamber, part of it leaks out through the exhaust port. http://www.deepscience.com http://www.whitedoglubes.com http://www.atzonline.com/index.php;do=show/site=a4e/sid=10470432604d6722a19884c564334027/alloc=3/id=829

Radcliffe and Wordsworth: Nature, Travel, and Memory Essay -- Traveli

Radcliffe and Wordsworth: Nature, Travel, and Memory In preparation for my presentation on the character of M. St. Aubert in Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho, I examined various passages from the novel's first few chapters which described St. Aubert's responses to nature in terms of the picturesque, the sublime, and sensibility. One passage which especially attracted my attention, but which ultimately fell outside the coverage of our group's presentation, is Radcliffe's account of St. Aubert's feelings about the "small estate in Gascony" (Radcliffe 6) where he and his family lived: To this spot he had been attached from his infancy. He had often made excursions to it when he was a boy, and the impressions of delight given to his mind . . . had not been obliterated by succeeding circumstances. The green pastures along which he had so often bounded in the exultation of health, and youthful freedom - the woods, under whose refreshing shade he had first indulged that pensive melancholy . . . the wild walks of the mountains, the river, on whose waves he had floated, and the distant plains, which seemed boundless as his early hopes - were never after remembered by St. Aubert but with enthusiasm and regret. (Radcliffe 6) This passage was interesting to me because many of the travel writings we have read so far tend to focus more on the travellers' immediate responses to relatively new and unfamiliar environments which they are visiting for the first time, rather than on a return to a familiar place or the memories evoked by those familiar places. However, St. Aubert's emotional responses to familiar places - as well as his responses to less familiar places he sees on his travels - form a significant part of his characte... ...remembered them when we had been there before - in a similar manner to the way in which Wordsworth does this in Tintern Abbey. As well, though on the more recent trips I have been more acutely aware of the ways in which my relationships with my family have changed over the years - perhaps a side effect of travelling with three other people in a small space for a period of ten days - it is still easy for me to sympathize with Radcliffe's evocation of "the memory of those we love . . . all tender and harmonious as this landscape" (47). Works Cited Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho. 1794. Ed. Jacqueline Howard. London: Penguin, 2001. Wordsworth, William. "Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey, on Revisiting the Banks of the Wye During a Tour, 13 July 1798." 1798. Romanticism: An Anthology. Ed. Duncan Wu. Oxford: Blackwell, 1998. 265-269.

Goethe’s Faust Essay

Scene vii of Faust ii act v takes place in a steep, rocky side of an unspecified mountain. The scene is dominated by female characters and takes place on earth. It starts with a chorus of nature spirits, in which the nature is describes the mutually interdependent processes taking place. The idyllic conditions described by the chorus of nature are the celebration of processes like plant and animal life, earth and water. Then enter the four â€Å"anchorite fathers,† who seem to represent progressively increasing degrees of spiritual attainment. First there is Pater Ecstaticus who is hovering up and down in the air. Then there is Pater Profundus who apparently lives in the depth of the earth. He marvels at the creative processes of nature and describes lightning, trees which strive to reach heaven and water flowing from heaven to earth. His heart is however is not at peace and he asks for a divine illumination from the Lord â€Å"Oh, God! Calm my thoughts, pacify us/ And bring light to my needy heart! † The third father is Pater Seraphicus. He lives in the middle regions, (probably between the air and earth). He invites the spirits of young boys who died at birth and had not thus experienced earthly life to come and experience the world through his body. Then a group of angels pass by carrying the soul of Faust and relate why they rescued Faust’s soul. We learn that Faust soul was saved because he struggled so much in developing his projects (â€Å"Whoever strives, in his endeavor, we can rescue from the devil. †). In this instance we are also told of the other reason why Faust’s soul was saved which is that Gretchen was interceding for him to Mother of God. The Younger Angels say of how they distracted the Mephistopheles by using roses of holy love. The More Perfect Angels also say that even though the heart of Faust has â€Å"escaped the flames† it is still impure and that the bond between the soul and body is left for â€Å"Eternal Love† to unwind. The angels then take Faust’s soul to the blessed boys above who â€Å"Joyfully receive Him as a chrysalis† after all the ‘threads that surround him’ disappear since ‘divine love has found him. ’ Then we meet the fourth anchorite father, Doctor Marianus who resides in ‘the purest cell’. When he sees â€Å"womanly shapes† floating around he starts praising Mater Gloriosa and together with the choir of penitent women, Magna Peccatrix, (the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet), the Samaritan woman who met Christ at the well and Mary of Egypt together plead to Mater Gloriosa not to begrudge the true soul of Gretchen. They plead that she transgressed without knowledge of her fall. The Gretchen herself goes to Mater Gloriosa and pleads on behalf of Faust asking Mater Gloriosa to allow her, Gretchen, to teach him the new ways there since he is still blinded by the bright light. She says that Faust is a completely new person having â€Å"thrown off every bond/ Of his old earthbound integument,† The scene ends when Mater Gloriosa accepts Faust’s soul and beckons Gretchen and all the others to follow her into the higher sphere. This scene takes place by the Aegean Sea where the Sirens are addressing the Moon. The Nereids and Tritons are also swimming around and even swim to the Greek mythological island of Samothrace, ‘the domain of the mighty Cabiri’ in an effort to show that they are more than fish. Meanwhile, Thales and Homunculus have gone to visit the sea god, Nereus for advice on how Homunculus can be reborn completely. Thale tells Homunculus that though Nereus is stubborn and a grumbler, people respect him because of his wisdom. They then meet Nereus, who is angry and wants to send them away, he tells them of how men can never heed advice and tells them of how Paris laughed at him when he told him of the future he saw, he also tell them of how he warned Ulysses of ‘Cyclops’ horrors and of Circe’s wiles’ but the advice brought Ulysses no gain. He tells them finally to go to Proteus, the shape changer since he is waiting for Dorides and Galatea. Nereids and Triton arrive then carrying Cabiri in a turtle-shell and Thales and Homunculus watch the procession. Proteus, who is hovering near is so attracted by the light that that homunculus emits. He draws near and Thales asks for advice on Homunculus’ behalf. Proteus suggests that homunculus can repeat the human birth process by starting in the sea and then develop to a full being. They then all (Thales, Proteus and Homunculus) leave together to go and watch the sea festival. In the procession, the Telchines, the nine dog-headed Children of the Sea, pass by and boast that they were the first to shape gods in the image of man. Galatea finally arrives and Nereus, the Sirens and Thales comment on the doves of Paphos which accompany Galatea. Galatea comes closer to her father. And in the process Homunculus drawn near and smashes the glass that holds him at the feet of Galatea and all marvels as the light of Homunculus mixes with the waves in a symbolic marriage with the sea. Analysis of the acts In both these two acts there is a strong reference to the female presence. The female presence in act v is represented by Mater Glorioso, Gretchen, Choir of Female Penitents, Magna Peccatrix, The Woman of Samaria, Mary of Egypt and the female forms that hover in the sky which Dr. Marianus. The strong women influence in this act, as in the rest of the drama, shows the empathetic face of women. The three repentant women plead for Gretchen while Gretchen pleads for Faust. The women are a strong symbolism to life givers. Mater Glorioso gives Faust soul another life by uttering few words. In this act we also know that the soul Faust is received by the young boys in a ‘pupal’ stage. This is so like Homunculus, who is a half being and only survives in a bottle. The rebirth of Homunculus takes place when he joins with the Galatea in a sea wedding. This is what completes Homunculus. Faust soul is also completed by the love of Gretchen. It is Gretchen’s love that finds him and is to lead him in the new place since ‘The new light still blinds him. ’ In act ii, there is also an overwhelming female presence. The sirens, Nereids and Tritons, Galatea, Dorides are all representative of female personalities. Generally this act is one in which the three, Homunculus, Faust and Mephistopheles are on a search of what completes them, which in the three cases happen to be the female personality. References Wolfgang, Johann von Goethe. Faust. Berlin: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1867.

Marketing: Sustaining Competitive Advantage

The major problem which prevented Callaway Golf Company from achieving its goals is lack of application of change management principles by the management. CGC was very successful in the environment of 80s but the management of the company did not realize that the situation changed in the 90s, and failed to react to the changes appropriately. 2. Situation Analysis. When CGC started operating in the market, the environment was very favorable for the company. There were very many people willing to play golf and the management of the company was efficient in targeting its customers. The company established very high prices in comparison with prices of competitors, but customers were willing to pay extra for a better product. Competitors in the market were not able to offer products of the same high quality with CGC. Besides, the number of competitors was very low. CGC constantly came up with innovations which attracted the attention of consumers while competitors were still too weak to compete with CGC’s innovations. The industry had only a few companies which did not create great danger for CGC. CGC’s sales were constantly increasing due to the increased number of new and retained customers. Consumers preferred their brand because it was much better known than any of the competitors. CGC spent large amounts of money on advertising budget in order to attract even more consumers. All of the factors of external environment were very favorable for CGC in the 80s. Even though CGC was very successful during 10 years of its activity in the market and remained in the top of the industry during all that time, it did not guarantee that the company would always get large profits. The situation in the market changed rapidly in the following years, and CGC’s management failed to react to the changes. First, the interest in golf started fading. It became more difficult for CGC to acquire new consumers. Second, the number of competitors also changed, and CGC was one of the reasons of that. Capital always flows in the direction of profitable industries. If in the past companies did not seek to enter the industry of golf equipment, after CGC started making large profits in it, many investors decided to start the companies produce golf equipment. In the beginning, these companies did not have large sales but eventually they started getting more and more powerful. Third, the nature of consumers changed a lot and the same strategy of high pricing was not always efficient. Fourth, CGC’s relationships with retailers were not very successful. CGC did not pay enough attention to establishing warm contacts with its retailers (for example one of the retailers mentioned that CGC’s terms of payment were not as favorable as the ones of other companies). CGC did not consider it necessary to provide special training for salespeople. Fifth, internet shops became very popular among customers but CGC did not want to increase its online sales, and thus was left far behind in e-commerce. CGC’s had to keep track of the changes which occurred in the market, but it failed to. In order to be successful, the company needed to establish a change management team as soon as the environment started changing. The change management team would be responsible for establishing a new structure of the company, training of employees and constantly fine-tuning the marketing mix of the company according to the changes of the environment. 3.Alternatives. Other alternatives to the establishment of change management team include: making minor changes in the marketing policy of the company in order to meet short-term goals; coming up with radical innovations in order to attract new customers. The first alternative could be useful for the company in the short run because it would allow it to temporarily increase sales and stop having losses. However, changes only in the marketing policy of the company would not be enough to keep the sales at a high level in a long run. Eventually, sales would start dropping again. The second alternative could be perfect in case if the industry was characterized by radical innovations, like computer industry. However, it is simply impossible to come up with some golf product which competitors would never be able to make in the industry of golf equipment production. Even if CGC achieved the increase in sales due to the innovations, competitors would soon start producing a similar product. Golf equipment industry is simply unable to come up with a product similar to Microsoft Windows which dominates the market in the computer industry. 4. Recommendation. The creation of change management team in CGC is therefore the most suitable solution for the company. It will enable CGC to achieve not only short-term but also long-term goals. The company needs to be restructured so that its structure better answers the requirements of the new environment. The new vision of the company also needs to be established. The change management team in the project needs to consist of eight people, five of which belong to senior-level management and three to top management. The main factors which the change managers need to weight to implement the change strategy successfully include: the size of the target market which the company will work on after the changes come into force; addressing immediate concerns which are important for the realization of the company’s goals; choosing priorities concerning centralized and de-centralized structure; the possibility of resistance to changes of certain employees; possible complications in adjusting of employees to the new structure. The program includes a deep analysis of factors which prevent the organization from growing, both internal and external. It requires the identification of the main internal and external factors driving change in the organizations. The change management team needs to achieve the following goals: restructure the company; provide balanced training for employees; improve the marketing mix of the company; increase the percentage of online sales of the company from 1% up to at least 40%. The company will be able to acquire new customers with the help of online shopping. It is also very important for CGC to pay attention to the relationships with retailers because in the competitive environment, the retailers determine the success of the producer in many ways. By providing adequate training of salespeople, CGC will also be able to increase its sales. 5. Implementation Plan. The implementation of change management plan in CGC is recommended to be done on the following steps: Creation of change management team; Identification of the major issues and guidelines which have to be addressed during the change process and establishment of management goals; Encouragement of employees to participate in the research of issues subject to change; Applications of various tools to reduce the resistance of employees to changes; Creation of a new vision in the company; Introduction of a new organization structure; Empowerment of employees and their involvement in the decision-making process in the company. Bibliography. Kotter, J.P. â€Å"Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fall.† Harvard Business Review, 73(2): 59.67. 1995. Mercer D. Marketing. Blackwell Business. 1992.