Project Management for Construction Assignment

Project Management for Construction - Assignment Example As per my observations, I have proposed a number of actions that could be taken by the company in the near future. The findings of my analysis are explained one by one. The project as per contract No.205 is for a total sum of 10,000,000 and has been prepared under the JCT 98 format. Initially, the company had calculated the internal budget for the project and had projected it at 9,500,000, out of which 750,000 was allocated for package contracts. the project is still ongoing and has been facing some problems of late, which will be discussed in the forthcoming paragraphs. From the existing financial records, the total cost of the project incurred by the company has so far been close to 6,750,000, out of which 6,200,000 was spent on paying the package contractors and suppliers. However, the amount that has been obtained from the client since the commencement of the project has been to the tune of only 5,850,000, which means that the company has spent an extra amount of 900,000 on this project. In fact, it can be seen that the spending of the company has been more directed towards the package contracts and has in fact been more than the income that has been obtained from this project so far. This suggests that the company has not been efficient enough in monitoring the deficit, which has resulted in an extra investment of nearly a million pounds into the project that is yet to be cleared by the client. Apart from this, I have calculated the ... Apart from this, I have calculated the retention ratio at 10%, which is usually deemed quite less, especially for bigger projects such as these. At present, the company owes around 300,000 to the package contractors, out of which around 100,000 meant for a contractor has become insolvent. This leaves the existing dues to the package contractors at 200,000. I would like to note here that the situation on the part of the client has not been encouraging in terms of their financial performance during the past year. The shares of Rus Ting plc have not been performing well and their value has dropped by as much as half of their value. The poor performance of the client can be further reflected by the fact that they are yet to pay their certified installment due last month. To make matters worse, bad weather over the past few months has been constantly hampering the smooth flow of work at the construction site. The major concern of the company at the present moment is with regards to the time of completion of the project. By taking various factors into account, it has been estimated that the project would be completed three weeks behind schedule. Under such a situation, the company would have to pay up to 90,000 under Liquidated and ascertained damages to the client. Thus, it can be seen that apart from the outstanding costs that have been incurred by the company, another danger still looms large if no immediate steps are taken to bring about a change in the company's strategy and practices.Apart from these problems that the project is facing at the moment, there have been various other problems that have been hampering the progress of the project from time to time.

Teaching Micro-skills of Listening Research Paper

Teaching Micro-skills of Listening - Research Paper Example While Attention Theories support the use of â€Å"consciousness-raising activities to increase learners’ awareness of grammatical structures† conversation theories associated with Communicative Language Teaching â€Å"stress the importance of second language listening since it is not possible to participate in a conversation and take advantage of conversational feedback without understanding what your partner is saying† (Horwitz, 2008, p. 67). It is thus evident that sufficient exposure to the target language is an essential prerequisite for developing any micro-skills of listening. In an EFL classroom listening plays a dominant role and as such the ESL teachers have a pivotal responsibility in choosing the most appropriate activities and listening comprehension passages that cater best to the language needs of the learners. The second language teacher needs to take into account the background knowledge of the learner on a particular topic and familiarize the con tent of the listening comprehension through effective previewing. Similarly, the use of advance organizers â€Å"to help integrate new information into the student’s pre-existing knowledge† also is significant (Horwitz, 2008, p. 68).  Ã‚   Once the listening comprehension text (oral or written) is offered to the learners with ample meaning support the learners need to recall the ideas they are able to remember and for this, the teacher can make use of recall questions to elicit responses from the students. These listening comprehension questions should be both engaging and appropriate. Similarly, inference questions can also be made use of in order to assess whether the students have understood the oral or written text correctly. Intonation (rising and falling of the tone of voice) is another aspect that is related to effective listening skills.  

Apple Motivates All Its Employees Commerce Essay

Apple Motivates All Its Employees Commerce Essay Apple is regarded as the most innovative and esteemed company in the world (Fortune 2009). According to Armstrong (2007) and Legge (2009) firms should bring into action a total reward system that puts together both financial and non-financial benefits. This is exactly what Apple has done to date and given its success, this approach has proven to be useful. Apples employees might even be motivated by Steve Jobs autocratic leadership style (Thomke, et al, 2009), as the positive aspects of working for the company outweigh the negative aspects of being threatened. Apple desires to have a workplace that encourages creativity from the top most management to the lower most workers. Apple puts together both outer and inner motivational methods to enable their employees to be innovative. There are various methods that Apple Inc. uses to motivate its workers. Once, the executives of Apple were rewarded by giving the recognition bonus of 3-5% of their basic salary. This recognition took place d espite the fact that Apple recently missed their goal/target for a particular project (ZDNet 2003). This shows that Apple comprehends groups efforts. New Recruit People who get selected to work for one of the most prestigious organization in the world get very excited well before their first day at work. But, Apple makes sure that their first day is highly motivational from the time they step into the office. Apple does this by issuing a memo to every new employee on the very first day explaining them as to how they should see their efforts and contribution at the company. There has been a leak of this memo in the recent past, many people say its not the legitimate one but majority believes it is. It goes something like this: Theres work and theres your lifes work. The kind of work that has your fingerprints all over it. The kind of work that youll never compromise on. That youd sacrifice a weekend for. You can do that kind of work at Apple. People dont come here to play it safe. They come here to swim in the deep end. They want their work to add up to something. Something big, something that couldnt happen anywhere else. Welcome to Apple. Th is really boosts the energy level of the new joiners and gives them high motivation to show off their skills and talent. Benefits Incentives As we all know benefits package depend upon position, location, and years with the company. Same is followed by Apple as well, but they provide plenty of flexibility within the organization for employees and their family. Some of the Incentives that Apple provides are :- Health and Life insurance. Long term care insurance. Employee stock purchase plan. Financial education seminars. Flexible spending accounts. Short and Long-term disability coverage. Tuition assistance. Paid vacations and Holidays. Onsite fitness center. Computer Programs. 401(k) Plan with company match. Apple also motivates all its employees by giving them discount on the products which is very beneficial for most of them. Apple allows them to use this incentive only once every three years, but it could come into very handy when it comes to Mac or IPods. Employees who work at the management or corporate level can receive free IPod shuffle or IPhone. Many employees at Apple are simply motivated to see the outcome of their efforts on a particular product instead of money can sometimes be very encouraging for the employees to learn more and perform better. It also proves to be good for the company as giving product is cheaper than giving them a raise. Due to high sales in the recent past for Apple, they have provided the employees with more vacation days which again add up to the motivational benefits from the managements point of view. While few workers have complained regarding the salary provided, many Apple employees praised the benefits provided to them even if they only worked part-time. At present, Apple provides workers who work 20 or more hours a week with 401k and health benefits. Most jobs are available both for full-time and part-time, besides the managerial positions. Apple takes in many employees on seasonal basis, especially during back-to-school period or Christmas holidays starting from Thanksgiving. Although they are offered these benefits, but many workers say that these plans are costlier than their full-time counterparts. The above clearly indicates that there is difference in benefits and incentives provided to the full-time employee when compared to part-time employees. This is mainly because the amount of work the full-time employee does under such an immense pressure, whereas, part-time employee not necessarily work the entire week because their schedule is changed on every week basis. Other reason could possibly be that part-time workers dont really require the rest of the benefits as they are there only for a limited time period. Job Satisfaction The new CEO of Apple Tim Cook has been leaving his mark in the company very firmly. Recently in Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Cook is expanding the corporate benefits, such as to take some time off and the freedom to work on personal projects. Although Apple still provides fewer perks compared to some other big companies like Google, Microsoft, etc. Cooks approach in the recent past has been the differentiating factor between him and Steve Jobs. When Wall Street Journal interviewed certain Apple engineers last year they had many good things to share or say about Cook rather than Steve Jobs. They gave examples like Cook is willing to eat with the lower level of employees at the cafeteria, much keener to publicly recognize the work done by his employees, him starting charitable matching program at Apple last year. They concluded by saying that he is way more approachable than Steve Jobs was. All this recent activities done by Cook will lead to better job satisfaction than w hat Apple had earlier. Steve Jobs wasnt that much interested in the motivational sector, although he did a lot for the employees during the entire period that he served at Apple as a CEO. But, Cook has shown much more concern and interest towards employee welfare by adopting new techniques and making himself more accessible to the employees. This definitely gives the employees much better satisfaction as they now have growing incentives and making them feel what they do is known to the world through their name. Money as motivator? One of the process theories which are the goal-setting theory applies to the firm, focuses on the motivational properties of task goals. Employees within the company are highly motivated to attain task goals, which provide direction to employees in their work. The proper framework management of goals within Apple helps clear out performance expectations in the organization. They provide a base for behavioral self-management, which helps employees to improve their performance and be motivated on their job. Apple applies to the reinforcement theory of motivation because it focuses on the external environment and the consequences it holds for the individual. The organization mostly applies to the positive reinforcement strategy which strengthens or increases the frequency of desirable behavior by making a pleasant consequence contingent on it occurrence. Examples of positive reinforcement at Apple include the rewards given by Jobs as mentioned above (opening champagne, vacations, company parties). All employees are motivated to do their best work to accomplish goals because of the rewards they can receive. Incentive compensation system is another method that Apple uses to motivate employees. This includes bonus pay, which provides payments on accomplishing the targets or goals given to specific employee during a particular period. They also have an employee stock ownership plan as mentioned earlier. The performance incentive and ownerships share of ones employment is directly linked to each other. Employees who hold stock of the company are self-motivated to work hard and perform better to raise the market value of the organization. Apple Inc. tries to keep a balance between both financial and non-financial motivators. Although many a times its clearly indicated that Apple uses monetary terms more for the welfare of the employee mainly because, then the employee can use it the way he likes it. The organization also uses non-monetary means to keep their employees pumped up on a frequent basis but Apple obviously prefers to use financial incentive. This could be in wages/salary form, bonus (executives paid 3-5% of their base salary), paid leave, to be able to buy stocks at a cheaper value, different insurance policies, etc. All put in a nutshell, Apple is definitely doing a lot for its employees as present, whether at corporate level or for the workers, be it for full time employees or part time workers. Before people did have complaints regarding the motivation, salary, incentives, bonus, working hours, etc. but as time is passing by Apple is learning the tricks and trade of it and also is making sure that it brings into action the most suitable and the right motivational strategy for its employees to perform better and make sure Apple stays real strong in the market. The backbone for any company is its employees and so is for Apple. After the death of Steve Jobs, people talked within themselves whether Cook will be able to fit in Steve Jobs shoes or not? And all the critics were onto it in a flash. Keeping all this in mind and the fact that many people believed that Apple may see a downfall due to Jobs death, but from the time Cook has taken charge Apple hasnt looked back. In fact Tim Cook has 97% of Approval rating in comparison to Steve Jobs 95% of Approval rating. Here are some of the famous quotes by Steve Jobs: Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Be a yardstick of quality, some people arent used to an environment where excellence is expected. The only way to do a great work is to love what you do. The people, who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Workplace Literacy and Effective Communication Essay -- Literacy Essays

Recently, there has been a poorly written communication in the workplace, which has led to some hurt feelings, lower morale and possible loss of business. As a corporation, we have worked very hard to maintain the synergy thoughout our work environment. These latest events are starting to compromise multiple aspects of our company. First, we are loosing control and perspective of our colleagues. Camaraderie and atmosphere are suffering, placing us in jeopardy of destroying our active policies and their integrity. We must also be careful not to take these events lightly, jeopardizing our nucleus and strong core structure of talented workers. Workplace literacy and effective communication have long been increasingly important skills demanding continuous attention, monitoring, and education. Therefore, the objectives are to present a solution for company-sponsored workshops to improve workers’ writing skills. Workplace literacy involves instruction in basic skills of reading, writing, or mathematics, and the application of these skills to areas such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving (Smith, 2000, p. 378). The workplace is a very competitive environment and the key to competitiveness will be gaining, transforming, and generating knowledge, which can be useful for the employee and employer alike. There are many reasons and justifications for effective communication, but these can best be described by singling out a few common points that will enlighten us to the need for this higher communicative education. According to Office Team 2000, a leading staffing service, while intellectual challenges and opportunities will motivate workers, such skills as writing and speaking well, the display of proper etiquette, and listening attentively will probably determine their career success. HR Focus Magazine (1999) performed a survey which revealed that workers will have to learn to communicate more effectively and articulately. Through technological advancements, their people skills will be showcased and tested, and those workers lacking in these areas will have their shortcomings exposed. Likewise, it is mentioned that pervasiveness of both audio and video teleconferencing will also reveal the caliber of one’s verbal strengths. This leads us next to professional craftsmanship and the justification for which every good employee is obligated for it. W. Bri... ...racy...† (cited in Smith, Mikulecky, Kibby, Dreher, Dole, 2000, p. 378). High literacy will involve the mastering of lower level processing skills. This will include self-monitoring one’s thinking, understanding of ideas and beliefs, diversity on multiple issues, working in teams, and synthesizing new ideas. Fred Talbott makes mention in The Salt Lake Tribune (2000); â€Å"...writing does not have to be staid†. References Anonymous. HR Focus. The challenges facing workers in the future. New York, Aug   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1999. Vol. 76. Lss.8: pg. 6, 1pgs. Brinkman, G., & M van der Geest, T. (2003). Assessment of communication in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  engineering design. Technical Communication Quarterly, Vol. 12(1), 67. Smith, M., Mikulecky L., Kibby M., Dreher, M., and Dole, J. (2000). What will be the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  demands on literacy in the workplace in the next millennium? Reading Research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quarterly, Vol. 35(3), 378-383. Tyler, K. (2003, Mar.). Toning up communications. HR Magazine, 48(3), 87-89. Writing well can help in the workplace. (2000, Apr.9). The Salt Lake City Tribune, p. E3

Eight Years Wasted, the Economic Failures of the Bush Administration Essay

Eight years wasted. That is the description that befits the George W. Bush administration of the United States between 2001 and 2008. Nevertheless, this is not a case of unfair criticism of the Bush administration, as noted by Republican Senator John McCain who served in Bush’s era (Curl). According to McCain as he campaigned for the presidency in 2008, Bush spent a lot of the United States’ resources on the war in Iraq, which consequently led to a massive economic downturn (Curl). The most obvious impacts of Bush’s actions are reflected in the changes in rate of unemployment, inflation, money supply in the United States, and shifts in foreign exchange rates as well as interest rates (National Organization for Women). Unemployment The rate of unemployment has particularly been worrying since the period between 2000 and 2001 when Bush took the leadership of the United States (OECD). According to Shi and Stevens, the rate of unemployment has been fluctuating rapidly since 2000 when it was about 4. 0 percent (59). Within over a year of Bush’s leadership, the unemployment rate shot up to 5. 8 per cent in 2002 (59). Women and their families were particularly affected by the high rate of unemployment, as they would rarely make ends meet at the start of the Bush administration. In fact, according to the National Organization for Women, the year 2001 marked the period of massive job loss among women in over 40 years (National Organization for Women). Along this line, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research reported that in the period between 2001 and 2004, women workers lost over 300,000 jobs (National Organization for Women). In the same breadth, unemployment rates among single mothers rose of an already bad situation of 9. 5 per cent to a worse level of 10. 2 per cent (National Organization for Women). Statistics from GPO Access show a grim picture of the increasing levels of unemployment since the year 2000 when the United States presidential election that ushered in President George Bush was held. In the figures provided, overall civilian unemployment rate fluctuated from 4. 0 per cent in 2000 to 6. 7 percent in November 2008, which marked the end of the Bush administration (Table 1). Along the same line, the same trend in unemployment rate was noticed among different age groups, fa Another aspect of the Bush administration’s failure is an uncontrolled increase in inflation. At the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001, there was a notable decline in the prices of all items and services as compared to the preceding year. Perhaps this was because of the effort by Bush to fulfill campaign promises. The truth of the matter is that after 2001, the prices of all items went up, declining only slightly in 2003. Since then, there was a notable fluctuation in the prices but overall, the prices remained at an all time high. In fact, the 4. 1 per cent change in price of items (Table 2) was the highest margin to have been recorded since the 6. 1 per cent rate recorded in 1990 at the height of the Gulf War (Irwin and Dan. ). The high prices of commodities and services noticed during the Bush Administration not only affected the financial positions of many families but also influenced the people’s access to essential services such as healthcare (Atkinson and Hutto). According to Hanke, the 2003 United States census showed that any family of three lived on a mean of $51 a day. This figure was arrived at using an assumption that childcare and healthcare services were fully financed by the government (United States Department of Labor). Nevertheless, this was not the case for most families, as they had to rely on their own means to support themselves. In the context of high cost of commodities and services and with particular reference to childcare and healthcare services, many families had to spend as much as over 20 per cent of their incomes in pursuit of these services (Robinson). According the New York Times, the Bush administration cut funding programs for many essential programs such as childcare, which were particularly appropriate for single parent households (The High Cost of Health Care). This move was done as the administration aimed at improving and expanding other unpopular programs such as promotion of marriage (United States Bureau of Statistics). However, the downside of this point is that as focus was shifted to newer programs, the already existing programs suffered an even heavier blow in terms of the exorbitant costs that had to be incurred (The High Cost of Health Care). According to Shi and Gregory, the highest number of individual without healthcare services was recorded in 2003 (60). This is because most attention was diverted to acquisition of other essential commodities and services such as food and housing (The High Cost of Health Care). Yet president Bush still insisted on funding the war to oust President Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. This action can be considered as a case of misplaced priority because whereas President Bush was busy pursuing the United States foreign policy, local affairs (which perhaps needed more attention) were thrown into disarray. Money Supply During the Bush Administration, the supply of money increased, but with some fluctuations. For instance, the total value of the United States currency, traveler’s checks, demand deposits and other checkable deposits rose from $1087. 4 billion to a high of $1473. 1 billion in October 2008 (GPO Access). The high supply of money does not imply that the United States economy improved in the period of eight years. Rather, it is an indication the value of the United States dollar could have depreciated (Crutsinger and Aversa). Thus, the large sums of money released to fund the war in Iraq in 2003 did not add any impetus to the United States economy (Crutsinger and Aversa). Instead, the economy became vulnerable with reference to a weak dollar against other world currencies. In spite of the increase in the sum of currency, there was an increase in debt of domestic nonfinancial sectors from $18,183. 6 billion in 2000 to $32,436. 5 billion in 2006 . This means that nonfinancial institutions increasingly had to borrow during the era of George W. Bush. It therefore no wonder that the United States was crippled by a great financial crisis only comparable to the Great Depression towards the end of Bush’s reign, the overriding factor being that the United States government had spent so much money on defense and war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the expense of internal development. Foreign Exchange As mentioned above, there was a significantly high supply of money in the United States, which characteristically led to depreciation of the United States dollar. In addition, the period was characterized by a high rate of inflation, implying that considerably larger sums of money would be used in buying commodities that would have been bought inexpensively in the earlier period (Atkinson and Hutto). On the international scale, the high cost of United States commodities meant that importers had to pay lots of money to acquire the goods, which ultimately lowered the level of international trade between the United States and other countries (Table 3). Consequently, the United States dollar fluctuated against other world currencies such as the Japanese yen, the Sterling Pound, Chinese yuan and the Australian dollar (Atkinson and Hutto). For instance, the Sterling Pound exchanged at between $1. 9548 and $2. 0442 in 2007 (Table 3), which was a very large variation. The strong dollar against the yen between 2001 and 2002, which was the beginning of the Bush administration, discouraged importation by Japan from the United States (Atkinson and Hutto). At the same time, citizens of the United States opted to import valuable items such as automobiles at the expense of the locally manufactured ones, thus putting the United States automobile industry in the quagmire in which it is today (OECD). The consequence of this is that major competitors such as the Japanese automakers have adversely affected local automakers such as Ford, and the whole industry has been earmarked for revival in the Economic Stimulus Package (OECD). Interest rates Government bond yields and interest rates generally declined between 2000 and 2008. For instance, the value of bills at auction declined steadily from $ 5. 85 to $1. 01 in 2003, but steadily rose from $1. 38 to $4. 73 in 2006 (GPO Access). The low price of bonds meant that banks were in a position to purchase more government bonds, thus diverting their attention from other financial service users such as borrowers (Crutsinger and Aversa). Ultimately, banks were forced to impose high interest rates on the loans they offered to the public, implying that most small business holders and individuals were crippled by a massive credit crunch (Crutsinger and Aversa). The ensuing credit crunch adversely affected the United States economy particularly towards the ends of the end of the Bush administration (Crutsinger and Aversa). Banks were most affected by the financial woes and this necessitated the Bush administration to consider taking ownership of various banks in a bid to protect them from collapsing (Crutsinger and Aversa). This move was however also ill planned, as it would result in unnecessary government expenditure, resulting into higher inflation in the United States (Hanke). In addition, there was no assurance that with the government’s acquisition of the banks, their performance would improve (Hanke). Conclusion Even though the world witnessed a massive economic recession, the woes in the United States stemmed from the fact that the Bush administration spent excessively on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which generally weakened the performance of most local institutions. The underperformance in various sectors was shown in high rates of unemployment, high inflation, fluctuating levels of money supply and foreign exchange rates as well as high bank interest rates. The combined effect of the various phenomena led to a crisis in the entire United States economy, thus making the Bush administration one of the worst leaderships of the United States. References Atkinson Robert D and Julie Hutto 18October 2004. Bush vs. Clinton: An Economic Performance Index. 10 March 2009. http://www. ppionline. org/ppi_ci. cfm? knlgAreaID=107&subsecID=295&contentID=252964 Crutsinger, Martin and Aversa, Jeannine 8 October 2008. Bush administration mulls bank stakes. 10 March 2009. http://www. freep. com/article/20081008/BUSINESS07/81008120/1015/BUSINESS02/Bush+administration+mulls+bank+stakes Curl, Joseph. 23 Oct. 2008 McCain lambastes Bush years. 10 March 2009. http://www. washingtontimes. com/news/2008/oct/23/mccain-lambastes-bush-years/ GPO Access . Civilian unemployment rate. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B42. xls GPO Access . Money stock and debt measures, 1965–2008. 10 March 2009 http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B69. xls GPO Access. Bond yields and interest rates, 1929–2008. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B73. xls GPO Access. Changes in consumer price indexes for commodities and services, 1929–2007. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B64. xls GPO Access. Foreign exchange rates, 1985–2008. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B110. xls. Hanke, Steve H. September 24, 2008 The Bush Legacy: Deflation or Inflation? 10 March 2009. http://www. cato. org/pub_display. php? pub_id=9663 Irwin, Neil and Eggen, Dan. 12 Jan. 2009. The Washington Post. Economy Made Few Gains in Bush Years: Eight-Year Period Is Weakest in Decades. http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/12/ST2009011200359. html National Organization for Women. 27 August 2004. Bush’s Economic Failure Weakens Middle Class, Deepens Poverty and Harms Women and Families. 10 March 2009. OECD. Macroeconomic indicators. 10 March 2009. http://stats. oecd. org/mei/default. asp? lang=e&subject=15&country=USA Robinson, Woodward, Gellman. Timeline: Bush’s Eight Years in Office. 10 March 2009. http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/bush/legacy/timeline Shi, Leiyu and Stevens Gregory D. Vulnerable Populations in the United States. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2004 The High Cost of Health Care. 25 November 2007. The New York Times. 10 March 2009. http://www. nytimes. com/2007/11/25/opinion/25sun1. html? _r=1 United states Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. 10 March 2009 http://www. bls. gov/

Was Mary Bloody or Misunderstood Essay

Mary became Queen of England in 1553, after she executed Lady Jane Grey. Source A, in the textbook, says that â€Å"There were bonfires and tables in every street and wine and beer and ale†, this is an account from the diary of a Londoner at the time Mary became Queen, and so it is quite reliable. Mary mistook this celebration to mean that the people of England were glad they had a Catholic Queen on the throne. So she set about trying to turn the country into a Catholic country. This did not settle well with the public and caused many Protestants to take an immediate disliking towards her. As Mary realised this she took to giving the death penalty to as many heretics as she could. Source A, on the sheet, say that â€Å"Women at their marketing, men at their daily trade†¦ all learned to know the sweet smell of burning flesh.† This was written by a historian in 1940 so it is not very reliable, however it does show that a lot of burnings took place. Source D, on the sheet, is written by D. Loades, a historian, in 1991 said that â€Å"Mary personally bears the responsibility for the death of nearly 300 heretics, but she also executed traitors more ruthlessly than either her father or her sister†A famous writer at the time, John Foxe, wrote about Mary I. He said that neither man, woman or child was spared from the cruel burnings at Mary’s hand. A section of his writing, including this information, is quoted in Source B; it was written in 1559, a year after Mary’s death, so it is more reliable than other sources. However even though it was written around Mary’s time, John Foxe was a Protestant so the information could be bias. Source E, on the sheet, written by a historian in 1990, says â€Å"The Bishop of Winchester had urged Mary to burn the heretics, but it was Mary who insisted on continuing even when it was obvious the cruel punishments were leading people to support the Protestants rather than turn to the Catholic religion.† If people weren’t listening and actually going against her, the Queen, then it would probably have annoyed her even more because she wouldn’t have had the control over the country she wanted. Therefore she might have increased the executions. Source F says that when Mary died â€Å"All the churches in London rang their bells and that night bonfires were lit and tables placed in the street and people ate drank andmade merry.† This was written by a Londoner at the time Mary died so it is a reliable source,  however he might have been Protestant which could have made the account bias. Many people thought Mary deserved the name ‘Bloody Mary’ but there was also people who thought she was just misunderstood. Source A is Mary speaking to her council in 1555, so it is very reliable, when she began the public executions â€Å"Concerning punishments of heretics, we think I ought to be done without rashness. The people must see that any condemned are treated fairly, so that they understand the truth.† I think she was saying that when they want to arrest somebody, or execute them, they should make sure they have the right facts and make sure it is the right person. This might make people think that she is being fair about who she arrests and why. When Mary married Philip of Spain, who was Catholic, England helped Spain in the war against France. The result of the war was the loss of the last place England owned on France-Calais. Now, historians agree that it was probably unavoidable, so that shows us that it was not Mary’s fault. This is a good example of how she was misunderstood because she was only trying to help her husband’s country. Source D is about this and was written in 1994 so the time is not near, however by then people will have had more information about the events following the situation. So it is quite a useful source. At the time of Mary’s death a poem was written about her: Her perfect life in all extremes Her patient heart did show For in this world she never found But doleful days and woe The poem is saying that Mary tried to be kind and patient but she was only repaid with unhappy days full of sorrow. It was written by an anonymous poet so it could be bias but it is written when she died so it is quite a useful source but not completely trustworthy. Source C points out that Mary benefited the country greatly by reforming the tax system, the Army and the Navy. This shows that Mary cared about the country and it’s welfare/condition so she wasn’t a horrible person to her people. Source E says â€Å"Lady Jane Grey and her husband were sentenced to death but Mary saved them and they were only executed after they were thought to be involved in Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary.† This source was written in 1964 by a historian so it is not useful for the time it was written but useful because  the historian would have had all the facts, however the person could have been bias. The source shows that Mary was a kind person and she wanted to help a friend who was in trouble. Source B says that it wasn’t only Mary that killed people, in Essex â€Å"between 17 and 24 people were hanged each year for common theft.† This was written by a historian in 1976 so it is quite a reliable source however the historian could be bias on the subject of Mary and whether she was bloody or misunderstood. Looking at equal evidence for both sides of the argument, I think that Mary is bloody. I think this because she has killed so, so many people just because t hey had a different opinion to her! Any person can take a dislike to somebody if they have a completely different view to them. However it takes a horrible person to go so far as to kill nearly 300 people just to try and get everybody to agree with you. Even when she knew it wasn’t working, and she was just turning people against her, she carried on. She does have some good points – for instance reforming the tax system, the Army and the Navy – however she should be doing things like that because she was the queen and she had to have responsibilities. But taking it so far was just evil. When she realised that she was just turning people away from Catholicism and towards Protestantism she should have held back and tried to turn the country toward Catholicism in a different and less murderous way. Overall I think that Mary I deserves the name Bloody Mary and that she was a terrible queen.

Mao Tse Dong essays

Mao Tse Dong essays MAO TSE DONGS INIQUITY IN CHINA Maos era had a devastating impact in China. These impacts are still visible today. Mao has deceived a whole generation, forcing people to work to their deaths using his propagandas. Maos a very bad economist who wouldnt listen to other peoples opinions. He follows the steps of Adolf Hitler by encouraging hate crimes and classifying people into categories. In the view of political philosophy, he claims to liberalize the people of China, but he only worsened the lives of the people of China. Mao was the leader of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). He fought the nationalists Led by Zhou Yin Lai. Zhou had more military power, but Mao uses the peasants to help him win the war. He realizes that the majority of Chinas population is peasants. He won the peasants support by using land reforms. He took land away from the rich. With the support of the peasants, he won the war against the Nationalists and forced them into Taiwan. Mao came into power in the late 1940s. Realizing how successful the land reforms were, he continued the land reform movement, especially in the rural area. This movement helped him gain a lot of power. Since majority of the populations benefited from this movement, they supplied him with endless support. He became their red sun. My mom was from a peasant family in China. She uses to tell me stories of how she was when she was young. Teachers in school use to teach students to sing nothing but the best things about Chairman Mao. She really believed in every word in those songs and thought that Maos life was more important than her own. Mao wanted to follow in the steps of Russia. Mao thought that China should be industrialized in order to keep up with other developing countries. Again, Mao called upon the peasants to take the burden. Families were pulled together to form cooperatives. These cooper...