Privacy Issues in the Workplace- Technology and Social Media Essay

Privacy Issues in the Workplace- Technology and Social Media - Essay Example ployer from jeopardizing the employees right to engage in union activities or other protected activities seeking to attain mutual aid or protection within and outside the company (National Labor Relations Board Web). However, under the recent technological advancements, privacy issues have increased with the new technological generating new privacy concerns for both the employees and the employer. Ideally, the new technological advancements allow the employer to gain access to employee’s information around his scope of work. Through the new technology, the employers can initiate telephone monitoring, social media monitoring, electronic mail and voice mail, video monitoring, computer monitoring, and other workplace privacy protections. Where E-mail/Internet is concerned, the employer can access all the emails and online conversation of an employee. Indeed, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, stipulates that an employer has can monitor electronic communications, e-mail and Internet surfing, and instant messaging of an employee where employee is using the employer-provided computer system (US Department of Justice Web). As such, it is the duty of the management to brief the employees on the application of this rule upon employment to avoid privacy issues. On the other hand, computer monitoring comes in handy where employers use computer software to access the screen or stored in the employees computer terminals and hard disks.  They can additionally invoke keystroke monitoring and count time spent away from the computer. Since the employer own s the computer and the terminals, he therefore has a right to monitor an employee’s computer usage. However, certain federal offer minimal rights against computer monitoring like the Fourth Amendment of the US constitution that restricts unreasonable search and seizure (Privacy Rights Clearing House Web). Employers can also initiate social media monitoring of the employees by accessing their Facebook and twitter

Problems of Democracy in Pakistan Essay Example for Free

Problems of Democracy in Pakistan Essay After years of military dictatorships followed by sham democracy, the situation in Pakistan has reached such a point that the masses are yearning for radical change. Their suffering is immense as the people at the top continue to enrich themselves at the expensive of the workers and peasants, collaborating with imperialism as it rides rough-shod over the people of Pakistan. Everything is moving to an inevitable revolutionary explosion. Pakistan’s Supreme Court in its verdict of 16 December, 2009 declared the notorious NRO null and void ab initio. The National Reconciliation Ordinance of October 2007 was promulgated by the then President of Pakistan General Parvaiz Musharraf. It was the outcome of a deal he had struck with Benazir Bhutto, life Chairperson of the Pakistan People’s Party in a covert meeting in Abu Dhabi. The deal was brokered by the United States and Britain. The aim was to create a new setup that could facilitate the imperialist war and other interests in this turbulent region. According to this ordinance all cases of politicians including corruption, murder, extortion, kidnappings and other heinous crimes would be withdrawn. Some of the major beneficiaries are now in power including Benazir’s widower Zardari, now the President of Pakistan and some of his most sinister ministers. The other main beneficiary is the Muteheda Qaumi Movement, MQM, whose leader, an absconder resident in London for several years, and its other leading figures were facing charges of murder and other crimes. The MQM is a mafia-type organisation with neo-fascist tendencies and its main ideological baggage is based on ethnic conflict. The present democratic dispensation is the product of such a nefarious design. After Benazir’s assassination in December 2007 Musharraf’s fate was sealed. The plan B came into action and Zardari having a long standing relationship with US officials was catapulted into the presidency with his firm assurance that he would be more subservient to the Americans than Musharraf or Benazir could ever have been. The Electoral College for this election are comprised of members of the National and provincial assemblies who were elected in the February 2008 elections, the results of which were tailor-made in Washington to serve the imperialist strategies. Ironically this unanimity, or â€Å"reconciliation†, between all the parties in Parliament was prompted by a collective fear on the part of these representatives of the ruling class in the wake of the beginnings of a mass movement that they witnessed on the arrival of Benazir from exile in Karachi on October 18, 2007 and later after the explosion of the wrath of the workers, peasants and youth at the news of her assassination on December 27, 2007. After a long period of suffering, the oppressed in Pakistan had risen up in the hope that the leader of their traditional party, the PPP under Benazir Bhutto, would be a beacon of change and free them from the unrelenting misery and distress. The Americans had already done their homework with the PPP leaders, who mainly come from the moneyed classes, to divert this outburst into a democratic election and facade of â€Å"democracy†. These leaders drowned the mass anger and revolt in sorrow and despair. They refused to call for a general strike for the elections to be held on the scheduled date of January 8, 2008 and blocked the movement. This gave an opportunity to the Pakistani state and its imperialist masters to regroup their forces and stave off the threat of a revolutionary upheaval. The Military in Pakistan has ruled directly for more than half of the country’s 62 years of chequered history. All the military regimes were supported and propped up by US imperialism. During the â€Å"democratic† intermissions the plight of the masses continued to deteriorate. After the first decade (1947-58) of democratic regimes, such was the crisis that when Martial Law was imposed by Field Martial Ayub Khan there was even a sense of relief amongst several sections of society. Ayub Khan had the impertinence to say in one of his initial statements â€Å"we must understand that democracy cannot work in a hot climate. To have democracy we must have a cold climate like Britain. † General Ayub told the first meeting of his cabinet, â€Å"As far as you are concerned there is only one embassy that matters in this country: the American Embassy. † The Ayub dictatorship embarked upon an ambitious economic, agrarian and industrial programme in the 1960s, mainly sponsored by â€Å"US Aid† and the World Bank. Although Pakistan achieved its highest growth rates under Ayub, Keynesian economic policies failed to improve the lot of the masses. The aggravated social contradictions exploded into the revolution of 1968-69 that was fundamentally of a socialist character. See Pakistan’s Other Story-The 1968-69 Revolution]. The failure of the existing left leadership to give a clear revolutionary programme and perspective to the movement resulted in the rise of the Populism of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Due to the absence of a Bolshevik-Leninist revolutionary party the revolution was lost. But it did shake the whole of South Asia. The ruling classes initially tried to impose Martial Law again. However, its failure to curb the tide resulted in the first elections based on the adult franchise in 1970 where the PPP became the largest party in West Pakistan. Having failed to curtail the revolutionary wave that pierced through the ballot, ultimately the ruling classes resorted to a war with India, which led to the break-up of Pakistan and then Bhutto was given power who, forced by the pressure of the masses, initiated radical reforms from above, but only to exhaust the revolution brewing below. Bhutto’s elected left reformist government was subsequently overthrown by a military coup led by General Zia ul Haq in July 1977, who later hanged Bhutto at the behest of US imperialism. The eleven-year brutal dictatorship of Zia was perhaps the most traumatic period for the working masses in Pakistan. In connivance with the Americans, Zia propped up and unleashed the beast of Islamic fundamentalism to crush the left. The continuance of that grotesque monstrosity is what produced the present day fundamentalist terror that is ripping apart the social fabric of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Zia Dictatorship began to crumble after another upheaval on the return from exile of Bhutto’s daughter Benazir in April 1986. The contradictions in the already weakened dictatorship were thus sharpened. General Zia’s plane was conveniently blown up in mid air in August 1988 – some have speculated that this may have been done at the request of the Americans, whom the megalomaniac and insane general had begun to â€Å"disobey† seeking his own personal agenda. From 1988 to 1999 there was another democratic interlude, where Benazir and Nawaz Sharif alternated in short stints of rulerships. This period was marred by an orgy of corruption, incompetence, spiralling economic decline and chaos. General Musharraf took power in a bloodless coup by overthrowing Sharif. Musharraf then introduced a â€Å"quasi-democracy† in 2002 but the 9/11 episode in the USA once again made another dictator another main American collaborator. This time the facade was not against communists but we had the so-called â€Å"war against terror†. Musharraf’s demise and the regime that ensued once again brought unprecedented agony and pain for the people of Pakistan. History has turned full circle. This vicious cycle of Pakistan’s political superstructure – dictatorship to democracy and back to dictatorship has brought no respite to society. Only the suffering has intensified. In reality this is a reflection of the ongoing social and economic crisis built into the foundations of this tragic country. The Pakistani ruling class after its independence from direct British rule came onto the scene of history too late and with this came an inability to develop the economy. It was a weak class even at its inception. It could not produce enough surpluses for its profits and capital needed to tap the resources of the country and carry out its historical role of the national revolution that its pioneers had envisaged. It adjusted itself accordingly, and its survival depended on the one hand by being subservient to imperialism and on the other allying itself and compromising with the landed aristocracy created under the Raj. The founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, as early as November 1947, less than three months after the formation of Pakistan, had sent his emissary to Washington asking for a $2bn loan. The response he got was a mere $10million of loose change. The failure of Pakistan’s ruling elite is evident 62 years later. None of the national democratic tasks have been completed. Several agrarian reforms have failed to abolish feudalism. Pakistan came into existence not as a nation but as a state comprising different nationalities. National oppression continues and the national question has become a festering wound on the body politic of this country. The task of the formation of a modern nation state is far from being achieved and will in fact further deteriorate with the impending crisis. This state of incompleteness of the tasks has wrought havoc on the social and economic life of Pakistani society. The social and political infrastructure is in a state of collapse. â€Å"National sovereignty† is a farce and hardly anybody believes in the state’s independence. Imperialist intervention and domination is on a greater scale today than it was in 1947, the year of Pakistan’s creation. Except for a few years under Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, all the finance ministers have been employees of the World Bank or other imperialist financial institutions. Now the US is even trying to control sections of Pakistan’s armed forces and intruding its military corporate contractors to take over â€Å"security† in several vital parts of the country. These include former Blackwater now XE securities, DynCorp and others. An embittered general described the strategic relationship as Americans using Pakistan as a â€Å"condom†. The conflicts within the army are also the result of this aggressive hegemony being thrust into the Military’s domain. This is already giving rise to bloody conflicts among different agencies and sections of the armed forces representing black money and other sections of finance capital. This conflict is being waged covertly at the present time. But if a desperate imperialism faces an impending defeat in Afghanistan and tries a partial US occupation of NWFP (Pushtoonkhwa), it could even trigger a severe crisis in the army already under strain from carrying out the CENTCOM instructions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The fallout could have catastrophic consequences. Similarly the severe crisis of Pakistani capitalism has failed to develop a parliamentary democracy. The Pakistani ruling class, in the wake of its economic failures turned to plunder of the state at an early stage. They pay less than 10% of total taxation revenues. The real burden falls on the working class who are forced to pay more than 80% of the revenues through indirect taxation. The capitalist class steals electricity and gas, while billions of dollars of bank loans have been written off. According to the figures presented before the Supreme Court of Pakistan, a small section of these leeches’ annual corruption exceeds Rs. 500 billion (US$6. 2bn). Most of this money is stashed away in western banking havens. As this process started to become more and more evident, the army, the most powerful instrument of the state, started to become part of this evil nexus of plunderers and usurpers. The drug-funded and US/Saudi sponsored Afghan Jihad brought even greater loot to the coffers of the generals. Other institutions of the state and society including the judiciary, the bureaucracy and the media joined in this orgy of corruption. Hence, whenever there was a political crisis (conflict of the civilian plunderers) the military moved in to quell the rot. The dictatorships bred more corruption and as they began to lose their grip democracy was introduced the main reason being the growing danger of a mass revolt that is provoked by these repressive regimes. Although even a bourgeois democracy is a progressive step forward as compared to military dictatorships, the exploitative system that the military rulers intervene to salvage remains intact. In Pakistan this crisis-ridden system again creates a political instability that reflects the burning economic turmoil. The army and state are not a class, but in the last analysis the economic and social conditions determine the nature of the regime that is needed by the ruling class to preserve the system of exploitation of labour. Comrade Ted Grant elaborated on this in 1949 â€Å"The state by its very nature is composed of a bureaucracy, officers, generals, heads of police etc. But those do not constitute a class; they are the instrument of a class even if they may be in antagonism to that class. They cannot themselves be a class. † (The unbroken thread, pp. 235). In Pakistan the irony is that time and again the masses have risen up against the dictatorship, fundamentally to overthrow the yoke of exploitation and misery inflicted upon them by this vicious system of class rule. When they were allowed even to make half a choice through the ballot-box they propelled the PPP to power. Yet their hopes have been dashed time and again by the PPP in government in the short span of less than 40 years. The toiling masses have been loyal to their tradition for generations. The ruling class only allowed the PPP into the corridors of power to dissipate the mass upsurge. Above all the ruling class, the state and the imperialists have used the capitulating leaders of the PPP to carry through cuts, privatisations and other drastic anti-working class measures. They could not have achieved so much with the right-wing governments of Sharif, etc. , but even under the dictatorships they combined caution with repression. However, at least in the 1970s the PPP government did carry through some reforms for the betterment of the impoverished masses. In the later PPP governments since 1988 such was the crisis of Pakistani capitalism that there was no room for even minimal reforms.

My Job At E-dak :: essays research papers

My Job at E-Dak Coming to E-Dak, for me, meant leaving a comfortable "big-six" accounting position to work for a 30-person start-up. It was a tremendous gamble, but my choice came down to whether I wanted to continue performing repetitive audits or face new challenges at E-Dak Dynamics, and in the process help to change the world. Working for E-Dak places me at the epicenter of one of the world's most dynamic industries: telecommunications/ networking. Although I knew little about E- Dak's domain of fiber-optics, I felt strongly that my fate rested in the trenches of Silicon Valley, in an industry where only the paranoid survive, at a company with a business model in defiance of Moore's Law. At the time the term 'information superhighway' hadn't been coined yet, but it would soon become our driving focus, as data traffic over long-haul networks skyrocketed and the world's telecommunications providers increased their investment in high-capacity fiber-optics. With an innovative product line that provides pavement for the information highway, E-Dak quenches an unending and growing thirst for bandwidth. For me E-Dak has meant working at the fourth fastest growing company in Silicon Valley, with $500 thousand of revenue exploding to over $60 million in four short years. It has also meant playing a role in the information revolution. E-Dak gives me a broad business perspective. It's relatively small size facilitates a close interaction with department heads. If had I stayed in public accounting or gone to a larger corporation, I would not have earned the same breadth of experience, most likely being limited to working within a single division or with a handful of accounts. At E-Dak my scope encompasses all aspects of accounting and finance across the entire enterprise. My reports show the "big picture" and are used extensively by senior management as a map to chart company progress and plot future growth. A start-up firm gives me the opportunity to deal with a wide variety of issues. From its infancy, I have had the chance to help shape E-Dak's growth strategy. Once proving myself to management, I was given challenges beyond the realm of debits and credits, including managing a short-term investment portfolio, implementing an information system, establishing a German joint venture, and financing a real estate deal. I derive much pleasure in overcoming each new challenge and cherish the knowledge and experience gained in each endeavor. E-Dak has allowed me to develop working relationships with a premium community of finance and accounting professionals. I've gained insight into how accounting firm partners manage audit teams, how top-caliber investment bankers perform valuations, how banking officers approve funding requests, and how tax

Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy By Chris Smith World War II

Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy By Chris Smith World War II altered the face of American history forever. This being a war the United States was greatly against and never wanted to enter, They were thrust into the war by a brutal attack from the Japanese on a Navel base located in the pacific ocean on the island Oahu in what is called Pearl Harbor. This attack on the base was a direct attack against the United States and gave America no choice but to enter the war they were originally so opposed to, or were they? Did the American government know that the Japanese were planning an attack?Did the United States allow the Japanese kill and wound several thousand Americans and sink and damage several naval ships all for a reason to enter a war our President longed to be a part of? Those questions along with several more have been raised by authors and thinkers throughout history. These questions along with several more will be examined in depth throughout this writing. The thesis of this pa per is as follows, â€Å"On December 7, 1941 The United States of America changed forever with Japan’s surprise attacks on the U. S.Navel base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. These attacks thrust the United States into the middle of the Second World War and raised many questions and conspiracies pertaining to prior knowledge of the attacks and the plans that the Japanese executed. † First, the anticipation of war will be discussed and the events leading to attack. Secondly, the process that the Japanese went through will be discussed, from the year of planning to the secretive launch of their â€Å"striking force† also their already obvious aggression displayed by the invasion of China.Another crucial piece to this puzzle is the Tripartite pact signed by Japan to make them apart of the â€Å"Axis powers†. Also the Japanese fleet and how they were utilized and coordinated in this attack will play a vital part in this description of this devastating attack. Finall y the question will be addressed of whether we were aware of the attacks in advance and discuss the conspiracy theories surrounding this hot button issue in World War II history. Tensions between Japan and the United States increased greatly at the start of the military oriented  Showa era, as Japanese nationalists and military leaders used escalating influence over government policy, accepting the creation of a  Greater East Asia alliance  as part of Japan's alleged â€Å"divine right†Ã‚  to unify all of Asia under  Emperor Showa's rule,  threatening the already-established American, French, British, and Dutch colonies located in Asia. †[i] Throughout the 1930s, Japan's increasing expansion policies got them into conflicts with its neighbors, Russia and China[ii] .In March of 1933, Japan removed itself from the  League of Nations  because of international displease for its desire to conquer Manchuria  and for their plans to establish the  Manchukuo  puppet government. On January 15, 1936, Japan also removed representatives from the  Second London Naval Disarmament Conference[iii]  because the United States and Great Britain did not want to grant the  Imperial Japanese Navy  (IJN) parity with their navies. [iv] A  second war  between the Japanese and Chinese started with the  Marco Polo Bridge Incident  in July 1937[v].Japan's attack on China was looked down upon by the United States and the majority of the members of the League of Nations including Britain, France, Australia, and the Netherlands. The crimes of the Japanese during the conflict such as the Rape of Nanking[vi], definitely made relations with the rest of the world very strained. These states had several interests, as well as formal colonies, in the East  and  Southeast Asia. Japan's new power and its urge to use it raised great concerns, which threatened the control they had in Asia.In July of 1939, the United States got rid of its 1911 commerc ial treaty with Japan, but this effort failed to stop Japan from continuing the war in China, or from signing the  Tripartite Pact  in 1940 with  Hitler’s Germany  and Italy, officially forming the  Axis Powers. Japan took full advantage of Germany’s war in Europe to better its progress in the Far East. The Tripartite Pact promised each of the nations that had signed would have assistance if attacked by any country then considered neutral. This stipulation was directed at the United States, and gave Japan more power on the political stage.The Tripartite Pact now posed a great threat to the United States on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Hitler and Mussolini threatening on the Atlantic Ocean, and the Japanese on the Pacific Ocean. The Roosevelt administration felt the  American lifestyle  would be threatened if Europe and the Far East were to come under control of a dictatorship. Roosevelt pledged to help the British and the Chinese; he loaned both money and  materials  to both countries and promised that America aid would be enough to promise their survival of war. Giving this aid would start to move the United States from a neutral country to a country preparing for war.On October 8, 1940, Admiral  James O. Richardson, who was the commander of the Pacific Fleet, forced a confrontation with President Roosevelt, resending his messages from previous transmissions to  Chief of Naval Operations  Admiral  Harold R. Stark  and to  Secretary of the Navy  Frank Knox, that Pearl Harbor was the be best place for his ships to be located. Roosevelt told Richardson that having that fleet in Pearl Harbor was a â€Å"restraining influence† on the Japanese. Richardson asked the president if the United States was going to war. [vii] In Richardson's retelling of the account the president responded: At least as early as October 8, 1940, President Roosevelt believed that affairs had reached such a state that the United S tates would be come involved in a war with Japan. †¦ ‘that if the Japanese attacked Thailand, or the Kra Peninsula, or the Dutch East Indies we would not enter the war, that if they even attacked the Philippines he doubted whether we would enter the war, but that they (the Japanese) could not always avoid making mistakes and that as the war continued and that area of operations expanded sooner of later they would make a mistake and we would enter the war. †¦ â€Å". [viii] In 1940, Japanese troops moved into northern  Indochina. The invasion of Indochina, along with the Tripartite Pact, their war in China, increasing troops, and Japan's leaving the League of Nations made the U. S. embargo metal that was being shipped to Japan and to tighten down its foreign policy actions towards the Japanese and shut down the  Panama Canal  to Japanese ships. In 1941, Japanese troops invaded southern Indochina.On July 26 1941 the United States answered by freezing most Japane se assets in the United States and, then on August 1 1941, placed embargos on all of the oil and gas exports to Japan. Oil was the most important resource imported to Japan; at the time more than 80 percent of Japan's oil imports came from the United States. To make sure they had oil, and several other vital resources, the Japanese had long been looking for other places for their supplies, specifically in the  Dutch East Indies.The Navy was sure any plan of action to seize the Dutch East Indies would bring the United States into the war and were very skeptical when it came time to agree with the other factions' plans for the invasion. The complete United States oil embargo changed to the naval view to support the expansion toward support for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies and capture of all of the oil fields there. After the embargoes and the freezing of all assets, the Ambassador of Japan in Washington and the secretary of State Cordell Hull had multiple meetings to try an d find a solution to the Japanese-American problems.No solution could be found because of three major problems which were Japan's alliance to Germany and Italy through the Tripartite Pact; Japan wanted total control and responsibility for Southeast Asia; and Japan refused to leave China. Feeling the strain from the U. S. embargoes, Japan developed a sense of urgency, they either had to agree to Washington's demands and return to normal trade, or use force to gain access to resources that were available throughout the Pacific.Deciding that agreeing to Washington’s demands was unacceptable The Japanese decided to prepare for war with the United States, and seeing the opportunity of the forward basing of the  US Pacific Fleet  at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began to plan in early 1941 for an attack on Pearl Harbor. For the next several months, planning a simultaneous attack on Pearl Harbor and invasion of British and Dutch colonies in the South Pacific occupied most of the Ja panese’ time and attention.The Pearl Harbor attack planning came from the Japanese predicting that the United States would be drawn into the war after the Japanese attacked Malaya and Singapore. The intent of a strike on Pearl Harbor was to negate the American navy in the Pacific, in turn removing it from dictating operations against American, British, and Dutch colonies in the South Pacific. Planning in the beginning had seen a battle between the two powers would take place in Japanese waters after the United States Navel Fleet traveled across the Pacific Ocean, which would come under attack by submarines and other forces all the way across.The United States Fleet would be beaten in a climactic battle. A surprise attack presented a difficult problem for two major reasons. First, the United States Pacific Fleet was a major force, and they would not be a pushover to defeat or sneak up on. Second, for an air attack, Pearl Harbor's shallow waters made the use of standard  air- dropped torpedoes  useless. On the bright side, the isolation of the island of Hawaii meant that a surprise attack could not be stopped or countered quickly by forces stationed in the continental United States.A lot of Japan’s naval officers were very impressed with the British  Operation: Judgement, where twenty one old and outdated  Fairey Swordfish  crippled half of the  Regia Marina. Admiral Yamamoto went as far as sending a delegation to Italy, which decided that a version of Cunningham's strike on a much larger scale could force the United States Pacific Fleet to have to return to bases in California, which would give the Japanese time to put a â€Å"barrier† defense in place to defend the Japanese control of the Dutch East Indies.The delegation returned from Italy with information on how the Cunningham engineers devised shallow-running torpedoes. Japan’s navel planners were without a doubt influenced by Admiral  Togo's surprise attack that was executed on the Pacific Fleet of Russia  at Port Arthur in 1905, and also they were influenced by U. S. Admiral  Harry Yarnell's work in the 1932 joint Army-Navy exercises, which was used to simulate an invasion of the island of Hawaii. Yarnell, as the leader of the force that was attacking the island, placed his aircraft carriers northwest f Oahu and simulated an air attack. The umpires of the exercises noted that Yarnell's aircraft were able to impose serious â€Å"damage† on the defending team, who for 24 hours after the attack were not able to find his team. In a letter that was written on January 7, 1941 Yamamoto finally delivered a somewhat rough draft of his plan to  Koshiro Oikawa, then Navy Minister, who he also asked that he be made Commander in Chief of the air fleet to carry out the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.A couple of weeks later in another letter, this time sent to  Takijiro Onishi, chief of staff of the Eleventh Air Fleet, Yamamoto asked Onishi to study the actual ability successfully carrying out an attack against the American base. After speaking with  Kosei Maeda originally, an expert on aerial torpedo warfare, and being told that harbor's shallow waters made an attack of this nature very close to impossible; Onsihi then sought the advice of Commander  and planner Minoru Genda.Once Genda studied the original plan issued by Yamamoto, Genda said: â€Å"the plan is difficult but not impossible†. During the next couple weeks, Genda made some changes to Yamamoto's rough draft of the attack, stressing the importance of the attack being executed early in the morning and in complete secrecy, using an aircraft carrier fleet and many different types of bombing. [ix]Although bombing the United States Pacific Fleet while they were anchored in Pearl Harbor would be a surprise, it also had two large flaws: The ships that would be targeted would be sunk or damaged in the shallow water waters of the harbor, which would mean that they could possibly be salvaged and possibly returned to duty (as six of the eight battleships eventually were); and most of the crews would be able to live through the attack, since the majority would be on leave  which means they would be on shore or that most could be easily rescued from the harbor after the attack took place.Despite these concerns, Yamamoto and Genda pressed ahead. By April of 1941, the plan to attack Pearl Harbor began to be referred to as  Operation Z, named after the famous Z signal given by Admiral Togo at Tsushima. Throughout the summer of 1941 leading up to the attack, pilots were training in secret near  Kagoshima City  on the Japanese island of  Kyushu. Genda chose this location because the geography and infrastructure of Kagoshima City presented almost all of the same problems bombers would have to overcome during the attack on Pearl Harbor.In training, each flight crew navigated over the 5000-foot mountain behind Kagoshima City and dropp ed into the city, maneuvering around buildings before descending to an altitude of 25 feet at the oceans edge. Bombardiers dropped torpedoes at some 300 yards away. The skimming of the water did not fix the problem of torpedoes hitting the ocean floor in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor. Japanese engineers developed modifications allowing successful shallow water drops. The engineers work turned out to be a heavily modified version of theType 91 torpedo,  which turned out to inflict most of the damage to ships during the attack.Japanese weapon engineers also developed special  armor-piercing bombs  with fitted fins and release shackles to 14 and 16  inch naval shells. These were able to pierce the more lightly armored decks of the older battleships still in service. On November 26, 1941, a Japanese  Striking Force of six aircraft carriers (Akagi, Kaga,  Soryu,  Hiryu,  Shokaku, and  Zuikaku) left Japan  heading  to a predetermined position that was northwest of Hawaii, with the intention to launch its planes to execute the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.A total of 408 aircraft were supposed to be used in the attack: 360 for the two attack waves, 48 on defensive  combat air patrol  (CAP), including nine fighters that would serve double duty on CAP and the first attack wave. The first wave was going to be the major attack, with the second wave serving as a way to finish whatever objectives remained to be completed. The first wave featured the majority of the weapons to attack  capital ships; mainly the specially adapted  Type 91  aerial torpedoes  that we discussed earlier. x]  The attack crews were told to pick the highest value targets such as battleships and  aircraft carriers or, if they were not available, any other high profile ships like cruisers and destroyers. The dive bombers  were ordered to attack ground targets. Fighter pilots were told to strafe and destroy as many grounded aircraft as possible to make sur e they did not get into the air to attack the bombers, specifically during the first wave. When the planes fuel got low they were ordered to return to the aircraft carriers to refuel, then immediately return to the attack.Fighters were ordered to serve CAP duties when needed, especially over the US airfields where the United States planes were grounded. Before the attack began, two aircrafts  were launched from cruisers were sent to scout and gain information over Oahu and report on the composition of the fleet and their exact location. Another four planes scouted the area between the Japanese carrier force in order to prevent the task force from being caught by a surprise counterattack. [xi] The attack on Pearl Harbor actually took place before any formal declaration of war was made by Japan, but it was not the Admiral’s intention to do this.He originally stated that the attack should not take place until at least thirty minutes after Japan had formally notified the United States that negotiations for peace had come to a close. [xii]  The Japanese tried to play by the rules of war while still making the attack a surprise, but the attack began before the notice could be delivered and translated. Japan sent the 5,000-word declairation of war (commonly called the â€Å"14-Part Message†) in two sections to the  Japanese Embassy in Washington, but translating the message took too long for it to be delivered in time. In fact, U. S. code breakers had already deciphered and translated most of the message hours before he was scheduled to deliver it. ). The final part of the â€Å"14 Part Message† is what some call the actual declaration of war. While it did not declare war nor did it end diplomatic relations, it was viewed by a large number of senior U. S government officials as a very strong indication that negotiations were likely done  and that war was going to erupt at any moment.A declaration of war from Japan was printed on the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition of December 8,  but it was not delivered to the United States government until the day after the attack had already taken place. â€Å"The first attack wave consisted of 183 planes that were launched north of Oahu, led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. It included: ? 1st Group  (targets: battleships and aircraft carriers) ? 50  Nakajima B5N  Kate  bombers armed with 800  kg (1760  lb)  armor piercing bombs, organized in four sections ? 40 B5N bombers armed with  Type 91 torpedoes, also in four sections ? nd Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ (targets:  Ford Island  and  Wheeler Field) ? 54  Aichi D3A  Val  dive bombers armed with 550  lb (249  kg)  general purpose bombs ? 3rd Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ (targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe) ? 45  Mitsubishi A6M  Zeke  fighters for air control and  strafing ? Six planes failed to launch due to technical difficulti es. †[xiii] â€Å"The second wave was 171 planes: 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms, led by Lieutenant  Shigekazu Shimazaki. Four of the planes failed to launch because of technical difficulties.This wave and its targets comprised: ? 1st Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 54 B5Ns armed with 550  lb (249  kg) and 132  lb (60  kg) general purpose bombs ? 27 B5Ns – aircraft and hangars on Kaneohe, Ford Island, and Barbers Point ? 27 B5Ns – hangars and aircraft on Hickam Field ? 2nd Group  (targets: aircraft carriers and cruisers) ? 81 D3As armed with 550  lb (249  kg) general purpose bombs, in four sections ? 3rd Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ (targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe) ? 36 A6Ms for defense and strafing†[xiv] The United States suffered great losses; all eight U. S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of the eight damaged six were raised, repaired and returned to service later in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three  destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,  and one  minelayer. 188 U. S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed  and 1,282 wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the  intelligence section) were not attacked. [xv] â€Å"Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five  midget submarines  lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor  was captured. †[xvi] â€Å"After the attack, 15  Medals of Honor, 51  Navy Crosses, 53  Silver Stars, four  Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one  Distinguished Flying Cross, four  Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three  Bronze Star Medals  were awarded to the American military men who served in combat at Pearl Harbor. [xvii]  Also, a special award, the  Pearl Harbor Commem orative Medal, was later made and given to all military veterans of the attack. The day following the attack, Roosevelt gave his now famous  Infamy Speech  to a  Joint Session of Congress, calling for a  declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. Congress granted this request in less than an hour. On December 11 1941 Germany and Italy, honoring the Tripartite Pact, declared war on the United States. The United States Congress issued a declaration of war later the same day against Germany and Italy.Britain declared war on the Japanese some nine hours before the United States did, mostly because of the Japanese attacks on Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, and also due to the promise that Winston Churchill made to declare war â€Å"within the hour† if the Japanese executed an attack against the United States. The attack was a huge shock to the Allies in the Pacific Theater. More losses made the setback even more alarming. Japan  attacked the Philippines just a few short   hours later but because of the time difference, it was December 8 in the Philippines.Just a few days after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the  Prince of Wales  and  Repulse,  which were two British ships, were sunk  off the coast of  Malaya, British Prime Minister  Winston Churchill  later said: â€Å"In all the war I never received a more direct shock. As I turned and twisted in bed the full horror of the news sank in upon me. There were no British or American capital ships in the  Indian Ocean  or the  Pacific  except the American survivors of Pearl Harbor who were hastening back to California.Over this vast expanse of waters Japan was supreme and we everywhere were weak and naked†. [xviii] During the rest of the war, Pearl Harbor was very often used with  American propaganda to promote the war. Another huge reaction by America because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor was that most of the Japanese American residents and citizens were reloca ted to Japanese-American internment  camps. Just a few short hours after the attack, hundreds of Japanese American leaders were arrested and brought to high-security camps that like  Sand Island  and Kilauea Military Camp  located in Hawaii.Later, over 110,000 Japanese Americans, this includes United States citizens, were yanked from their homes and transferred to these high security internment camps in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. [xix] As was discussed previously discussed, was America aware of the plans of the attack? Several theorists don’t accept the view that Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise and these theorists always make clear that Roosevelt wanted, though did not say so officially, the U. S. to play a part in the war against Germany.A basic grip of the political situation of 1941 displays reasonable evidence Roosevelt invited, allowed, or even knew of the Pearl Harbor attack. Military historian and novelist  Thomas Fleming  poses the argument that President Roosevelt himself, had wished that Germany or Japan would make the first blow, but did not expect the United States to be hit as hard as it was in the attack on Pearl Harbor. [xx] In closing I feel that the United States was aware of this devastating attack and that my thesis of â€Å"On December 7, 1941 The United States of America changed forever with Japan’s surprise attacks on the U.S. Navel base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. These attacks thrust the United States into the middle of the Second World War and raised many questions and conspiracies pertaining to prior knowledge of the attacks and the plans that the Japanese executed. † was well covered through out duration of this research. ———————– [i] The effort to establish the Imperial Way (kodo) had begun with the  Second Sino-Japanese War  (called  sei sen, or â€Å"holy war†, by Japan). Bix, Herbert,  Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2001, p. 326-327. [ii] Japan had fought the  First Sino-Japanese War  with China in 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War  with Russia in 1904-05; Japan's imperialist ambitions had a hand in precipitating both conflicts. [iii] The Second London Naval Disarmament Conference opened in  London,  United Kingdom  on 9 December 1935. It resulted in the  Second London Naval Treaty  which was signed on 25 March 1936. [iv] Lester H. Brune and Richard Dean Burns,  Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations: 1932-1988, 2003, p. 504. [v] The  Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a  battle  between the  Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army  and the  Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the  Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) [vi] The Rape of Nanking was a  mass murder, and  war rape  that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese  capture  of the city of  Nanking, the former capital of the  Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the  Second Sino-Japanese War. vii] Joint Congressional Hearings on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 40, Page 506, â€Å"Conclusions Restated With Supporting Evidence† [viii] Richardson, â€Å"On the Treadmill†, pp. 425, 434. And as recounted in Baker, â€Å"Human Smoke†, p. 239 [ix] Prange, Gordon,  At Dawn We Slept, Penguin Books, p. 25-27 [x] Peattie, Mark R. (2001),  Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941, Naval Institute Press [xi] Tony DiGiulian. â€Å"Order of Battle – Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941†. Navweaps. com. Retrieved 2012-02-17. [xii] Calvocoressi  et al. ,  The Penguin History of the Second World War, p. 52 [xiii] Prange. p. 102 [xiv] Prange. p. 102 [xv] â€Å"Full Pearl Harbor casualty list†. Usswestvirginia. org. Retrieved 2012-02-17. [xvi] â€Å"Full Pearl Harbor casualty list†. Usswes tvirginia. org. Retrieved 2012-02-17. [xvii] Prange. p. 454 [xviii]   Churchill, Winston; Martin Gilbert (2001),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"December 1941†,  The Churchill War Papers: The Ever-Widening War,  Volume 3: 1941, London, New York: W. W. Norton, p 1593–1594, [xix] Prange. p. 632 [xx]   Fleming, Thomas (2001-06-10). â€Å"Pearl Harbor Hype†. History News Network. Retrieved 2012-02-21. Bibliography: Primary:Burtness, Paul, and Warren Ober. â€Å"President Roosevelt, Admiral Stark, and the Unsent Warning to Pearl Harbor: A Research Note.. †Ã‚  Australian Journal of Politics & History;. 57. no. 4 (2011): 580-88. http://web. ebscohost. com. proxy. ohiolink. edu:9099/ehost/detail? vid=4&hid=113&[email  protected]&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==, Retrieved 2012-02-21 â€Å"Attack At Pearl Harbor, 1941, – the Japanese View† EyeWitness to History, www. eyewitnesstohistory. com (2001). Retrieved 2012-03-01 Harriet Moore, (U. S. Army Nurse Corps 2nd Lt . , interview by Erica Warren, â€Å"Army nurse recalls attack on Pearl Harbor,†Ã‚  North County Times, December 7, 2003, January 31, 2012, http://www. nctimes. com/news/local/article_85b4ea10-e9c2-5af7-8e74-deddc726aa5b. html. Conn, Stetson; Fairchild, Byron; Engelman, Rose C. (2000),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"7 – The Attack on Pearl Harbor†,  Guarding the United States and Its Outposts, Washington D. C. : Center of Military History United States Army â€Å"Damage to United States Naval Forces and Installations as a Result of the Attack†,  Report of the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Washington D.C. : United States Government Printing Office, 1946, retrieved 2012-02-08 US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, United States National Archives, Modern Military Branch, 1942 Churchill, Winston; Martin Gilbert (2001),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"December 1941†,  The Churchill War Papers: The Ever-Widening War,  Volume 3: 1941, London, New York: W. W. Norton, p 1593–1594, Joint Congressional Hearings on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 40, Page 506, â€Å"Conclusions Restated With Supporting Evidence† Secondary Bix, Herbert,  Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2001, p. 326-327. Prange, Gordon.At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1981. Fleming, Thomas (2001-06-10). â€Å"Pearl Harbor Hype†. History News Network. Retrieved 2012-02-21. Richardson, â€Å"On the Treadmill†, pp. 425, 434. And as recounted in Baker, â€Å"Human Smoke† Peattie, Mark R. (2001),  Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941, Naval Institute Press Calvocoressi  et al. ,  The Penguin History of the Second World War, p. 952 Tony DiGiulian. â€Å"Order of Battle – Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941†. Navweaps. com. Retrieved 2012-02-17. Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy By Chris Smith World War II Pearl Harbor: A Day of Infamy By Chris Smith World War II altered the face of American history forever. This being a war the United States was greatly against and never wanted to enter, They were thrust into the war by a brutal attack from the Japanese on a Navel base located in the pacific ocean on the island Oahu in what is called Pearl Harbor. This attack on the base was a direct attack against the United States and gave America no choice but to enter the war they were originally so opposed to, or were they? Did the American government know that the Japanese were planning an attack?Did the United States allow the Japanese kill and wound several thousand Americans and sink and damage several naval ships all for a reason to enter a war our President longed to be a part of? Those questions along with several more have been raised by authors and thinkers throughout history. These questions along with several more will be examined in depth throughout this writing. The thesis of this pa per is as follows, â€Å"On December 7, 1941 The United States of America changed forever with Japan’s surprise attacks on the U. S.Navel base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. These attacks thrust the United States into the middle of the Second World War and raised many questions and conspiracies pertaining to prior knowledge of the attacks and the plans that the Japanese executed. † First, the anticipation of war will be discussed and the events leading to attack. Secondly, the process that the Japanese went through will be discussed, from the year of planning to the secretive launch of their â€Å"striking force† also their already obvious aggression displayed by the invasion of China.Another crucial piece to this puzzle is the Tripartite pact signed by Japan to make them apart of the â€Å"Axis powers†. Also the Japanese fleet and how they were utilized and coordinated in this attack will play a vital part in this description of this devastating attack. Finall y the question will be addressed of whether we were aware of the attacks in advance and discuss the conspiracy theories surrounding this hot button issue in World War II history. Tensions between Japan and the United States increased greatly at the start of the military oriented  Showa era, as Japanese nationalists and military leaders used escalating influence over government policy, accepting the creation of a  Greater East Asia alliance  as part of Japan's alleged â€Å"divine right†Ã‚  to unify all of Asia under  Emperor Showa's rule,  threatening the already-established American, French, British, and Dutch colonies located in Asia. †[i] Throughout the 1930s, Japan's increasing expansion policies got them into conflicts with its neighbors, Russia and China[ii] .In March of 1933, Japan removed itself from the  League of Nations  because of international displease for its desire to conquer Manchuria  and for their plans to establish the  Manchukuo  puppet government. On January 15, 1936, Japan also removed representatives from the  Second London Naval Disarmament Conference[iii]  because the United States and Great Britain did not want to grant the  Imperial Japanese Navy  (IJN) parity with their navies. [iv] A  second war  between the Japanese and Chinese started with the  Marco Polo Bridge Incident  in July 1937[v].Japan's attack on China was looked down upon by the United States and the majority of the members of the League of Nations including Britain, France, Australia, and the Netherlands. The crimes of the Japanese during the conflict such as the Rape of Nanking[vi], definitely made relations with the rest of the world very strained. These states had several interests, as well as formal colonies, in the East  and  Southeast Asia. Japan's new power and its urge to use it raised great concerns, which threatened the control they had in Asia.In July of 1939, the United States got rid of its 1911 commerc ial treaty with Japan, but this effort failed to stop Japan from continuing the war in China, or from signing the  Tripartite Pact  in 1940 with  Hitler’s Germany  and Italy, officially forming the  Axis Powers. Japan took full advantage of Germany’s war in Europe to better its progress in the Far East. The Tripartite Pact promised each of the nations that had signed would have assistance if attacked by any country then considered neutral. This stipulation was directed at the United States, and gave Japan more power on the political stage.The Tripartite Pact now posed a great threat to the United States on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Hitler and Mussolini threatening on the Atlantic Ocean, and the Japanese on the Pacific Ocean. The Roosevelt administration felt the  American lifestyle  would be threatened if Europe and the Far East were to come under control of a dictatorship. Roosevelt pledged to help the British and the Chinese; he loaned both money and  materials  to both countries and promised that America aid would be enough to promise their survival of war. Giving this aid would start to move the United States from a neutral country to a country preparing for war.On October 8, 1940, Admiral  James O. Richardson, who was the commander of the Pacific Fleet, forced a confrontation with President Roosevelt, resending his messages from previous transmissions to  Chief of Naval Operations  Admiral  Harold R. Stark  and to  Secretary of the Navy  Frank Knox, that Pearl Harbor was the be best place for his ships to be located. Roosevelt told Richardson that having that fleet in Pearl Harbor was a â€Å"restraining influence† on the Japanese. Richardson asked the president if the United States was going to war. [vii] In Richardson's retelling of the account the president responded: At least as early as October 8, 1940, President Roosevelt believed that affairs had reached such a state that the United S tates would be come involved in a war with Japan. †¦ ‘that if the Japanese attacked Thailand, or the Kra Peninsula, or the Dutch East Indies we would not enter the war, that if they even attacked the Philippines he doubted whether we would enter the war, but that they (the Japanese) could not always avoid making mistakes and that as the war continued and that area of operations expanded sooner of later they would make a mistake and we would enter the war. †¦ â€Å". [viii] In 1940, Japanese troops moved into northern  Indochina. The invasion of Indochina, along with the Tripartite Pact, their war in China, increasing troops, and Japan's leaving the League of Nations made the U. S. embargo metal that was being shipped to Japan and to tighten down its foreign policy actions towards the Japanese and shut down the  Panama Canal  to Japanese ships. In 1941, Japanese troops invaded southern Indochina.On July 26 1941 the United States answered by freezing most Japane se assets in the United States and, then on August 1 1941, placed embargos on all of the oil and gas exports to Japan. Oil was the most important resource imported to Japan; at the time more than 80 percent of Japan's oil imports came from the United States. To make sure they had oil, and several other vital resources, the Japanese had long been looking for other places for their supplies, specifically in the  Dutch East Indies.The Navy was sure any plan of action to seize the Dutch East Indies would bring the United States into the war and were very skeptical when it came time to agree with the other factions' plans for the invasion. The complete United States oil embargo changed to the naval view to support the expansion toward support for the invasion of the Dutch East Indies and capture of all of the oil fields there. After the embargoes and the freezing of all assets, the Ambassador of Japan in Washington and the secretary of State Cordell Hull had multiple meetings to try an d find a solution to the Japanese-American problems.No solution could be found because of three major problems which were Japan's alliance to Germany and Italy through the Tripartite Pact; Japan wanted total control and responsibility for Southeast Asia; and Japan refused to leave China. Feeling the strain from the U. S. embargoes, Japan developed a sense of urgency, they either had to agree to Washington's demands and return to normal trade, or use force to gain access to resources that were available throughout the Pacific.Deciding that agreeing to Washington’s demands was unacceptable The Japanese decided to prepare for war with the United States, and seeing the opportunity of the forward basing of the  US Pacific Fleet  at Pearl Harbor, the Japanese began to plan in early 1941 for an attack on Pearl Harbor. For the next several months, planning a simultaneous attack on Pearl Harbor and invasion of British and Dutch colonies in the South Pacific occupied most of the Ja panese’ time and attention.The Pearl Harbor attack planning came from the Japanese predicting that the United States would be drawn into the war after the Japanese attacked Malaya and Singapore. The intent of a strike on Pearl Harbor was to negate the American navy in the Pacific, in turn removing it from dictating operations against American, British, and Dutch colonies in the South Pacific. Planning in the beginning had seen a battle between the two powers would take place in Japanese waters after the United States Navel Fleet traveled across the Pacific Ocean, which would come under attack by submarines and other forces all the way across.The United States Fleet would be beaten in a climactic battle. A surprise attack presented a difficult problem for two major reasons. First, the United States Pacific Fleet was a major force, and they would not be a pushover to defeat or sneak up on. Second, for an air attack, Pearl Harbor's shallow waters made the use of standard  air- dropped torpedoes  useless. On the bright side, the isolation of the island of Hawaii meant that a surprise attack could not be stopped or countered quickly by forces stationed in the continental United States.A lot of Japan’s naval officers were very impressed with the British  Operation: Judgement, where twenty one old and outdated  Fairey Swordfish  crippled half of the  Regia Marina. Admiral Yamamoto went as far as sending a delegation to Italy, which decided that a version of Cunningham's strike on a much larger scale could force the United States Pacific Fleet to have to return to bases in California, which would give the Japanese time to put a â€Å"barrier† defense in place to defend the Japanese control of the Dutch East Indies.The delegation returned from Italy with information on how the Cunningham engineers devised shallow-running torpedoes. Japan’s navel planners were without a doubt influenced by Admiral  Togo's surprise attack that was executed on the Pacific Fleet of Russia  at Port Arthur in 1905, and also they were influenced by U. S. Admiral  Harry Yarnell's work in the 1932 joint Army-Navy exercises, which was used to simulate an invasion of the island of Hawaii. Yarnell, as the leader of the force that was attacking the island, placed his aircraft carriers northwest f Oahu and simulated an air attack. The umpires of the exercises noted that Yarnell's aircraft were able to impose serious â€Å"damage† on the defending team, who for 24 hours after the attack were not able to find his team. In a letter that was written on January 7, 1941 Yamamoto finally delivered a somewhat rough draft of his plan to  Koshiro Oikawa, then Navy Minister, who he also asked that he be made Commander in Chief of the air fleet to carry out the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.A couple of weeks later in another letter, this time sent to  Takijiro Onishi, chief of staff of the Eleventh Air Fleet, Yamamoto asked Onishi to study the actual ability successfully carrying out an attack against the American base. After speaking with  Kosei Maeda originally, an expert on aerial torpedo warfare, and being told that harbor's shallow waters made an attack of this nature very close to impossible; Onsihi then sought the advice of Commander  and planner Minoru Genda.Once Genda studied the original plan issued by Yamamoto, Genda said: â€Å"the plan is difficult but not impossible†. During the next couple weeks, Genda made some changes to Yamamoto's rough draft of the attack, stressing the importance of the attack being executed early in the morning and in complete secrecy, using an aircraft carrier fleet and many different types of bombing. [ix]Although bombing the United States Pacific Fleet while they were anchored in Pearl Harbor would be a surprise, it also had two large flaws: The ships that would be targeted would be sunk or damaged in the shallow water waters of the harbor, which would mean that they could possibly be salvaged and possibly returned to duty (as six of the eight battleships eventually were); and most of the crews would be able to live through the attack, since the majority would be on leave  which means they would be on shore or that most could be easily rescued from the harbor after the attack took place.Despite these concerns, Yamamoto and Genda pressed ahead. By April of 1941, the plan to attack Pearl Harbor began to be referred to as  Operation Z, named after the famous Z signal given by Admiral Togo at Tsushima. Throughout the summer of 1941 leading up to the attack, pilots were training in secret near  Kagoshima City  on the Japanese island of  Kyushu. Genda chose this location because the geography and infrastructure of Kagoshima City presented almost all of the same problems bombers would have to overcome during the attack on Pearl Harbor.In training, each flight crew navigated over the 5000-foot mountain behind Kagoshima City and dropp ed into the city, maneuvering around buildings before descending to an altitude of 25 feet at the oceans edge. Bombardiers dropped torpedoes at some 300 yards away. The skimming of the water did not fix the problem of torpedoes hitting the ocean floor in the shallow waters of Pearl Harbor. Japanese engineers developed modifications allowing successful shallow water drops. The engineers work turned out to be a heavily modified version of theType 91 torpedo,  which turned out to inflict most of the damage to ships during the attack.Japanese weapon engineers also developed special  armor-piercing bombs  with fitted fins and release shackles to 14 and 16  inch naval shells. These were able to pierce the more lightly armored decks of the older battleships still in service. On November 26, 1941, a Japanese  Striking Force of six aircraft carriers (Akagi, Kaga,  Soryu,  Hiryu,  Shokaku, and  Zuikaku) left Japan  heading  to a predetermined position that was northwest of Hawaii, with the intention to launch its planes to execute the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.A total of 408 aircraft were supposed to be used in the attack: 360 for the two attack waves, 48 on defensive  combat air patrol  (CAP), including nine fighters that would serve double duty on CAP and the first attack wave. The first wave was going to be the major attack, with the second wave serving as a way to finish whatever objectives remained to be completed. The first wave featured the majority of the weapons to attack  capital ships; mainly the specially adapted  Type 91  aerial torpedoes  that we discussed earlier. x]  The attack crews were told to pick the highest value targets such as battleships and  aircraft carriers or, if they were not available, any other high profile ships like cruisers and destroyers. The dive bombers  were ordered to attack ground targets. Fighter pilots were told to strafe and destroy as many grounded aircraft as possible to make sur e they did not get into the air to attack the bombers, specifically during the first wave. When the planes fuel got low they were ordered to return to the aircraft carriers to refuel, then immediately return to the attack.Fighters were ordered to serve CAP duties when needed, especially over the US airfields where the United States planes were grounded. Before the attack began, two aircrafts  were launched from cruisers were sent to scout and gain information over Oahu and report on the composition of the fleet and their exact location. Another four planes scouted the area between the Japanese carrier force in order to prevent the task force from being caught by a surprise counterattack. [xi] The attack on Pearl Harbor actually took place before any formal declaration of war was made by Japan, but it was not the Admiral’s intention to do this.He originally stated that the attack should not take place until at least thirty minutes after Japan had formally notified the United States that negotiations for peace had come to a close. [xii]  The Japanese tried to play by the rules of war while still making the attack a surprise, but the attack began before the notice could be delivered and translated. Japan sent the 5,000-word declairation of war (commonly called the â€Å"14-Part Message†) in two sections to the  Japanese Embassy in Washington, but translating the message took too long for it to be delivered in time. In fact, U. S. code breakers had already deciphered and translated most of the message hours before he was scheduled to deliver it. ). The final part of the â€Å"14 Part Message† is what some call the actual declaration of war. While it did not declare war nor did it end diplomatic relations, it was viewed by a large number of senior U. S government officials as a very strong indication that negotiations were likely done  and that war was going to erupt at any moment.A declaration of war from Japan was printed on the front page of Japan's newspapers in the evening edition of December 8,  but it was not delivered to the United States government until the day after the attack had already taken place. â€Å"The first attack wave consisted of 183 planes that were launched north of Oahu, led by Commander Mitsuo Fuchida. It included: ? 1st Group  (targets: battleships and aircraft carriers) ? 50  Nakajima B5N  Kate  bombers armed with 800  kg (1760  lb)  armor piercing bombs, organized in four sections ? 40 B5N bombers armed with  Type 91 torpedoes, also in four sections ? nd Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ (targets:  Ford Island  and  Wheeler Field) ? 54  Aichi D3A  Val  dive bombers armed with 550  lb (249  kg)  general purpose bombs ? 3rd Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ (targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe) ? 45  Mitsubishi A6M  Zeke  fighters for air control and  strafing ? Six planes failed to launch due to technical difficulti es. †[xiii] â€Å"The second wave was 171 planes: 54 B5Ns, 81 D3As, and 36 A6Ms, led by Lieutenant  Shigekazu Shimazaki. Four of the planes failed to launch because of technical difficulties.This wave and its targets comprised: ? 1st Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 54 B5Ns armed with 550  lb (249  kg) and 132  lb (60  kg) general purpose bombs ? 27 B5Ns – aircraft and hangars on Kaneohe, Ford Island, and Barbers Point ? 27 B5Ns – hangars and aircraft on Hickam Field ? 2nd Group  (targets: aircraft carriers and cruisers) ? 81 D3As armed with 550  lb (249  kg) general purpose bombs, in four sections ? 3rd Group  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ (targets: aircraft at Ford Island, Hickam Field, Wheeler Field, Barber’s Point, Kaneohe) ? 36 A6Ms for defense and strafing†[xiv] The United States suffered great losses; all eight U. S. Navy battleships were damaged, with four being sunk. Of the eight damaged six were raised, repaired and returned to service later in the war. The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers, three  destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship,  and one  minelayer. 188 U. S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed  and 1,282 wounded. The power station, shipyard, maintenance, and fuel and torpedo storage facilities, as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building (also home of the  intelligence section) were not attacked. [xv] â€Å"Japanese losses were light: 29 aircraft and five  midget submarines  lost, and 65 servicemen killed or wounded. One Japanese sailor  was captured. †[xvi] â€Å"After the attack, 15  Medals of Honor, 51  Navy Crosses, 53  Silver Stars, four  Navy and Marine Corps Medals, one  Distinguished Flying Cross, four  Distinguished Service Crosses, one Distinguished Service Medal, and three  Bronze Star Medals  were awarded to the American military men who served in combat at Pearl Harbor. [xvii]  Also, a special award, the  Pearl Harbor Commem orative Medal, was later made and given to all military veterans of the attack. The day following the attack, Roosevelt gave his now famous  Infamy Speech  to a  Joint Session of Congress, calling for a  declaration of war on the Empire of Japan. Congress granted this request in less than an hour. On December 11 1941 Germany and Italy, honoring the Tripartite Pact, declared war on the United States. The United States Congress issued a declaration of war later the same day against Germany and Italy.Britain declared war on the Japanese some nine hours before the United States did, mostly because of the Japanese attacks on Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, and also due to the promise that Winston Churchill made to declare war â€Å"within the hour† if the Japanese executed an attack against the United States. The attack was a huge shock to the Allies in the Pacific Theater. More losses made the setback even more alarming. Japan  attacked the Philippines just a few short   hours later but because of the time difference, it was December 8 in the Philippines.Just a few days after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the  Prince of Wales  and  Repulse,  which were two British ships, were sunk  off the coast of  Malaya, British Prime Minister  Winston Churchill  later said: â€Å"In all the war I never received a more direct shock. As I turned and twisted in bed the full horror of the news sank in upon me. There were no British or American capital ships in the  Indian Ocean  or the  Pacific  except the American survivors of Pearl Harbor who were hastening back to California.Over this vast expanse of waters Japan was supreme and we everywhere were weak and naked†. [xviii] During the rest of the war, Pearl Harbor was very often used with  American propaganda to promote the war. Another huge reaction by America because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor was that most of the Japanese American residents and citizens were reloca ted to Japanese-American internment  camps. Just a few short hours after the attack, hundreds of Japanese American leaders were arrested and brought to high-security camps that like  Sand Island  and Kilauea Military Camp  located in Hawaii.Later, over 110,000 Japanese Americans, this includes United States citizens, were yanked from their homes and transferred to these high security internment camps in California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas. [xix] As was discussed previously discussed, was America aware of the plans of the attack? Several theorists don’t accept the view that Pearl Harbor was a complete surprise and these theorists always make clear that Roosevelt wanted, though did not say so officially, the U. S. to play a part in the war against Germany.A basic grip of the political situation of 1941 displays reasonable evidence Roosevelt invited, allowed, or even knew of the Pearl Harbor attack. Military historian and novelist  Thomas Fleming  poses the argument that President Roosevelt himself, had wished that Germany or Japan would make the first blow, but did not expect the United States to be hit as hard as it was in the attack on Pearl Harbor. [xx] In closing I feel that the United States was aware of this devastating attack and that my thesis of â€Å"On December 7, 1941 The United States of America changed forever with Japan’s surprise attacks on the U.S. Navel base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. These attacks thrust the United States into the middle of the Second World War and raised many questions and conspiracies pertaining to prior knowledge of the attacks and the plans that the Japanese executed. † was well covered through out duration of this research. ———————– [i] The effort to establish the Imperial Way (kodo) had begun with the  Second Sino-Japanese War  (called  sei sen, or â€Å"holy war†, by Japan). Bix, Herbert,  Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2001, p. 326-327. [ii] Japan had fought the  First Sino-Japanese War  with China in 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese War  with Russia in 1904-05; Japan's imperialist ambitions had a hand in precipitating both conflicts. [iii] The Second London Naval Disarmament Conference opened in  London,  United Kingdom  on 9 December 1935. It resulted in the  Second London Naval Treaty  which was signed on 25 March 1936. [iv] Lester H. Brune and Richard Dean Burns,  Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations: 1932-1988, 2003, p. 504. [v] The  Marco Polo Bridge Incident was a  battle  between the  Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army  and the  Imperial Japanese Army, often used as the marker for the start of the  Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) [vi] The Rape of Nanking was a  mass murder, and  war rape  that occurred during the six-week period following the Japanese  capture  of the city of  Nanking, the former capital of the  Republic of China, on December 13, 1937 during the  Second Sino-Japanese War. vii] Joint Congressional Hearings on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 40, Page 506, â€Å"Conclusions Restated With Supporting Evidence† [viii] Richardson, â€Å"On the Treadmill†, pp. 425, 434. And as recounted in Baker, â€Å"Human Smoke†, p. 239 [ix] Prange, Gordon,  At Dawn We Slept, Penguin Books, p. 25-27 [x] Peattie, Mark R. (2001),  Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941, Naval Institute Press [xi] Tony DiGiulian. â€Å"Order of Battle – Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941†. Navweaps. com. Retrieved 2012-02-17. [xii] Calvocoressi  et al. ,  The Penguin History of the Second World War, p. 52 [xiii] Prange. p. 102 [xiv] Prange. p. 102 [xv] â€Å"Full Pearl Harbor casualty list†. Usswestvirginia. org. Retrieved 2012-02-17. [xvi] â€Å"Full Pearl Harbor casualty list†. Usswes tvirginia. org. Retrieved 2012-02-17. [xvii] Prange. p. 454 [xviii]   Churchill, Winston; Martin Gilbert (2001),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"December 1941†,  The Churchill War Papers: The Ever-Widening War,  Volume 3: 1941, London, New York: W. W. Norton, p 1593–1594, [xix] Prange. p. 632 [xx]   Fleming, Thomas (2001-06-10). â€Å"Pearl Harbor Hype†. History News Network. Retrieved 2012-02-21. Bibliography: Primary:Burtness, Paul, and Warren Ober. â€Å"President Roosevelt, Admiral Stark, and the Unsent Warning to Pearl Harbor: A Research Note.. †Ã‚  Australian Journal of Politics & History;. 57. no. 4 (2011): 580-88. http://web. ebscohost. com. proxy. ohiolink. edu:9099/ehost/detail? vid=4&hid=113&[email  protected]&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ==, Retrieved 2012-02-21 â€Å"Attack At Pearl Harbor, 1941, – the Japanese View† EyeWitness to History, www. eyewitnesstohistory. com (2001). Retrieved 2012-03-01 Harriet Moore, (U. S. Army Nurse Corps 2nd Lt . , interview by Erica Warren, â€Å"Army nurse recalls attack on Pearl Harbor,†Ã‚  North County Times, December 7, 2003, January 31, 2012, http://www. nctimes. com/news/local/article_85b4ea10-e9c2-5af7-8e74-deddc726aa5b. html. Conn, Stetson; Fairchild, Byron; Engelman, Rose C. (2000),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"7 – The Attack on Pearl Harbor†,  Guarding the United States and Its Outposts, Washington D. C. : Center of Military History United States Army â€Å"Damage to United States Naval Forces and Installations as a Result of the Attack†,  Report of the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Washington D.C. : United States Government Printing Office, 1946, retrieved 2012-02-08 US Navy Report of Japanese Raid on Pearl Harbor, United States National Archives, Modern Military Branch, 1942 Churchill, Winston; Martin Gilbert (2001),  Ã¢â‚¬Å"December 1941†,  The Churchill War Papers: The Ever-Widening War,  Volume 3: 1941, London, New York: W. W. Norton, p 1593–1594, Joint Congressional Hearings on the Pearl Harbor Attack, Part 40, Page 506, â€Å"Conclusions Restated With Supporting Evidence† Secondary Bix, Herbert,  Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, 2001, p. 326-327. Prange, Gordon.At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1981. Fleming, Thomas (2001-06-10). â€Å"Pearl Harbor Hype†. History News Network. Retrieved 2012-02-21. Richardson, â€Å"On the Treadmill†, pp. 425, 434. And as recounted in Baker, â€Å"Human Smoke† Peattie, Mark R. (2001),  Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909–1941, Naval Institute Press Calvocoressi  et al. ,  The Penguin History of the Second World War, p. 952 Tony DiGiulian. â€Å"Order of Battle – Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941†. Navweaps. com. Retrieved 2012-02-17.

Promoting Cognitive Development Essay

The best thing my family said about me when I was young was how smart I appeared to be. I had been a participant in the elementary school science fair; it always takes place in the spring time of the school year in May- It is a traditional school event. I was only in third grade, I had to be creative and come up with a science project for the science fair. My teacher suggested that all of the students go to the library and research some science books to pick a project. I remember not having a lot of self-esteem, so I did not think I could accomplish the task. I found a short story in a book about a plant without a root, so I decided to grow a plant without a root in an egg shell, my mother helped me put the project together and she was very encouraging and helpful for my self-esteem. My science project was a success and I won first prize. This was one of the best days in my life and my family was so proud of me, they all told me I was very smart and to keep up the good work. They were especially proud because I found the book and made the decision on my own do the project that made me a winner. According to Vygotsky, education should focus on activities that involve interaction with others. Both child–adult and child–child interactions can provide the potential for cognitive growth† (Feldman, page 301). Children develop a sense of competence roughly around age 6 to 12, in their elementary school years; theorists Erik Erikson believes these years are the industry-versus-inferiority stage; these years are very important for children to understand concepts and challenges that are prepared for them by their peers, parents and school. My mother was the person that made me feel so great about myself, as she often did. She put my plant without a root science project on display in our home for all to see, and she just bragged to everyone that came to the house and she was calling people on the phone telling whoever called the house; she was would brag and tell them how smart I was and how proud she was of my winning first place in the school science fair. I had and still have the strangest nickname, my mother named me Toby Margo Barr. But my nickname is Trisha. The story behind having two real names is because my godmother wanted to name me Patricia. My mother decided that Trisha could be my nickname, she really liked Toby and she promised to name me after a Jewish woman that she knew way before I was conceived. She said the woman looked the spitting image of Elizabeth Taylor. I actually very much disliked the name Toby and wished my real name was Patricia; everyone thought Toby was my nick name anyway because it sounds more like a nickname. My family members never told me what I would end up doing or becoming, they valued the fact that I just had to work. My mother wanted me to have an office job, because I took up office practice in high school. I wanted to work in an office setting, but it was hard to accomplish in the small town I grew up and lived in. It was predominately white and there was a lot of prejudices in the town back them. My family would have described me as a good kid; I was mannerly and respectful to others, very disciplined as well when I was a child and adolescent. I remember being afraid a lot and having low self-esteem. I did not like being a dark-skinned person especially in an all white town and school- it also seemed if you were light-skinned life was a little better, I was bullied and teased by both blacks and whites. I started to rebel as a teenager and did what teens do when they are insecure, like smoking pot and cigarettes. This is when my parents would say I gave them grief. My family was concerned I would get in trouble and end up dealing with the law. Elementary-school-age children begin to follow the same sort of reasoning when they seek to understand how able they are. When they were younger, they tended to consider their abilities in terms of some hypothetical standard, making a judgment that they are good or bad in an absolute sense. Children begin to use social comparison processes, comparing themselves to others; Vygotsky‘s approach has been particularly influential in the development of several classroom practices based on the proposition that children should actively participate in their educational experiences. In this approach, classrooms are seen as places where children should have the opportunity to experiment and try out new activities.

History and Properties of M-Theory

History and Properties of M-Theory M-Theory is the name for a unified version of string theory, proposed in 1995 by the physicist Edward Witten. At the time of the proposal, there were 5 variations of string theory, but Witten put forth the idea that each was a manifestation of a single underlying theory. Witten and others identified several forms of duality between the theories which, together with certain assumptions about the nature of the universe, could allow for them to all be one single theory: M-Theory. One of the major components of M-Theory is that it required adding yet another dimension on top of the already-numerous extra dimensions of string theory so that the relationships between the theories could be worked out. The Second String Theory Revolution In the 1980s and early 1990s, string theory had reached something of a problem due to an abundance of riches. By applying supersymmetry to string theory, into the combined superstring theory, physicists (including Witten himself) had explored the possible structures of these theories, and the resulting work had shown 5 distinct versions of superstring theory. Research further showed that you could use certain forms of mathematical transformations, called S-duality and T-duality,  between the different versions of string theory. Physicists were at a loss   At a physics conference on string theory, held at the University of Southern California in spring of 1995, Edward Witten proposed his conjecture that these dualities be taken seriously. What if, he suggested, the physical meaning of these theories is that the different approaches to string theory were different ways of mathematically expressing the same underlying theory. Though he did not have the details of that underlying theory mapped out, he suggested the name for it, M-Theory. Part of the idea at the heart of string theory itself is that the four dimensions (3 space dimensions and one time dimension) of our observed universe can be explained by thinking of the universe as having 10 dimensions, but then compactifying 6 of those dimensions up into a sub-microscopic scale that is never observed. Indeed, Witten himself was one of the people who had developed this method back in the early 1980s! He now suggested doing the same thing, by assuming additional dimensions that would allow for the transformations between the different 10-dimensional string theory variants. The enthusiasm of research that sprung out of that meeting, and the attempt to derive the properties of M-Theory, inaugurated an era that some have called the second string theory revolution or second superstring revolution. Properties of M-Theory Though physicists have still not uncovered the secrets of M-Theory, they have identified several properties that the theory would have if Wittens conjecture turns out to be true: 11 dimensions of spacetime  (these extra dimensions should not be confused with the idea in physics of a multiverse of parallel universes)contains strings and branes (originally called membranes)methods of using compactification to explain how the extra dimensions reduce to the four spacetime dimensions we observedualities and identifications within the theory that allow it to reduce to special cases of the string theories known, and ultimately into the physics we observe in our universe What does the M Stand For? It is unclear what the M in M-Theory is meant to stand for, though it is likely that it originally stood for Membrane since these had just been discovered to be a key element of string theory. Witten himself has been enigmatic on the subject, stating that the meaning of the M can be selected for taste. Possibilities include Membrane, Master, Magic, Mystery, and so on. A group of physicists, led in large part by Leonard Susskind, have developed Matrix Theory, which they believe could eventually co-opt the M if it is ever shown to be true. Is M-Theory True? M-Theory, like the variants of string theory, has the problem that it is at present makes no real predictions that can be tested in an attempt to confirm or refute the theory. Many theoretical physicists continue to research this area, but when you have over two decades of research with no solid results, enthusiasm undoubtedly wanes a bit. There is no evidence, however, that strong argues that Wittens M-Theory conjecture is false, either. This may be a case where a failure to disprove the theory, such as by showing it to be internally contradictory or inconsistent in some way, is the best that physicists can hope for at the time being.

The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand essays

The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand essays The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand is similar to other countries where reclamation of identity has been achieved using music. Is Hip-hop a backlash of the colonisation process? Discuss the Hip-hop culture as a medium for expressiveness and a way of defining identity. Hip-hop has emerged as a significant musical genre in Aotearoa New Zealand creating an awareness of cultural diversity and ethnic identity and is similar to other countries where reclamation of identity has been achieved using music. Hip-hop has long been seen as the voice for the disenfranchised. The New Zealand Hip-hop scene began in the 1980s when artists such as Upper Hutt Posse began recording and gained recognition for lyrics relating to tino rangatiratanga, Maori Sovereignty. Is the success of Hip-hop in New Zealand the backlash of the colonisation process? New Zealand has a colourful past in terms of race relations, which has contributed to Maori and Pacific Islanders, amongst other minority groups, sense of disenfranchisement. The Hip-hop culture has provided a medium for young people to channel their talents and have a voice about their place in society. Exploring the character of youth subcultures such as Hip-hop provides an opportunity for better understanding of t he role that popular music has for youth as they endeavour to construct ideas about their own individualism and their place within the social world. Particular attention has been given to a local High School in Christchurch as an example of flexibility and resourcefulness with tailor made courses specifically aimed to appeal to students from diverse musical backgrounds. In addition to the exploration of Hip-hop youth culture, further exploration of the relationships found between the social world, the cultural creators, objects and the receivers of the cultural objects is made drawing on the larger influences that create such connections. What is this global musical force ...

Valens and the Battle of Adrianople (Hadrianopolis)

Valens and the Battle of Adrianople (Hadrianopolis) Bad intelligence gathering and the unwarranted confidence of Emperor Valens (A.D. c. 328 - A.D. 378) led to the worst Roman defeat since Hannibals victory at the Battle of Cannae. On August 9, A.D. 378, Valens was killed and his army lost to an army of Goths led by Fritigern, whom Valens had given permission only two years earlier to settle in Roman territory. Division of Rome In 364, a year after the death of Julian, the apostate emperor, Valens was made co-emperor with his brother Valentinian. They chose to split the territory, with Valentinian taking the West and Valens the East- a division that was to continue. (Three years later Valentinian conferred the rank of co-Augustus on his young son Gratian who would take over as emperor in the West in 375 when his father died with his infant half-brother, Gratian, co-emperor, but only in name.) Valentinian had had a successful military career prior to being elected emperor, but Valens, who had only joined the military in the 360s, had not. Valens Tries to Reclaim Land Lost to the Persians Since his predecessor had lost eastern territory to the Persians (5 provinces on the eastern side of the Tigris, various forts and the cities of Nisibis, Singara and Castra Maurorum), Valens set out to reclaim it, but revolts within the Eastern Empire kept him from completing his plans. One of the revolts was caused by the usurper Procopius, a relative of the last of the line of Constantine, Julian. Because of a claimed relationship with the family of the still popular Constantine, Procopius persuaded many of Valens troops to defect, but in 366, Valens defeated Procopius and sent his head to his brother Valentinian. Valens Makes a Treaty With the Goths The Tervingi Goths led by their king Athanaric had planned to attack Valens territory, but when they learned of Procopius plans, they became his allies, instead. Following his defeat of Procopius, Valens intended to attack the Goths, but was prevented, first by their flight, and then by a spring flood the next year. However, Valens persisted and defeated the Tervingi (and the Greuthungi, both Goths) in 369. They concluded a treaty quickly which allowed Valens to set to work on the still missing eastern (Persian) territory. Trouble From the Goths and Huns Unfortunately, troubles throughout the empire diverted his attention. In 374 he had deployed troops to the west and was faced with a military manpower shortage. In 375 the Huns pushed the Goths out of their homelands. The Greuthungi and Tervingi Goths appealed to Valens for a place to live. Valens, seeing this as an opportunity to increase his military, agreed to admit into Thrace those Goths who were led by their chieftain Fritigern, but not the other groups of Goths, including those led by Athanaric, who had conspired against him before. Those who were excluded followed Fritigern, anyway. Imperial troops, under the leadership of Lupicinus and Maximus, managed the immigration, but badly- and with corruption. Jordanes explains how the Roman officials took advantage of the Goths. Soon famine and want came upon them, as often happens to a people not yet well settled in a country. Their princes and the leaders who ruled them in place of kings, that is Fritigern, Alatheus and Safrac, began to lament the plight of their army and begged Lupicinus and Maximus, the Roman commanders, to open a market. But to what will not the cursed lust for gold compel men to assent? The generals, swayed by avarice, sold them at a high price not only the flesh of sheep and oxen, but even the carcasses of dogs and unclean animals, so that a slave would be bartered for a loaf of bread or ten pounds of meat.- Jordanes Driven to revolt, the Goths defeated the Roman military units in Thrace in 377. In May 378, Valens aborted his eastern mission in order to deal with the uprising of Goths (aided by Huns and Alans). Their number, Valens was assured, was no more than 10,000. [W]hen the barbarians ... arrived within fifteen miles from the station of Nike, ... the emperor, with wanton impetuosity, resolved on attacking them instantly, because those who had been sent forward to reconnoiter- what led to such a mistake is unknown- affirmed that their entire body did not exceed ten thousand men.- Ammianus Marcellinus,  The Battle of Hadrianopolis Occupation Index - Ruler By August 9, 378, Valens was outside of one of the cities named for the Roman emperor Hadrian, Adrianople. There Valens pitched his camp, built palisades and waited for Emperor Gratian (who had been fighting the Germanic Alamanni)  to arrive with the Gallic army. Meanwhile, ambassadors from the Gothic leader Fritigern arrived asking for a truce, but Valens didnt trust them, and so he sent them back. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus, the source of the only detailed version of the battle, says some Roman princes advised Valens not to wait for Gratian, because if Gratian fought Valens would have to share the glory of victory. So on that August day Valens, thinking his troops more than equal to the reported troop numbers of the Goths, led the Roman imperial army into battle. Roman and Gothic soldiers met each other in a crowded, confused, and very bloody line of battle.   Our left wing had advanced actually up to the wagons, with the intent to push on still further if they were properly supported; but they were deserted by the rest of the cavalry, and so pressed upon by the superior numbers of the enemy, that they were overwhelmed and beaten down.... And by this time such clouds of dust arose that it was scarcely possible to see the sky, which resounded with horrible cries; and in consequence, the darts, which were bearing death on every side, reached their mark, and fell with deadly effect, because no one could see them beforehand so as to guard against them.-  Ammianus Marcellinus: The Battle of Hadrianopolis Amid the fighting, an additional contingent of Gothic troops arrived, far outnumbering the distressed Roman troops. Gothic victory was assured. Death of Valens Two-thirds of the Eastern army were killed, according to Ammianus, putting an end to 16 divisions. Valens was among the casualties. While, like most of the details of the battle, the details of Valens demise are not known with any certainty, it is thought that Valens was either killed towards the end of the battle or wounded, escaped to a nearby farm, and there was burned to death by Gothic marauders. A supposed survivor brought the story to the Romans. So momentous and disastrous was the Battle of Adrianople that Ammianus Marcellinus called it the beginning of evils for the Roman empire then and thereafter. It is worth noting that this catastrophic Roman defeat occurred in the Eastern Empire. Despite this fact, and the fact that among the precipitating factors for the fall of Rome, barbarian invasions must rank very high, the fall of Rome, barely a century later, in A.D. 476, did not occur within the Eastern Empire. The next emperor in the East was Theodosius I who conducted clean up operations for 3 years before concluding a peace treaty with the Goths. See Accession of Theodosius the Great. Source: De Imperatoribus Romanis Valens(campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/Mediterranean/Adrianople.html) Map of the Battle of Adrianople (www.romanempire.net/collapse/valens.html) Valens

PDP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

PDP - Essay Example With regard to this, the progress review of the professional development plan also has been included in this report. The report thus has the objective of developing a strategic plan for improving my employability and other professional skills. Professional Development Plan The first step in developing a professional development plan is to specifically understand the personal strengths and weaknesses. This requires in depth self analysis. The method that I followed to have a personal analysis is to search for evidences in my personal experiences which proves my strengths and weaknesses. Cross reference of this with peer review could help me arrive at conclusions on my strengths and weaknesses pertaining to both professional and personal excellence. Three key areas for intervention were identified as professional development goals after this analysis. The personal goal which has to be achieved is better Time Management skills. A group work goal which has been identified is improvement in interpersonal skills. In terms of academic goals, my limited mastery over Microsoft Excel can potentially constrain my employability skills. Thus mastering Microsoft Excel has been identified as the academic goal. Self Goal: Time Management A cluster of behavior which facilitates productivity and avoids stress is generally termed to be time management (Lay & Schouwenburg, 1993). In the competitive world of today the importance of time management is being largely realized both in the area of management and also as a psychological requirement for every individual. It has been reported that with the increased pace of life, people are suffering from time pressure. The globalised world has set forth advancements in the area of communication and marketing which has in turn put pressure on the employees, students and individuals in terms of time. My experience while working on tight deadlines has often challenged my time management skills. Procrastination and wrong time estimations have often led to serious issues in terms of both professional and personal commitments. Thus achieving better time management skills has been found as a very important requirement. The pressure to keep deadlines and to deal with increasing work load within the limited time available urges to have scientifically designed time management plans. Researchers have been focusing in this area and there are literature available confirming the impact of time management on different areas including management, education and personal life. It has been confirmed that positive approaches on time management results in effective outcomes in terms of the psychological well being of the individual. This in turn results in positive personal outcomes. The primary approach towards effective time management includes time assessment, goal setting, planning and monitoring (Claessens et al., 2007). Observing oneself while engaging in a particular task and reviewing it both quantitatively and qualitatively in terms of time is the primary step which is referred to as time assessment. This gives precise information on the average time taken for a particular task. For instance, time assessment assesses time taken for the individual to travel from residence to the college or to the office. Similar, time estimations on every task involved in the routine of the individual can be closely done through this process. This would serve as an indicator of the effective time required to undertake a