Modernization of Japan

Introduction The industrial revolution brought modernisation to most European countries. Most of these countries took at least 150 years to get to the level they are in today. However, some countries missed the opportunity to develop during the industrial revolution. One country that missed such an opportunity was Japan.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Modernization of Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This was because by the time the industrial revolution was taking root, Japan was under the Edo period of isolation and was therefore not allowed to take part in the revolution. It is surprising therefore, to note that despite Japan having been left behind while the other countries were modernising it has managed to catch up and even surpassed most of them within a short period. Although historians have varied theories for the rapid modernisation, they agree on some common things. (Gootzeit 8) One thing that w ithout doubt contributed to the rapid modernisation of Japan was its geographical location. Japan is strategically located at the edge of countries like China, which have an already developed culture. The induction of an already developed culture into Japan made the country’s modernisation phenomenal. In reality, Japanese people love importing things more than producing them. This was why Japan unlike other countries gladly welcomed Western Culture. These imported things, which include science and religion in a great way account for the rapid spread of modernisation in Japan. (U.S Library of Congress) Another thing that directly contributed to the rapid modernisation of Japan was the high importance placed on education. In the beginning of the 16th century, Catholic missionaries who came to Japan placed much emphasis on the intellectual ability of the citizens. The Sorai Ogyu and the Ching Dynasty before them had also tried introducing education through the advancement of Con fucianism. On top of the Catholic fathers’ emphasis on education and the introduction of Confucianism, the study of Buddhism and the Manyo-shu by the Nakamoto Tominanga and the Keichu dynasties respectively helped a great deal in advancing education. When the school system was introduced in Japan in 1872, it gained quick acceptance from the people. One year after the system was introduced attendance immediately rose to 28%. By the turn of the century, attendance had risen to 81.5% and 99.0% by the end of World War 1. Since the middle of the 20th century, school attendance has remained at a modest figure of 99.9%. This rapid spread of the education system helped Japan in modernising at a quick rate than other Asian countries. (Naofusa)Advertising Looking for essay on asian? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Another thing that made Japan to rush her modernisation was the fear of colonisation by Western nations, and the urge nt need to make improvements on unequal treaties with neighboring nations. At the beginning of the 20th century, Japan had solved the urgent problems and began colonising other countries in imitation of Western nations. This was done to feed her population that was growing at a fast rate. In return, this policy gave neighboring countries a hard time and prevented them from colonising Japan. By the end of the World War II, a directive had been issued that required a clear separation between the church and state. This was something that many countries had not yet been able to achieve. (Hall 19) Another thing that comes out as the reason for Japan’s rapid modernisation was the reforms brought about by the Meiji era. After the Meiji took over from the Tokugawa, they adopted a different mode of operation. Since the beginning of their rule, the Meiji leaders adopted the model of a market economy. In order to achieve this, they emulated the British and North American models of liber al enterprise capitalism. This model was quickly adopted by private sector. Immediately after this, the Meiji rulers introduced other economic reforms that included trading in yen, banking, marketable and levy laws, introducing a stock exchange, and building a strong communication network. By the year 1890, the government had succeeded in building an institutional structure that was fit to work in a capitalist economy. Afterwards, the government surrendered the modernization process to the newly created institutions. The institutions, which were highly efficient, helped in speeding up the modernisation process. During the first 20 years of the Meiji rule, the manufacturing market grew at a fast rate to match the Western technology and other large privately owned investments. By the time the World War I had ended, Japan was among the industrialized nations. This rapid spread of modernization can only be attributed to the economic reforms introduced by the Meiji rulers. (Christensen) Conclusion Japan is considered as a country that took the shortest time to modernise. While other Asian countries took almost 150 years to modernise, it took Japan only 40 years to become modern. Although there are different reasons given for the rapid modernisation, some things come out clearly as the main reasons.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Modernization of Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of this was the willingness of the Japanese people to borrow from other established cultures. Another reason for the rapid modernisation was the importance that the Catholic fathers and other dynasties accorded education. This gave rise to an established education level and led to a high enrollment rate. Lastly, the Meiji era introduced economic reforms that led to the rapid modernisation. Works Cited Christensen, Maria. The Meiji Era and the Modernization of Japan, n.d. Web. Oct 29. 2010. http://www.samurai-a rchives.com/tme.html Gootzeit, Michael. Economic Thought and Modernization in Japan. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 1999. 1-9. Print. Hall, John. Changing Conception of the Modernization of Japan. Changing Japanese Attitudes Toward Modernization. Princeton Univ. Press, 1965. 15-19. Print. Naofusa, Hirai. Traditional Cultures and Modernization: Several Problems in the Case of Japan, 1999. Web. Oct 29. 2010. http://www2.kokugakuin.ac.jp/ijcc/wp/cimac/hirai.html U.S Library of Congress. Modernization and Industrialization, n.d. Web. Oct 29. 2010. http://countrystudies.us/japan/26.htm This essay on Modernization of Japan was written and submitted by user Myles Park to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Human Condition

The Human Condition Lisa LawHUMAN CONDITIONQuestion: "It means they were human"How have the texts you have studied in Area of Study: the Human Condition contributed to your thinking of what it is human.Word count: 1945The human condition is the experience of all elements of human existence. The susceptibility to endure both happiness and sadness is one of the elements that respond to our questioning of what is human. This is examined by the contrast of exhilaration depicted in both John Keats's poem "On First Looking At Chapman's Homer" and in the photograph "Bondi" by Marc Bok in the stimulus booklet and the depression in the film "Lantana" directed by Ray Lawrence and the poem "Preludes" by T.S. Eliot.John Keats poem "On First Looking at Chapman's Homer" displays the human capacity for happiness through its structure, images and tone. To expose his joy and inspired feelings about Chapman's translation of Homer, Keats had used the form of a Petrarchan sonnet to communicate how profoundly the revelation of Homer's literature had affected him.John Keats, by William Hilton (died 1839). See sou...The use of this structure allows a strong contrast from his neutral tone in the octave to the thrill and excitement in the sestet.In the first line, "realms of gold" symbolise the voyaging of discovery and to the world of literature and imagination, valued as highly as "gold". However, Keats use of the modifier "goodly" reflects his satisfaction only of those "kingdoms" and "states". Keats' tone of neutrality in terms of these experiences is established through the drowsy consonance of the "l" in "travelled in the realms of gold" and the assonance of the long and rounded vowels in "goodly states and kingdoms seen".The responders sense his appreciation of "deep- browed Homer" and his acknowledgment of the "fealty" to such ancient works but...

Question discuss and analyse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Question discuss and analyse - Essay Example More than five million deaths per year are consequences of using tobacco or intensive smoking. Smoking is the main risk factor for top three causes of deaths in Canada and those are cancer, lung disease and cardiovascular disease.Economic cost of $17 billion was bore by Canadian economy as a result of using tobacco in 2002 and in the same year $404 billion of expense for health care was paid directly by Canadian smokers. But the Canadian society is forced to carry costs such as turnover, work absenteeism and income lost due to early deaths. Over a period of time the number of fires resulted from smoking was 36,125 and it cost the Canadian denizens, in property distortion,$433 million. Likewise, the Conference Board of Canada cohered that to employ a smoker than a non-smoker cost them near to $2,565 per year, in 1997. But it is not the society only that bears the economic burden of smoking but in fact it is the smoker himself or herself who have to bear the costs associated to smoking . Smokers are supposed to pay for life insurance premiums and pay billions of dollars in the name of tobacco taxes. And if this is not enough, then there is also the cost of the cigarettes too. Only in the province of Alberta in 2005,† a smoker who smokes a pack a day spends almost $3,650 each year on cigarettes, based on an average price of $10 a pack† (Economic Cost). Additionally, according to the Conference Board of Canada (2012) lung diseases alone costs Canada $12 billion. Analysts believe that if the Canadian populace and government make no effort to combat the dilemma then it is very likely that the cost will double. The cost can be divided in direct health care as 3.4 million (drugs, hospitals, physicians) and $8.6 billion in indirect costs (such as premature death and long term disability)† (Lung Disease Imposes Major Costs on Canada’s Economy, 2012). According to the

Burnout on the workplace Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Burnout on the workplace - Term Paper Example It was just the result of my perceptions of the job I was doing. The very fundamental work-philosophy I learned was that a worker can work as long and hard as he wants if he is really able to enjoy the work. When I tried to with confidence and hope that I can meet what the company entrusted on me, I became physically and mentally strong and that in turn helped me overcome burnout. For my colleagues and team members, it was amazing how one who was burnout has almost turned to be one of the high-performing worker. When I successfully overcome the burnout, I could really help other six members in my team establish confidence and become strong both physically and mentally in performing their tasks as well. Stress is a mental and physical condition resulting from the perceived threat of danger. The factors leading to it may vary from organization to organization. As I observed, the main sources of the stress are:- Motivation itself is a tool to reduce employee burnout and stress. When an employee is found to have experienced burnout, the manager should, as first step, identify those jobs with the highest potential for burnout. For the manager to motivate his employees and help them find their jobs interesting, he may go for redesigning the jobs, clarifying their expectations, changing work schedules, ensuring better working condition etc. A normal reason for burnout is excessive demand of the organization, but this can be overcome by motivating employees to schedule their tasks, plan what things to be done first or which particular activity should be given priority etc. If the employee can meet the expectations, he becomes both physically and mentally stronger and then as a result becomes enthusiastic in the job he is doing. Becoming happier in the job is the right-path to free from

Los Angeles Lakers: A history

Los Angeles Lakers: A history The Lakers were founded in 1948 and named after Minnesota. They were named after Minnesota because it was the land of ten thousand lakes. The Lakers have become a great franchise because of their player and their great sportsmanship. Pro Basketball has been around since 1898, only seven years after the game was invented. The Lakers hired John Kundla as their first coach from Saint Thomas College. The Lakers then won the 1948 NBL Championship. The next year the team moved to BAA (which is another basketball league) and also won the Championship. In 1979 they moved to California. The old Lakers owner traded the team, The Forum and the Kings to Jerry Buss for a 70 million dollar deal. After the purchase, Jerry Buss wanted the Laker games to be the most exciting event in Los Angeles, so he introduced the Laker girls dance team. This attracted many viewers. In their half century of basketball, the Lakers have had many outstanding players and many memorable games. This has made many Los Angeles residences die hard fans. Their team colors are, purple gold and white. They have played in many world wide arenas. The following arenas are, Minneapolis Auditorium, Minneapolis Armory, L.A. Memorial Sports Arena and the Los Angeles Forum. The Lakers currently play at the Staple Center located in down town Los Angeles. Which can hold up to18,997 people per game. The NBA was formed in 1949 and the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers is Phil Jackson. The Lakers have 14 championships, 29 conference titles and 28 division titles. They are currently in the Pacific Division, also in the Western conference. The Lakers are currently in the NBA finals vs the Boston Celtics. Some of the Lakers best memories began on, November 5th when the Lakers beat Baltimore and went onto winning 32 more games in a row. They lost their first game on January 9th to the Milwaukee Bucks ending their 32 game winning streak. In one of the many playoff games. In the playoffs the Lakers swept the Bulls. In the finals the Lakers played the Knicks. New York won the first game but that was it. The Lakers reeled off 4 straight victory wins. In 2000, 2001 and 2002 the Lakers wons back to back Championships. The Laker bacame the NBAs first Champions in the 1949 -50 season. In 1984 through 1985 Lakers finally beat the Boston Celtics in the finals. Over the years the Lakers have had many all star players on the team. The Lakers have one of the most exciting players, who is known as now MVP player Kobe Bryant. Bryant rose to national prominence in 1996 when he became the first guard in league history to be drafted out of high school. Bryant and then-teammate Shaquille ONeal led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA championships from 2000 to 2002. Since ONeals departure following the 2003-04 season, Bryant has become the cornerstone of the Lakers franchise, and was the NBAs leading scorer during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. In 2006, Bryant scored a career high 81 points against the Toronto Raptors, the second highest number of points scored in NBA history. He was awarded the seasons MVP in the 2007-08 NBA season after leading his team to the 2008 NBA Playoffs as the first seed in the Western Conference. In 2003, Bryant made headlines when he was accused of sexual assault at a ski resort in Eagle, Colorado by a hotel employee. Bryant admitted an adulterous sexual encounter with the accuser, but denied the sexual assault allegation. In September 2004, prosecutors dropped the case after his accuser informed them that she was unwilling to testify. Bryants accuser brought a separate civil suit against him that was ultimately settled out of court. Later in the season, it was reported that Bryant would change his jersey number from 8 to 24 at the start of the 2006-07 NBA season. Bryants first high school number was 24 before he switched to 33. After the Lakers season ended, Bryant said on TNT that he wanted 24 as a rookie, but it was unavailable, as was 33, retired with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Bryant wore 143 at the Adidas ABCD camp, and chose 8 by adding those numbers. During the 2006-07 season, Bryant was selected to his 9th All-Star Game appearance, and on February 18, he logged 31 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, and 6 steals, earning his second career All-Star Game MVP trophy. Here are some of the well known players in the Laker history. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlin, Magic Johnson, James Worthy and Jerry West. Jerry West became the only player in the NBA on the loosing team of the finals to win the MVP award. This is to show you how good the players were on the team, even though they lost. Jerry West picture is the NBA logo. It was taken when he was in college. The Los Angles Lakers are the 2nd most valuable team in the U.S.A., valued at 568 million dollars. They also have the 2nd most Championship following Boston. The Lakers are notable for having (at the end of the 2005-06) the most wins (2,905), the highest winning percentage (61.5%), the most finals appearances (28) of any NBA franchise, Lakers are still continuing their legacy and keeping their fans happy and proud. Im proud to say that Im a die hard Laker fan. Sources www.wikipedia.org The Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Team By William W. Lace www.nba.com/lakers/history/history.html#36

The Brain & Its Functions

Opening Notes: * Interest and research in the brain is at an all-time pace The cure for some common diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis has accelerated the efforts of many scientists * Many of the names for the parts of the brain have come from Latin and Greek words * The easiest way to learn about the brain is to look at it as three divisions; the hindbrain, the midbrain and the forebrain * Modern imaging has allowed us to study the brain and locate where important functions are occurring * Functions do not happen in just one area of the brainMany neural layers and areas are found in any one activity that happens. * Some areas do appear to be predominantly involved in certain functions. The hindbrain: * The hindbrain is located where the spinal cord goes into the cranium * The first area that we see if the medulla. It is the swelling at the tip of the spinal cord. * It is concerned with all of our automatic functioning, such as breathing, h eart rate and swallowing medulla: controls all involuntary responses * reticular formation: regulates sleep and wakefulness reticular formation: regulates sleep and wakefulnessInside the medulla is the reticulum activation system It is concerned with arousal, attention and sleep * The second part of the hindbrain that we see is the cerebellum Is sometimes called the small brain cerebellum: controls coordinated motor activity e. g when you first learn to ride a bike, you have to think about everything you do. After you learn to ride a bike, it becomes totally automatic, and that is because of the cerebellum * The next part that we see is the ponsPons means bridge in Greek and that’s exactly what the pons is * It is a bridge taking in all of our sensory information and taking it to the cortex to be interpreted. pons: the bridge from brainstem to cortex The midbrain: * The midbrain takes all of the incoming neural information and channels it to the correct part of the cortex to be interpreted. * It is also involved in muscle tone and helps in sleep, wakefulness and attention. The forebrain: * It is the most complicated part of the brain, and it is what separates us as human beings from other animals. When we first look inside the skull, what we see is the cerebrum. * The cerebrum is composed of two parts called hemispheres; the right side and the left side * The outer covering of the cerebrum is called the cortex * It is made up of what is called convolutions – the worm-like structures that you see when you look at the brain convolutions: folds in the brain that store memories * We can look at the cortex in another way and divide the cortex into four sections called lobes; function of the lobe is to interpret information coming in from our senses cortex: surface layer of brainLobes: * Located in the back of the head is the occipital lobe. * The occipital lobe processes visual information, or what we see. occipital lobe: interprets visual information * Coming to the top of the head is the parietal lobe. * The parietal lobe processes information on pain, touch, temperature and pressure parietal lobe: interprets temperature, pain, pressure and touch * Located on the sides of our head, right above our ears, are the temporal lobes. * The temporal lobes process auditory information, emotion, and have a part in memory temporal lobe: interprets auditory information Located right above our forehead is our frontal lobe; it is the largest part of the cortex and the part of our brain that makes us human. * It is involved in speech production, logical and rational thought, and has the ability to understand and plan the future. frontal lobe: controls speaking, thought and future planning * There are two areas behind the frontal lobe. * The first one is the motor cortex and it interprets our muscular sensations. motor cortex: controls voluntary movements Right behind it is the sensory cortex and it is the part of the cortex that tries to coo rdinate all of the information coming in from all of our senses. sensory cortex: processes body sensations Inside of the cerebrum is the limbic system: * The limbic system is a primitive part of the cerebral cortex. It is made up of several parts that have a function in the everyday working of the brain * The first part is the corpus callosum. corpus callosum: connects the hemispheres of the brain * It is a band of nerve fibers that hold the right and left hemisphere together. It allows the right side of our brain to know what the left side is doing, and the left side to know what the right side is doing. * The second structure is the thalamus. The thalamus is sort of a relay center of the brain. * It takes in all of the sensory information and takes it to the cortex to be interpreted, and takes it from the cortex back to the spinal cord to get back to the body. thalamus: relay station for visual, auditory and somatosensory information * The next part is the hypothalamus. The hypoth alamus controls all of our drives and tries to maintain homeostasis; homeostasis is an equilibrium at which our body functions best. hypothalamus: controls drives such as hunger, thirst and sex * The next structure is the hippocampus. * The hippocampus is very important in the processing of our short-term memories into long-term memories. * This is the part of the brain that is first attacked by the disease Alzheimer’s. * The hippocampus also helps us in facial recognition. hippocampus: stores short term memories and takes them to long term memories * The next part is the amygdala. The amygdala adds emotion to memory. * It also has a direct role in the formation of our memories. amygdala: holds emotion and emotion laden memories Located inside our frontal lobe are two areas that help in our speech production: * The first is Broca’s area. For most people, all right-handed people, and most left-handed people, Broca’s area is located in the left hemisphere. Brocaâ €™s area: controls our ability to speak * This allows us to speak. It coordinates what we want to say with our tongues and our muscles. The next area is located a little bit behind Broca’s area more toward the temporal lobe is Werniche’s area. * Werniche’s area allows us to understand what is spoken to us. Werniche’s area: creates the understanding of written and spoken language Lateralization in Epilepsy Patient: * Patients with severe epilepsy have allowed us to discover another important concept about our brains. * To help severe epileptics when drugs failed, a dramatic operation was performed and it involved cutting the corpus callosum. Separating the hemispheres allows the seizures to be localized and not spread from hemisphere to the other. Split-brain patients learn that the hemispheres will have distinct, different functions; this is called lateralization. Hemispheres: * The left hemisphere controls the right side of the body. * It also coordi nates our language abilities because it has both Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area in it. * The left side is also the logical, rational brain and excels in such areas as science and math. left hemisphere: controls language, logic and sequential tasks * The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body. It excels in spatial abilities. * It is our artistic and musical part of our brain. It also has a function in detecting and emoting emotions. * In all but split-brain patients, we use all of our brains and both hemispheres since they communicate with each other. * The right hemisphere knows what is happening in the left hemisphere, and the left hemisphere knows what’s going on in the right hemisphere. right hemisphere: controls spatial-visual tasks, facial recognition and creativity Extra Keywords (NEED TO KNOW THESE): * septum: controls and create rageful behavior * cerebrum: the largest part of the brain divided into two hemispheres

Noonan’s point of view for the Anti-abortion Essay

Noonan’s is an extreme anti-abortionist. He believed that once conceived, the being was recognized as human because he/she had human’s potential. The criterion for humanity, thus, was simple and all embracing: if you are conceived by human parents, you are human. He believes in four pro-choice criteria for human being. The first criterion is viability. Viability is the point in time in which a fetus lived attached to its mother determines the fate. Notion of viability is that fetus is depended on its mother in order to live, and if this dependence is taken through abortion, then it is actually a right of life taken from a living human being. The second view is experience. Experience as defined through Noonan is, † A being who has had experience, has lived and suffered, who posses memories, is more human than one who has not†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Here he points out the stage of fetus when it can be responsive to touch and can feel the environment around him/her. He compares this stage of fetus to of an adult who has aphasia has lost his or her memories- his or her â€Å"experience†: Noonan asks rhetorically if this means the humanity of the adult has been erased. In this argument Noonan is implying that if there is an absences of experiences during fetus stage of human life, we can not deprive the fetus of his/her right to life. The third case is sentiment. Sentiment in this case means that if the fetus dies, it won’t receive the same grief as for a living child because it hasn’t been named or had personality. Noonan views this while contrasting different races among human kind. He portrays his feelings that if one human being is of different skin color or of different sex, we won’t say that his/her life lost is not grief able. Why isn’t then a fetus is given the same human respect he/she deserved. The last of these criteria’s is social visibility. They argument says that the fetus hasn’t been socially perceived as human: it cannot communicate like humans. Noonan’s views for this argument is as follows. He says that humanity does not depend on social recognition, although the failure to recognize this fact has led it to destruction of lives. These are the Noonan’s point of view towards the abortion.