The Hillsborough disaster Essay Essay Example

The Hillsborough disaster Essay Essay The Hillsborough catastrophe was an incident that occurred on 15 April 1989 at the Hillsborough bowl in Sheffield. England. during the FA cup semi-final lucifer between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest association football nines. The crush resulted in the deceases of 96 people and hurts to 766 others. The incident has since been blamed chiefly on the constabulary. The incident remains the worst stadium-related catastrophe in British history and one of the world’s worst association football catastrophes. association football nines used to contend the semi-final of the FA Cup at a impersonal locale. and in 1989 Hillsborough was selected by the association football. While opposing protagonists were segregated in the bowl. Liverpool fans were allocated the Leppings Lane base. reached by a limited figure of turnstiles. Entry to the land was slow due to the few decrepit turnstiles available to the Liverpool fans which caused unsafe overcrowding outside the land before kick-off. We will write a custom essay sample on The Hillsborough disaster Essay specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Hillsborough disaster Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Hillsborough disaster Essay specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In an effort to ease force per unit area outside the land. Chief Superintendent Duckenfield ordered an issue gate to be opened. The opened issue gate led to a tunnel marked â€Å"Standing† which led straight to the two already overcrowded enclosures ( pens ) . In old old ages the tunnel had been closed off by constabulary when the two cardinal pens were full. nevertheless on this juncture the tunnel was unmanned. The resulting inflow of protagonists caused suppression and some fans climbed over side fencings or were lifted by fellow protagonists onto the base above to get away the crush. Moments after kick-off. a crush barrier broke and fans began to fall on top of each other. The game was stopped after six proceedingss. To transport away the injured. protagonists tore down advertisement billboards to utilize as stretchers and exigency services were called to supply aid. Of the 96 people who died. 14 were admitted to infirmary. When the FA Chairman visited the Control Box to happen out what had happened. Chief Superintendent Duckenfield told a ‘disgraceful prevarication that the protagonists had â€Å"rushed† the gate. The 1990 functionary enquiry into the catastrophe. the Taylor Report. concluded â€Å"the chief ground for the catastrophe was the failure of constabulary control. The findings of the study resulted in the riddance of standing patios at all major football bowls in England. Wales and Scotland. On the twentieth day of remembrance of the catastrophe. authorities curate Andy Burnham called for the constabulary. ambulance and all other public bureaus to let go of paperss which were non made available to Lord Justice Taylor in 1989. This action led to the formation of the Hillsborough Independent Panel. which in September 2012 concluded that no Liverpool fans were responsible for the deceases. and that efforts had been made by the governments to hide what happened. including the change by constabulary of 116 statements associating to the catastrophe. The facts in the study prompted immediate apologies from Prime Minister David cameron ; the Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police Chairman David Bernstein and Kelvin Mackenzie. then-editor of The Sun. for their organisations’ several functions. In September 2012. the Hillsborough Independent Panel concluded that up to 41 of the 96 human deaths might hold been avoided had they received prompt medical intervention. The study revealed â€Å"multiple failures† by other exigency services and public organic structures which contributed to the decease toll. In response to the panel’s study. Attorney General for England and Waless. Dominic Grieve MP. confirmed he would see all the new grounds to measure whether the original inquest finding of facts of inadvertent decease could be overturned. On 19 December 2012. a new inquest was granted in the High Court. to the alleviation of the households and friends of the Hillsborough deceased. 1. Examination of Evidence associating to the Hillsborough football bowl catastrophe. Lord Justice Stuart-Smith. February 1998. Page 83. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. southyorks. constabulary. uk/sites/default/files/STUART 2. Conn. David ( 17 April 2009 ) . â€Å"Football: David Conn on Hillsborough† . The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2012. 3. ^ Eason. Kevin ( 13 April 2009 ) . â€Å"Hillsborough: the catastrophe that changed football† . The Times ( UK ) . Retrieved 1 October 2009.

Sources of Innovation Essay Example

Sources of Innovation Essay Example Sources of Innovation Essay Sources of Innovation Essay Sometimes knowing a field too well can stifle creatively. Answer: True Difficulty: Moderate Page: 2. The organizations structure, routines, and incentives can thwart individual creativity, but not amplify it. Answer: False page: 20 3. Sometimes paying people for suggestions undermines creativity because it focuses their shift on extrinsic motivation. Difficulty: Hard 4. Though a generalist by nature, inventors are specialists In the field in which they invent. Page: 21 5. Innovation often originates with those who create solutions for their own needs. Difficulty: Easy page: 22 6. The qualities that make people inventive do not necessarily make them entrepreneurial. 7. Manufacturers typically create new product innovations in order to profit from the sale of the innovation to customers. Page: 23 8. Firms consider their in-house R to be their least important source of innovation, but still feel it is necessary to possess. Page: 25 9. The most frequent collaborations are between firms and their customers, suppliers, and local universities. Page: 26 10. A complement is a company or individual that produces goods or services that enhance the value of another product. Age: 27 1 1 . The creation of university technology transfer offices accelerated rapidly in the United States after the Baby-Dole Act was passed. Page: 28 12. The Small Business Technology Transfer (EST.) program facilitates partnerships between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions. Page: 29 self-reinforcing advantages. Page: 30 14. Collaborative research i s especially important in high-technology sectors. Page: 31 15. Technology clusters may span a region as narrow as a city or as wide as a group of neighboring countries. Page: 32 16. A cluster of firms with high innovation productivity will discourage other firms from establishing themselves in the same area. Page: 33 17. The degree to which innovative activities are geographically clustered does not depend on the national differences in the way technology development is funded or protected. Page: 34 18. The likelihood of technological spillovers varies across countries. Page: 35 19. A knowledge broker puts existing information to use in new and profitable ways. 20. Research suggests that most innovation is due to the discovery of something fundamentally new. Page: 36 Multiple Choice 1 . Which of the following products would be considered novel? A. A detergent advertises that it can remove spots. B. A company announces it has produced a recreational hovercraft for sale in toy stores. C. A cell phone company announces that it now offers text messaging. D. A college announces it will install artificial turf on its football field. Answer: b page: 18-19 22. Which of the following persons is most likely to come up with a new way of manufacturing socks for a textile company? A. Bill, who has been the mechanic working on the current socks manufacturing equipment for the last 15 years. He ruddy states that he is a true expert on every aspect of these machines. B. Kate, who knows the basics of how the socks are now manufactured and how the machines work, but comes from a completely different background as far as training and experience are considered. C. Frank, who has been newly hired because of his mechanical knowledge, but has no real knowledge or understanding of how socks are manufactured. D. Lisa, who is the Plant Manager and is known as being impatient with her subordinates. Page: 19 23. Which of the following will probably have the least influence on organizational creativity? The creativity of the individuals in the organization b. The organizational structure c. Incentives provided for creativity d. Location of the organization Answer: d 24. The difference between Hands employee-driven idea system (DEEDS) and a traditional suggestion box is that Hands system a. Does not pay employees for ideas. B. Screens ideas for practicality before paying employees. C. Requires those who submit ideas to follow through with the suggestion, overseeing its progress from concept to implementation. D. Only ends up accepting about 10 percent of the suggestions submitted. Answer: c 25. Southeaster Athletic Mats, Inc. Produces gym mats for school and health clubs. The company recently put a metal box near the time clock and asked employees to submit ideas in writing for improved productivity. It offered $10 for every idea it implemented. This is an example of a(n) a. Employee-driven idea system (DEEDS). B. Suggestion box. C. Legal bribe. D. Applied research. 26. According to studies, which of the following tends to be true of prolific inventors? A. Inventors tend to have specialized almost solely in one field. B. Inventors tend to be curious, and question the assumptions made in a field. C. Inventors typically patent and commercialism most of their inventions. D. Inventors tend to interact socially and seek local solutions to problems. 27. The Smith brothers were trying to come up with a new cough drop but Alvin Smith kept saying to his brother, Frank, l really would like to understand more about what makes a person cough in the first place. Frank kept saying, We need to quit worrying about theoretical stuff and Just focus on how to stop the coughing. Which of the brothers is most likely to be a successful inventor? A. Alvin b. Frank c. They are equally likely to be successful inventors d. Neither is very likely to be a successful inventor 28. Which of the following is not true regarding user innovators? A. They have a deep understanding of their unmet needs. B. They have an intention to profit from the sale of their innovation. C. They have an incentive to create solutions for their own nee ds. D. Their innovations can lead to the development of new industries. 29. Susan works for a large chemical company in the Research and Development department. Her degree was in Biology and the company is encouraging her to study the mating habits of various insects to develop a better method of controlling insect image to crops. The type of research Susan is engaged in is called research. A. Basic b. Applied c. Development d. Primary 30. Which of the following is the correct sequence of steps for the science-push approach to research and development? A. Customers express an unmet need, RD develops the product to meet that need, the product is produced, and the Marketing team promotes the product. . Scientific discovery leads to an invention, the Engineering team designs the product, it is manufactured, and the Marketing team promotes it. C. Marketing does research to discover a need, RD comes up with the reduce concept which is refined by engineering, the Manufacturing team produces it, and the Marketing team sells it. D. Manufacturing sees a way to improve a product, RD takes the suggestions and expands on it, the Engineering team redesig ns it, the Manufacturing team implements the change, and the Marketing team sells it. 31 . The demand-pull approach to research and development refers to a. Research and development that focuses on developing products that are expected to increase demand in a particular market segment. B. Research and development that begins by immemorial applications may be constructed from those outputs. C. Research and development that greatly overextends the development budget of the firm. D. Research and development that originates as a response to the specific problems or suggestions of customers. 32. Which of the following is not a source for successful innovation? A. In-house research and development. B. Customers. C. External networks of firms. D. Government funding 33. Organizations that produce products such as light bulbs for lamps, or DVD movies for DVD players are examples of a. Competitors. B. Inventors. C. Complementary. D. Incubators. 34. The president of Mountain Home University has been asked by her board of trustees to set up a mechanism for the centralization of technology developed at the university. Such a mechanism is typically called a A. Business department. B. Centralization office. C. Technology transfer office. D. Loyalty department. 35. According to the text, The Baby-Dole Act of 1980 a. Made the transfer of technology to enemies of America illegal. B. Allowed universities to collect royalties on inventions funded with taxpayer dollars. C. Made it impossible to patent inventions developed at universities. . Made it legal for private 36. Regional districts that are set up by the government to foster RD collaboration between g overnment, universities, and private firms are typically called a. Government alliances. B. Research collaboration areas (Arcs). C. Incubators. D. Science parks. 37. In 2001, Shanghais Municipal Government set aside 13 square kilometers area near the Hung River for university laboratories, and start-up firms in microelectronics, digital technology, and life sciences. It was hoped that the area would foster strong research ability, the development of an advanced technology abort pool, and foster the creation of new industries in Shanghai. This area would best be termed a(n) a. Industry b. Incubator c. Science park d. Knowledge broker 38. Institutions designed to nurture the development of new business that might otherwise lack access to adequate funding or advice are called a. Overspent alliances. 39. The objective of the Small Business Technology Transfer (EST.) program is to a. More fully leverage the innovation that takes place in research laboratories by connecting research scientists with entrepreneurs. B. Help small businesses develop business that have significant innovation capabilities. . To aid technology entrepreneurs by offering them f inancial and advisory services. Answer: a is a regional group of firms that have a connection to a common 40. A technology, and may engage in buyer, supplier, and complement relationships, as well as research collaboration. . Science park b. Regional incubator c. Research collaboration area (RCA) d. Technology cluster 41 . When companies form a technology cluster it often results in a. Greater security among the companies to prevent industrial spying from competitors who are now located close by. B. Less new startups because people who have interest in this industry would prefer to work for an established company. C. A shrinking supply of trained labor due to the competition for the skills needed by the industry among the companies in the area. D. The attraction of other firms to the area. Age: 33-34 42. Which of the following would be considered true about an agglomeration economy? A. Helps enhance proximity in knowledge exchange. B. Helps firms understand the drivers and benefits of clustering for developing a strategy. C. Helps overcome the market failure that can result when a new technology has the potential for important societal benefits. D. Helps firms reap benefits by locating them in close geographical proximity to each other. 43. Which of the following would typically be considered a downside to geographical clustering? A. Firms may have to lower prices on their products because there are many local competitors serving the same market. B. Firms have to spend more on transportation costs for their inputs because suppliers are located far away. C. Firms Firms may benefit by improvements in local infrastructure such as roads and utilities. 44. Which of the following would not affect geographic clustering of an industry? A. The nature of the technology. . The degree to which communication and frequent interaction is required for knowledge sharing. C. Population density of labor. D. Profit margins of a technology firm. Is a positive externally of research and development efforts. A. Knowledge 45. Broker b. Agglomeration c. Technological spillover d. Technology cluster Essay 46. You have Just been given an assignment within your company to design a creativity training program. Describe the elements you would include in the program and explain the rationale of each one. Answer: One element of a creativity training program would be to bring in a miscommunication expert to teach managers how to encourage novel thinking and autonomy through the use of verbal and nonverbal cues. The program might also include exercises that encourage employees to consider simpler representations of a problem to avoid getting bogged down in the details, and develop rudimentary prototypes. The program probably should not entail extrinsic (e. G. , monetary) rewards, and instead should encourage intrinsic rewards such as recognition, giving the employees considerable ownership over their projects, and emphasizing the beneficial impact new solutions have on the welfare of customers.

Penny Press - One Cent Newspapers

Penny Press - One Cent Newspapers The Penny Press was the term used to describe the revolutionary business tactic of producing newspapers which sold for one cent. The Penny Press is generally considered to have started in 1833, when Benjamin Day founded The Sun, a New York City newspaper. Day, who had been working in the printing business, started a newspaper as a way to salvage his business. He had nearly gone broke after losing much of his business during a  local financial panic caused by the cholera epidemic of 1832. His idea of selling a newspaper for a penny seemed radical at a time when most newspapers sold for six cents. And though Day merely saw it as a business strategy to salvage his business, his analysis touched upon a class divide in society. Newspapers that sold for six cents were simply beyond the reach of many readers. Day reasoned that many working class people were literate, but were not newspaper customers simply because no one had published a newspaper targeted to them. By launching The Sun, Day was taking a gamble. But it proved successful. Besides making the newspaper very affordable, Day instituted another innovation, the newsboy. By hiring boys to hawk copies on street corners, The Sun was both affordable and readily available. People wouldn’t even have to step into a shop to buy it. Influence of The Sun Day did not have much of a background in journalism, and The Sun had fairly loose journalistic standards. In 1834 it published the notorious â€Å"Moon Hoax,† in which the newspaper claimed scientists had found life on the moon. The story was outrageous and proven to be utterly false. But instead of the ridiculous stunt discrediting The Sun, the reading public found it entertaining. The Sun became even more popular. The success of The Sun encouraged James Gordon Bennett, who had serious journalistic experience, to found The Herald, another newspaper priced at one cent. Bennett was quickly successful and before long he could charge two cents for a single copy of his paper. Subsequent newspapers, including the New York Tribune of Horace Greeley and the New York Times of Henry J. Raymond, also began publication as penny papers. But by the time of the Civil War, the standard price of a New York City newspaper was two cents. By marketing a newspaper to the widest possible public, Benjamin Day inadvertently kicked off a very competitive era in American journalism. As new immigrants came to America, the penny press provided very economical reading material. And the case could be made that by coming up with a scheme to save his failing printing business, Benjamin Day had a lasting impact on American society.

Are connectionist models and symbolic models competing or Essay

Are connectionist models and symbolic models competing or complementary appraoaches to artificial intelligence - Essay Example Both these approaches have their supporters who have used them to show the various benefits which can be derived from taking different viewpoint to AI (Minsky, 1991). At the same time, there are those who have said that the approaches are complimentary and do not compete with each other. To justify these statements it is necessary to take a look at each approach to see how it works. The symbolic approach is based on the creation of AI models that work with symbol manipulation. Computation is based on the fact that a symbol or a group of symbols can be arranged in a manner to represent information. Once the order or position of symbols is changed, the information can also be updated to reflect the changing environment. It must be noted that in this approach a symbol can represent any type or nature of information and the symbols can be modified if required (Bader & Hitzler, 2005). Thus a symbol here represents an idea which has certain basic premises but which can be modified by the machine based on experience or intelligent action. This process of symbol manipulation can be very successful if the AI process is being applied to well-structured problems. That means if the symbols are predefined for the AI system, it can modify the associated parameters based on its own experience and manipulation of the symbols (Bader & Hitzler, 2005). This method seeks to replicate the higher order thinking processes of the human mind which has the same ability to modify and learn from experiences as they are collected in a person’s memory. However, this approach has certain failings as well since it is difficult to grasp commonsense reality with this approach. On the other hand, the connectionist models for AI are based on the idea of using a large number of relatively simple units which can handle extremely difficult and

Lengthening the School Day Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lengthening the School Day - Article Example The proposal to lengthen the school day, therefore, creates new opportunities for students, teachers, and parents. Moreover, time with family after the school day would enhance family interactions and relationships. Students would have less homework because the school day is long enough to take care of academic activities. Contrary to the benefits of the longer school day, lengthening the school day is not without its disadvantages. A longer school day would negatively affect students’ attention. Extra time in school, according to Sprague, Douglas, and David (434), could result in attention deficit, fatigue, and subsequent ineffective curricular activities within that time. On the same note, longer hours at school do not necessarily translate to improved teacher productivity or student performance. In that regard, scores may fail to improve as school day hour increase. Most importantly, a longer school day requires additional funding due to an accompanying increase in suppleme ntal resources. In light of the above discussion, the cons of lengthening the school day outweigh the pros. A longer school day would be an additional individual, social, financial, and academic burden to almost every stakeholder in the education sector. Instead of lengthening the school day, proposers of this move should consider making the current school day more effective and efficient. It is important to ensure that the current school day operates to its full potential before considering additional hours.

Assisted suicide Essay Example for Free

Assisted suicide Essay Assisted Suicide In the 1990s, ‘Doctor Death’ Jack Kevorkian invented the first assisted suicide machine  in the world. He was then thrown into prison for 7 years (Pickert). This caught people’s attention  and made them question whether it should be legal to request physician assisted suicide, which is  when someone asks a physician to help him or her terminate his or her life. This topic became  one of the most popular discussions in recent years, but the truth is that it has actually been a  centuries- old debate. For both logical and humanitarian reasons, assisted suicide is not right and  should not be legalize. Is it right for a nation founded on Christianity to allow citizens to choose assisted  suicide? Can a decision that is made by a mentally ill person be treated as a rational decision? Is  the prevention of pain an acceptable circumstance in which to end a life? People still do not have  a widely accepted answer. It is not clear whether physician assisted suicide  is right or wrong. Assisted suicide should not be viewed solely as affecting one life, but should be viewed as a  decision that affects many.  The declaration of independence states that everyone has the right to pursue happiness  In whatever way they choose. Many argue that a decision to kill oneself is a private choice, that  society should not be, and has no right to be concerned. America believes that with its freedom,  people can do almost everything based on their own choices. Physician assisted suicide is also  one of the choices that they can decide. The common argument is that these people are adults  who can make rational and reasonable choices, however many people who request physician  assisted suicide are mentally ill. Of those who attempt suicide but were unsuccessful, less than 4  percent go on to kill themselves in the future, which means that most people changed their mind  after a period of recovery. Psychological evidence shows that those who ask for physician   assisted suicide in order to avoid pain are normally ambivalent, and they  usually attempt to end  their life for other reasons than a settled desire to die. Since assisted suicide has already become  a popular way to end suffering and pain, people who were in the status might feel it is necessary  for them to kill themselves since they have in their mind become a burden to their family and  society. Some would say it is wrong for such an impression to have the power to persuade a  personto end their life due to their weakness and disability. As a Christian nation, America wants a positive and happy image for the country.  American people value the meaning of life, and According to what most of the Christians  believe, God is the one who created life. Then how can people have the right to end something  that they did not even create in the first place? American society does not think assisted suicide  is good as a whole, because assisted suicide is still a self-caused death, which is equal to suicide.  Although there is always a vague line drawn between assisted suicide and attempted  murder. Assisted suicide is the opposite of happiness because it demonstrates  utter depression. It  is clear that American society sees assisted suicide as wrong, because there is a suicide watch  team among the police and counselors at schools who are trained to help and avert suicide. Asking for assisted suicide as a form of pain relief and signing a release form is not acceptable  either. People cannot solve problems by trying to get rid of them. People who stand against  physician-assisted suicide believe that suffering is just a stage of life. And lots of people who  were prevented from assisted suicide will tell you that they all passed that stage successfully,  and they are appreciative that they were stopped from asking for physician-assisted suicide. Assisted suicide also hurts the people who care about those who were asking for a  physician assisted suicide. Patients might get relived from their long suffering and pain but their  family will be hurt from one’s immature decision. The person only thought of their own  feelings and never considered others who are around them and how they feel. Families and loved  ones will be upset about their decision to take their lives in a selfish act. Other evidence that  shows assisted suicide is wrong is the fact that there are always suicide prevention billboards in  communities. This should show the government that people do not want those around them to  commit suicide. People who fight for the right to have physician-assisted suicide argue that assisted  suicide can bring benefits to both patients and society. They believe that people who  choose assisted suicide will die with dignity rather than suffer the pain of illness( OSteen,  Burke). That they will not let their family and friends suffer anymore by showing their weakness  and sickness. By choosing assisted suicide, patients can also reduce a huge amount of medical  expenses that insurance does not cover. To benefit society, their organs can be donated to save  people’s lives (Humphrey). Doctors and nurses can spend more time on recovering patients  rather than waste time on patients who are assured death, and of course, they still think it is a part  of one’s freedom to be able to choose for himself whether to live or die. Whether it is one’s  rational decision to chose to end their life has always been the center of this debate. Because  without argu ing about one’s free right, those who favor assisted suicide will lose an important  statement. Although there is a ton of evidence showing that physician assisted suicide is not right,  it is a fact that so many people are still in favor to legalize assisted suicide. They believe that  rather than give people hope to live, telling them the truth and offering them an option is more  reasonable. They argued that in some ways, it is humane to give dying people assisted suicide;  society is okay with people helping a sick or dying animal yet people are not okay with letting a  sick and dying patient go. It was said that humans are too selfish to let their loved ones go, even  if death would be a comfort. People who think it is illegal for a physician to offer assisted suicide  are accused of wanting to control other people’s lives. People think that one has his/her own will  about their life that no one is suppose to tell them what they should do and should not do. Especially when their faith to live is completely gone. It was understood as a merciful behavior  for a physician to offer help to end one’s life. A new statement was also brought up to argue in  the favor of legalize assisted suicide. It is that if one can reject medical treatment to prolong life  then why cant one request treatment to end it? Many people found this statement be reasonable  and useful to support the legalization of physician-assisted suicide.  After centuries’ debating, there is still no certain answer for those questions that are  brought up by the topic of assisted suicide. Two sides are still debating about the benefits and  negative effects of assisted suicide. Still to this day no one is able to convince the either group to  change their views on this topic. In 2006, the US Supreme Court ruled that legalizing assisted  suicide is to be the responsibility of each state respectively. No one can yet predict how long this  topic wi ll still be an argumentative topic for debate, And no one can predict how this issue will  effect human life in the future. But overall, do people really possess the right to kill a life that  was not created by them? It is still a big question that no one has yet given an answer that can  satisfy everyone. Maybe one-day people will find out the right answer and that assisted suicide  will be a new thing that brings benefits to the world. Physician suicide should be banned due to  its negative cause and impaction to society. People who think assisted suicide should be  illegalized because of the value of life to a society is still the majority; ending a life is  not so simple that people should decide to do so on their own. Work cited Pickert, Kate. A brief history of assisted suicide. a brief history of assisted suicide. N.p., 3 Mar. 2009. Web. 13 Sept. 2013. . Humphry, Derek. Liberty and Death: A manifesto concerning an individuals right to choose to die. Assisted Suicide Information on right-to-die and euthanasia laws and history. N.p., 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. Declaration of Independence Text Transcript. National Archives and Records Administration. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. OSteen, David N. , and Burke J. Balch. Why We Should Not Legalize Assisted Suicide | New York State Right to Life. Welcome | New York State Right to Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. Information on right-to-die and euthanasia laws and history. N.p., 24 Mar. 2009. Web. 18 Sept.2013. .

Weimar, Germany Essay example -- Germany German History Culture Essays

Weimar, Germany In examining great social and cultural changes in the modern West, many specific events come to mind: the Renaissance and the Reformation, the â€Å"discovery† of the Americas, industrialization, and World War Two. One such event, often overlooked, is the â€Å"Great War†, 1914-1918. Like every people affected by the expanse of this war, Germans were deeply affected and forever changed. As a social, cultural, and psychological reaction to World War I, the German people created the Weimar Republic, leading to a drastic change in German society and culture. To best understand these changes, a comprehensive analysis of World War I, before, during, and after, is necessary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What was Germany before World War I? Before World War I, Germany was a Great Power on the cusp of social revolution, like many other European nations. The relatively new empire was struggling with the new working class and the increasing movement for labor rights (Gilbert and Large, 15-19). Wilhelm II, the Emperor of Germany when World War I began, was moving his empire toward expansive imperialism and militarism. The political, social, and cultural structure of Germany before World War I was relatively new, but almost instantly powerful and potent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The political structure of Germany, bred of Germany’s attempt at solid unification, was rapidly becoming outdated in the face of labor and the precarious balance of power in Europe, and would soon be put under by World War I. The Bundesrat, like the contemporary House of Lords in the British parliament, was manipulated by the landowning class. The Reichstag, created to balance the weight of the Bundesrat, was extremely limited: it could in no way interfere with individual states’ armies, being limited to legislation in the areas of foreign and naval affairs, as well as other relative trivialities like customs and mail (Gilbert and Large, 71).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In spite of Germany’s authoritarian governmental system, some indicators of social progressiveness were apparent. Members of the Reichstag were voted in, and eligible voters included all men over the age of 25. Germany was also ahead of her time in terms of workers’ rights (albeit no nation was timely enough to satisfy the rapidly-growing working class.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For the most part, however, Germany was the symbol of authoritarianism. The Kaiser himself was an important symbol of this go... ... continued to show, what suffering in the trenches had meant. They had not turned themselves into heroes. They were not even capable of functioning in the society at the end of the war...many of the population did not like to have to face these war cripples. They did not wish to be reminded continuously of what war was really like.† (Gay, 90; italics mine)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From such devastation came Weimar. The Germans embraced their new freedom as a republic, feeling freed from those old constraints which, they felt, driven their country to ruin. The culture or Weimar symbolized the German disdain for the â€Å"old ways† of authoritarianism and monarchy. Weimar was modern, new, and as far as the Germans knew, not doomed to fall victim in another total war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weimar was the hope of the people. The Germans, who felt their whole way of live had been made evil by the world, and had been annihilated in the war, reinvented themselves—and like the Germans they are, did the job all the way. World War I bred this new republic. It was, if nothing else, a cultural and psychological reaction, leading to a drastic change that would shape the German future, and forever color its gaze upon the past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚