How successful was Philip II’s foreign policy? Essay

Throughout Philip II’s reign there were regular substantial occurrences outside he monarchia which forced him to implement some kind of foreign policy. When assessing how successful Philip’s foreign policy was it is important to acknowledge the aim of foreign policy seem to be in line with the traditional Hapsburg aims of keeping his land and passing them on intact, whilst adding to them if possible. In line with these aims Philip seems to have achieved a moderate amount of success in the first half of his reign adding Portugal to his lands and eliminating the Turks as a threat, however these successes are seriously undermined by his later failures in England and France The area of foreign policy where Philip seemed to achieve the most success was in his exploitation of the political situation in Portugal which led to Portugal being added to Philip’s monarchia. Portugal was already in a fragile state after the death of King Sebastian in 1578 the throne of Portugal had been given to his sick and aged Uncle Henry due to Sebastian having no children. This left many worries over who would be Henry’s successor and eventually by 1580 Philip was King of Portugal. Philip’s was successful in Portugal due to his two pronged policy of diplomacy and bribery along with the dispatching of Granville, one of his closest advisors to cultivate merchants of Lisbon who already were closely identified with Philip due to loans from the crown. This detailed and precise approach successfully ensured the withdrawal of Catrina – Philip’s main rival in Portugal. Furthermore despite the crowning of Don Antonio as King of Lisbon, Philip was very successful in invading due to his awareness of Portugal’s army being depleted from expeditions to Morocco. Another area of Philip’s foreign policy where he achieved a high amount of success is his neutralisation of the Turks as a threat in the Mediterranean. Since the early 16th century the Turks had been attempting to expand their empire into Europe, forcing Philip to react. However despite later success, at first Philip was very unsuccessful against the Turks due to surprise assaults from the Turkish fleet along with blockades and poor weather. On the other hand, Philip made these early setbacks irrelevant in 1571 when alongside the Holy League he successfully defeated the Turks in Lepanto. This was seen as making Philip’s foreign policy particularly successful due it being seen as the greatest victory for the Christian empire, and thus had a huge religious impact. However, Philip’s greatest success when dealing with the Turks seems to be the negotiating of a truce in 1578. Despite the negative repercussions at the time involved with Philip putting his own problems before religion, the truce was highly successful as it allowed Philip to have little need for substantial military involvement in the Mediterranean, allowing him to move his armies further north in order to deal with the Netherlands and also his aspirations in France and England. This truce can be seen as having a negative impact on Philip’s prestige due to the agreement being a sign that he had backed down and was inspired for fighting for Catholicism as his title ‘champion of Catholicism’ would suggest. However, its political benefits easily outweigh the impact it has on Philip’s prestige and overall was one of Philip’s most successful decisions in his foreign policy. One area where Philip achieved little success was in the last 15 years of his reign where he seemed to change his foreign policy to being that of an aggressive imperialist, this appeared to be due to the fact that he spread his armies to thinly, fighting on three fronts at once in the 1590’s. Problems with England began through Elizabeth’s fears of England being turned Catholic as she could see what was happening in the Netherlands. These fears led to Elizabeth signing the treat of Nonesuch with rebels in the Netherlands, providing them with money and soldiers. In response Philip ordered the Armada to invade England in 1588 and despite this limiting English interference in Netherlands it was fairly unsuccessful due to Philip’s plan being highly complicated, furthermore the two fleets he sent had no co-ordination between them, and the as the Spanish fleet did not possess heavy artillery it was outgunned by the English. Philip did launch two more Armada’s in 1596 and 1597, however these achieved even less success due to weather and didn’t even reach England, furthermore these crippled Spain financially due to the sheer amount of money each Armada cost to construct. Similarly in France Philip achieved little success and moreover due to his actions in France he actually contributed to the success of the Netherlands revolt. After many years of civil war and attempted interventions by Philip to turn France Catholic, Henry of Navarre, an anti Spanish protestant was crowned King of France. In response Philip ordered the transferral of troops from the Netherlands to attack France in a bid to claim the thrown for his daughter Elizabeth of Valois. Despite Henry becoming a Catholic, Philip’s attack on France was highly unsuccessful and led to his third bankruptcy in 1596 and the removal of troops from the Netherlands during vital points of the revolt stopped victory against the rebels. Overall Philips foreign policy seemed to be successful early on in his reign due to him being defensive and reactive up to 1584 as it gained him Portugal and eliminated the threat of the Turks. However after 1584 Philip seemed to change to being an aggressive imperialist possibly due to the fact he wanted to leave behind some kind of impact as he realised he would not have long left as King, however this was unsuccessful as he tried to do to much in a short period of time, leaving his armies spread too thinly without enough equipment due to his mounting financial problems.

Morning Beach Essay

After a stressful work or semester in school, people would feel pretty tired and want to do something to release the stress; everyone has in mind a place to escape to for relaxation. My place of relaxation is beach, especially the peaceful quiet morning beach. Where’s the place for you then? It was early in the morning, when the sky was still dim, I was walking on the beach by myself with my scandals off, feeling the grainy sand that comforts my feet as I walked across the shore; as the tide hit on shore, the spray of water splashed on my skin, refreshing it was, I felt like as if I had drunk a glass of cold water on a hot summer day, and it drove the worm of sleepiness out of my mind. The salty air blowing on my face felt wet and cool as it passed by; taking a deep breath, it was the unique smell of sea coming with this blowingwing flow into my nose. How fresh and special the smell was, it left me with a deep memory. The beach was very quiet, there was no sound of men, but the seagulls peacefully chirp as they soar overhead, singing, and searching for food; the howling wind whistles through the beach like an arriving train; as the crash of the waves thunder through my ears, like a gigantic monster crying out, showing his strength to the world. As I looked back, the footprint I left showed my path; suddenly, a tide stroke on the shore, wrapping away the mark I had left, and then disappeared, left some stones it had brought with, as an evidence showing what it had done. Looking far, I saw nothing but the deep blue sea, it was as far as your eye can see, thus far and wide as if it was stretching out its arm, and wanted to hold sky into its bosoms. The sun was like a naughty child, little by little, rising up from the edge of sky and the deep sea, smiling, showing his face to the whole world. His light painted the sky with red, as if the sky was on fire. Frequently, there were people who jogging, biking, walking out dogs, passed by here, adding vitality to this place. This is the nature of morning beach; this is what is alluring me. Its quietness you can’t here in city, the site you can’t see in city. Here you don’t have to worry about anything, it wraps away all your stresses; it takes you into nature, as if you are a part of it. How beautiful the beach is! I felt like in dream, in paradise.

Biceps Tendon Rupture With Post-operative Complications

Biceps Tendon Rupture With Post-operative Complications Locomotor PBL Experiment Writeup Introduction In this PBL, we observe a case of biceps tendon rupture with post-operative complication of heterotopic ossification. We will first go through the anatomy of the upper limb followed by a discussion of the ruptured biceps tendon, heterotopic ossification and finally mode of action of indomethacin. Learning Objectives 1. Osteology of the upper limb with emphasis on the elbow and wrist 2. The neurovascular supply to the upper limb 3. Movements possible at joints of upper limb and the range of movements possible with regards to the elbow and wrist and the muscles that bring about these actions. 4. Rupture of distal biceps tendon 5. Heterotopic ossification 6. Mode of action of Indomethacin 1. Osteology of the upper limb with emphasis on the elbow and wrist Arm The humerus is the largest and longest bone of the arm region connecting the shoulder to the forearm. Proximally, the head of the humerus articulates with the glenoid cavity of the sca pula forming the glenohumeral joint. Distally the humerus articulates with the two bones of the forearm, the ulna and radius. The humerus is shown in more detail in figure 1 below. Figure 1 Humerus (1) For Anil’s case we will focus several prominent features on the distal region of the humerus which forms part of the elbow. There are two projections on either side of the distal end of the humerus which are the medial and lateral epicondyle. The medial epicondyle protects the ulnar nerve which passes just posteriorly and also serves as the attachment site for the forearm superficial flexor muscles. The lateral epicondyle conversely is the attachment site for the forearm extensor muscles. Anteriorly in between these two epicondyles are two articular surfaces: the round surfaced lateral capitulum which articulates with the radius and the spool shaped medial trochlea which articulates with the ulna. Also anteriorly, the radial fossa directly above the capitulum accommodates the h ead of the radius during flexion of the elbow whereas the coronoid fossa directly above the trochlea accommodates the coronoid process of the ulna during flexion of the elbow. Both the radial and coronoid fossa limit flexion of the elbow. Posteriorly, the olecranon fossa accommodates the olecranon process of the ulna during extension of the elbow. The olecranon fossa prevents hyperextension of the elbow. Forearm The forearm is made up of two bones: ulna and radius. Proximally both of these bones articulate with the humerus whereas distally only the radius directly articulates with the carpals of the wrist thus connecting the arm to the wrist. The ulna and radius are shown in figure 2 below. Figure 2 Radius and Ulna (1) The ulna The ulna is the stabilizing bone of the forearm and is medial and longer of the two bones. There is a projection anteriorly at the proximal end called the coronoid process which fits into the coronoid fossa during elbow extension. Posteriorly on the proximal end of the ulna is the olecranon process (which forms the prominence of the elbow) which fits into the olecranon fossa during elbow extension. The articular surface between the olecranon and the coronoid articulates with the trochlear of the humerus and gives the movements of elbow extension and flexion.

Stem Cell Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Stem Cell Research - Essay Example Different perspectives: There are different opinions to the argument whether stem cell research should be encouraged or not. Many religious and pro-life organizations have voiced ethical concerns regarding the intentional killing of a defenseless human life (2 week-old embryo) for the possible benefits of others. Other ethical dilemmas concerning this research are the use/disposal of surplus stem cells, the use of cloning in obtaining stem cells and the fact that a potential life is created for research or therapeutic purposes. Scientists and researchers see stem cell research as an answer to help all those suffering from chronic, degenerative and acute diseases such as Type-1 Diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease and Cancer amongst others (Erin Williams, 2006). My Opinion: Having studied the different ethical and scientific perspectives on stem cell research, I believe that the research has tremendous potential to relieve the sufferings of thousands if not mill ions of people. If research is undertaken within the bounds of law (looking into the purpose of embryo creation, egg procurement etc), the pursuit wil help scientists understand the biology behind current incurable diseases and hence save many important lives.

Properties of Materials Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Properties of Materials - Essay Example According to a survey that was carried out by our firm, we realized that many instances windows were severely damaged. Upon keenly studying the damages, it was realized that it was partly due to environmental factors and partly due to poor maintenance. The damages on the widows caused variations in geometric configuration, composition, porosity and adherence of corrosion products. They also cause environmental pollution and humidity and temperature variations. 2.0 BACKGOUND TO THE STUDY Timber has commonly been used in making window frames, because of its accessibility and ease of processing. It has the lowest thermal conductivity compared to other frame materials. Among the commonly used wood species for window frames are redwood, pine and cedar. Wood can be negatively changed by moisture, which can cause its warping or twisting. This fact makes it a mandatory practice to paint timber windows after a specified duration of time like five years. Another material that has been recently used for window frames is a synthetic material called Polyvinyl chloride (PVC). It is made up of a chain of repeating units of vinyl chloride. PVC comprises of chlorine, carbon, and hydrogen. The PVC exhibit varying characteristics that try to incorporate different additives considered beneficial for the window frames. In order to reduce brittleness, plasticizers may be added as additives in order to improve the processing. This helps to protect against were and tear coursed by natural agents as solar radiation. PVC windows incorporate reinforcement that aids in increasing rigidity. In turn the reinforcement increases the windows thermal conductivity. These windows are suitable and withstand the harsh environment presented by polluted air and saline conditions; their property of high thermal conductivity plays an important role in these hash environments. However, ultraviolet (UV) radiation on PVC breaks its molecular bonds, resulting in increased brittleness (Taylor, 2000). 2.1 Th e likely causes of the damages observed Since every material has its own degradation parameters, the environmental factors affecting the materials, and the intensity of these degradation factors, differ from material to material. For example, timber and PVC can undergo biological attacks but aluminum has no such threats. Some of the likely causes of the damages are: structural movement or stump subsidence in the main frame, expansion of the joints between elements and shrinkage or loose fitting in grooves which causes a problem of rattling windows, moisture penetration, weathering or decay, the normal wear and tear, loose hinges and screws and mold and algae caused by airborne spores, which settle on the surface. It also causes any exterior plastic products to go grey over time. 2.2 Remedial remedies Some of the remedial remedies could be: where the timber has deteriorated and has decayed, the repair could require re-fitting segments of the frame(s) using mortise and tenon joints. C omplete replacement of the damaged sash should also be considered, cracked, split or broken frames in the window sometimes may be repairable using wood adhesives and clamps, rusted and/or ineffective screws on fittings could be replaced, in some cases, by slightly larger diameter screws, by parallel thread metal tread or by longer screws which are non-corroding, one could also consider removing the damaged/rusted area of wood round the

How lawyers reason, within field of litigation and how lawyers form Essay

How lawyers reason, within field of litigation and how lawyers form legal argument within field of litigation - Essay Example These supporting tools are of great help in terms of their importance in making the minds of judiciary to decide. II. How lawyers reason, within field of litigation   A. Litigation   The legal professions in England and Wales are divided into two segments a) Barrister and b) Solicitor. Bar Standards Board is the regulatory authority of Barrister. A Barrister must be a member of one of the Inns of Court. These are a) The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn b) The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn c) The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and d) The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple. Mentioned courts are located in Central London, which is very near to the Royal Courts of Justice1. In England, public representatives may have the services of a barrister directly. They are there to provide legal advice and assistance in almost all spheres of laws. Barristers are entitled to represent on behalf of their clients in any court of law in England and Wales provided he or she recei ved instructions from his client to plead the case. Before taking up the case of any client, Barrister has to complete a course, which is known as special course2. The Public Access Scheme was introduced in the United Kingdom to liberalize it for public and at a cheaper fee. It further bridges the gap between solicitors and barristers. The role of Barrister and Solicitor is clearly defined in rules of business for the ease of public.    B. Precedent   Legal rulings are known as legal precedents, come from the cases of law. Rulings of the competent court of law are binding until and unless void by the superior courts. We may categorise the precedents into three categorise a) Original b) Binding and c) Persuasive. It can be used in place of statutory law in civil cases, which is familiar as common law. Judges pursue the know principles of superior courts3. Original Precedent Original Precedents are those which have never gone through the legal process ever before. Take the example of London bombing case, which was never heard by the UK Judge as this sort of incident has not been witnessed earlier. Hence, ruling in the mentioned case, is considered as Original Precedent4.    Binding Precedent If a ruling of a competent jurisdiction is the same as it was held in some similar case, this can be treated as binding precedent. For example if a person commits murder and the judge keeping in mind the circumstances, not finds the accused guilty and orders to release innocent person, therefore a case of equal standing can have the same ruling. Judges always try the cases on merits of the case5. Persuasive Precedent Persuasive precedents in fact are the decisions of subordinate courts. The decision has the legal validity provided higher court deems it fit and appropriate. There are circumstances where lower courts take the decision and the higher court did not endorse it taking into account the merits of the case6.    Precedents as Common Law Now, the courts of Engl and and Wales use precedents as Common Law. The extraordinary cases usually try in the competent court of law and their decision is binding. Precedent may be used in a similar case being heard. The rulings of circuit court or the high court are binding. However, rulings of the subordinate courts are not binding since they are challengeable in mentioned superior courts7.   Ã‚   It would not be out of place to mention that number of post 9/11and 7/7 Cases heard in UK courts were â€Å"

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 8

Marketing Plan - Essay Example The taxation polices and international relations of these countries have influenced the functioning of the organization (Acton, 2013). High inflation rates and global economic condition have increased poverty and unemployment in different counties that has affected the charities and expenses. In addition, social changes and behavior of the contributors have changed. The technological development has enhances online access of the people for awareness. 1. Under the section 501(c)3, the organization chosen to present is the ‘GuideStar’. The non-profit group ‘Plan International USA Inc.’ is a GuideStar organization aims to provide relief services and aims to end the cycle of poverty, the organization is exempted from federal income tax and works for the charity and welfare people. 2. The organization aims to end the cycle of poverty among the children all around the world. It aims to provide welfare services to these poor children in fifty developing countries through collaboration and contributions of different communities. It provides healthcare program, education projects, and child protective initiatives to children suffering from poverty. 4. I selected ‘GuideStar’ group because it works for the prosperity for the poor children around the world. In addition, the organization provides different charity, welfare educational and health institutions for poor children. Analyzing situation analysis of GuideStar, it can be determined that the operations of the organization have improved (Ferrell & Michael, 2012). The management emphasizes on the development and encouragement of its voluntary that has decreased the administration expenses of the company. In addition, the contributors of the organization have increased their charities to the organization. One of the major weaknesses of the organization is that it focuses on projects in only fifty counties, whereas the other organizations are focused on a

Multicultural Concerns in Marriage and Family Therapy Essay

Multicultural Concerns in Marriage and Family Therapy - Essay Example According to the finding of the ancient Chinese history, the Hmong were a culturally unique set of Asian individuals that lived in the mountainous regions of Siberia, their original homeland. Sects of their civilization settled by the banks of the Yellow River in northern China who were later attacked by the Chinese for the fertile land present along the Yellow River. Thousands of Hmong people have resettled in the Western countries ever since the 1970s primarily in the United States. Others thou have returned to Laos under the UN-sponsored rehabilitation programs. There are about 8-12 million Hmong living in the southern parts of China. â€Å"The remaining Hmong, approximately 1-2 million, are found in Laos, Northern Vietnam and Thailand due to the migration during the mid-1800’s† (Quincy, K, 1988) The Hmong kinship system is the core foundation regarding the social and biological structure among all the other systems prevailing in the Hmong society. It is a relationsh ip based on blood and marital aspects and connects the blood relatives in the same clan, within other clans as well as between them. The Hmong that was born in the 18 major clans namely have established ties as the primary and most crucial relationship within their blood relatives but on the other hand, they do acknowledge their marital ties as secondary relationships among themselves and to those who belong to other clans.This kinship system adopted by the Hmong clan plays an important role of an institution providing various essential functions to provide of the needs of the Hmong members, their extended family as well as the society. It divides the Hmong into 18 major clans which acts as a social organization providing lifetime support, both spiritual and material, to their clan members throughout their life. Marriage In The Hmong Culture Via The Rule of Exogamy The 18 clans of Hmong support the practice of marriage through the rule of exogamy to both genders of the clan’s members allowing them to marry outside of their own clans. This rule of exogamy is a compulsory procedure which prohibits members belonging to the same clans to get married to each other reason being the Hmong rationale which states that all members (in theory) of the same clans were biologically related in the beginning and have descended from the same ancestors and thus are actually brothers and sisters. Therefore they are not allowed to get married to each other within the same clans as their own. The Formal Marriage Request (Begging) By the Groom’s Family The traditional Hmong marriage mainly occurred at an early age where the boys and girls were between the ages of 14 and 18 years (as cited in Lao Family Community of Minnesota, Inc. 1997). This formal marriage practice is started by the groom’s father along with his older married brothers who would go to the bride’s parents and make a formal marriage request. In case the groom has no father or elder marrie d brothers, he could seek the aid of other male relatives or clan leaders to help him in putting down the formal marriage r

Organisational responses to responsible business drivers Assignment

Organisational responses to responsible business drivers - Assignment Example The aim of this project will be looking at the challenges that McDonald’s has been facing regarding corporate sustainability and the various actions that they have taken as an organization to make sure that their corporate responsibility is enhanced. McDonald’s is one of the most known fast food restaurants globally. McDonald’s has outlets in more than 100 countries. However, their headquarters is in the United States of America. Among other things, the restaurant is popular for its hamburger. However, it should be noted that they also sell products such as French fries, cheeseburgers, chicken, soft drinks, desserts, fish, milkshakes, salad, smoothies, and wraps. There are a number of sustainability challenges that are faced by McDonald’s. One of the sustainability challenges that the company faces is the amount of water that is usually needed to produce beef. About 15,500 cubic meters are usually needed to produce a kilogram of beef. Apart from the water, they will also need 36 kilograms of roughage and 6.5 kilograms of grain just to produce a kilogram of beef. Given the fact: that hamburger is their main product, this trend can be rather alarming (Porter 2008, p. 407). Given the level of competition in this industry, the company has to rely on cheap labour and beef in order to remain competitive. Depending on cheap labour and beef makes it very hard for them to be sustainable. For instance, in most cases the cheaper beef is always not verified. Sometimes, depending on cheap labour might deny an organization the chance of having highly motivated and satisfied employees. Another sustainability challenge that the organization faces is brought about by the effect that consumption of fast food has on human beings. The high growth of obesity cases in the US is always associated with poor eating habits. One of the most commonly mentioned and