The Impact of Economics on My Life as a Business Article

The Impact of Economics on My Life as a Business - Article Example In order for business people to become successful in today’s global business, each businessman should be knowledgeable in study of microeconomics and macroeconomics. For the purpose of this study, the importance of the basic principles of microeconomics such as the supply and demand of labor and products2 and how individuals, households, and firms make decisions with regards to allocating their limited resources in markets where the trading of goods and services occurs3; and the macroeconomics which focuses particularly on the external factors that could affect the variables such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment rate, inflation rate, and exchange rate4 will discussed in order to enable the businessmen to understand and apply the useful economic theories in their future business decision making. Businessmen should be aware that there is a significant correlation between the increase in demand for goods and services as well as with the demand for labor. In case the economy of a country is booming, the domestic demand for finished products increases. The increase in the demand for products contributes to the increase in demand for human resources (workforce). Basically, this allows the talented men and women to have the demand for a higher salary or have an option to take double jobs and longer working hours. (See Figure I – A Good Economy below) On the other hand, in case the country is experiencing economic downturn or recession such as the Asian crisis in 1997 or a tragic event such as the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States, the demand  for human resources decreases since a lot of local businesses were directly affected and eventually had to declare bankruptcy or impose a mass lay-offs in order for them to be able to sustain the business financially.  

The stock exchange market in the UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The stock exchange market in the UK - Essay Example This observance is furthered by the fact that the stock market in UK is weak-form efficient, while some capital market studies have called the stock exchange more towards being semi-strong-form efficient. Smith (2004) by studying the grain futures market pointed towards semi-strong form efficiency of the stock exchange because of the release of large trader position information. Further studies have compared the share prices after the takeover announcement with the bid offer. It was found that the share prices immediately adjusted to the correct levels.   Hence the study concluded that the stock market in the United Kingdom was semi-strong-form efficient.It must however be remembered that the market's ability to efficiently respond to an event like a takeover announcement which is widely publicized and short term in nature does not reflect on the market’s efficiency as is related to long term factors. David Dreman has pointed out that an instantaneous response is not always an efficient one and that the long-term performance of the stock market also needs to be considered before labeling a market efficient.The efficient-market hypothesis (EMH) states that the financial markets are "information efficient". As a result of this efficiency based on information, it is impossible to achieve constant returns that are greater than the average market returns, given the information that is available at the time of the investment.The advent of industrial revolution brought about the growth of a growing affluent merchant class.

Evolution of Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW)

Evolution of Substrate Integrated Waveguide (SIW)  ­Ã‚ ­EVOLUTION OF SUBSTRATE INTEGRATED WAVEGUIDE STRUCTURES: AN OVERVIEW , and Abstract — Substrate integrated waveguide(SIW) is the most captivating technology for easy integration onto planar substrates for millimeter wave components and systems for the next decade. This guide is synthesized on the substrate with arrays of metallic posts retaining the low loss advantage of conventional rectangular waveguides. In this paper, various evolving structures of SIW which had been implemented for various practical applications like filters, couplers, antennas etc are reviewed and some ongoing projects based on this technology are also presented. Index Terms —  Filters, couplers, substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) INTRODUCTION Metallic waveguides are preferred over traditional transmission lines like coaxial cables wherein high losses are accounted, namely, copper losses and dielectric losses [1]. Metallic waveguides inherit the advantage of high power handling capability and high Q-factor [2]. In spite of its aforementioned advantages, it is not yet a very promising technology because of its bulky and non planar nature [3]. Slot like planar printed transmission lines are next to metallic waveguides used in microwave integrated circuits (MICs). These were planar in nature but not suitable at smaller frequencies due to its transmission losses [4].      To bridge the gap, SIW is introduced, a very promising waveguide structure which maintains the advantages of a rectangular waveguide, such as high Q-factor and high power handling capability in planar form [5-7]. Basically in SIW, two parallel metallic layers of substrate are connected via metallic posts introducing structure similar to common metallic waveguides. Generically, the substrate integrated waveguides (SIW) are known as substrate integrated circuits (SICs) [8]. SIW is the most popular topology among others family members of SICs because the design techniques of rectangular waveguide can be applied directly to this topology. The SIW technology has been implemented with millimeter and microwave components as it is suitable for high frequency range because of its accounted leakage losses at low frequency. They can be directly connected to planar circuits, namely, micro strip line and coplanar waveguides (CPW), allowing for easy integration of active circuits thus making it su itable for mass production . In this paper, evolutions of SIW structures are studied and different application of SIW technology are presented, and some ongoing projects are discussed later. EVOLUTION OF SIW STRUCTURE At millimeter wave frequency, electromagnetic coupling between building blocks of antenna makes designing a very critical issue. To provide great deal of flexibility for designing of components, concept of SICs is introduced. SIW, which are synthesized on planar substrate in which metallic posts are perforated in the embedded substrate using printed circuit board technology shown in fig.1. [9] Fig.1. Substrate Integrated Waveguide The steady and constant rise of wireless user has fuelled an increase in wireless applications. For the fulfillment of increasing day to day needs of communication, various evolving structures of SIW are proposed. Substrate integrated slab waveguide (SISW), a new variant in the SIW toolkit is hereby introduced [10]. The structure offers an increase in bandwidth by adding air holes into an SIW mainly for wideband microwave applications. Compared to rectangular waveguides, a size reduction of is achieved with SIW. Unfortunately, SIW are still large (compared to their micro strip counterparts) for various practical applications and hence substrate integrated folded waveguide (SIFW) is proposed [11]. In SIFW size reduction of (9) is achieved by using dual layer substrate but its losses are increased. Also there are half mode substrate integrated waveguides (HMSIW) [12] which increases the bandwidth and can also have a reduced size while maintaining the advantages of SIW. Recently after HMSIW, folded half wave substrate integrated waveguide (FHMSIW) is proposed but there are complexity issues which needs to be solved [13].For effective utilization of waveguide channel, hybrid SIW is proposed in which waveguide channel usage is maximized by routing a strip line inside the substrate [14]. Novel class of bandwidth enhancing structures are proposed, namely ridged substrate integrated waveguide (RSIW) [15] shown in Fig.3 and ridged substrate integrated slab waveguide (RSISW) [16].In former structure, side walls of top and bottom metal layers are connected by full height metallic posts and central row of partial heighted metallic posts are connected at their bottom by a metal strip. The latter structure is having the similar geometry of RSIW but additional air holes are included to further increase the bandwidth. Also there are unpopular structures like honeycomb substrate integrated waveguide (HCSIW) and folded corrugated substrate integrated waveguide (FCSIW). HCSIW cr eates partially low dielectric region by drilling air filled posts vertically [17] and FCSIW is used for back lobe suppression [18]. For two different modes of propagation, switchable substrate integrated waveguide (SSIW) (via the biasing of pin diode switch) is introduced [19]. Another variant of HMSIW is rotated HMSIW, to improve the manufacturing tolerances by enabling direct interaction with wave energy at central point which is not feasible for the structures discussed earlier[20]. Recently, Butterfly substrate integrated waveguide; another variant has been added to the SIW toolkit for better gain and low side lobe levels. [21]. Latest variant added to the SIW toolkit is empty SIW (ESIW). This structure eliminates the disadvantages of dielectric substrate by replacing it by novel empty substrate (air filled) while maintaining the advantage of complete integration in planar substrate [22]. Outlines of important configurations of SIW are shown in fig.2. [11], fig.3.[15] and fig.4 [21]. Fig.2. SIW Main Variants Fig.3.RSIW Structure Fig.4.Butterfly substrate integrated waveguide FUTURE TRENDS IN SIW SIW, a very promising technology has been implemented for many practical applications like SIW based shifters, oscillators, resonators, filters, power dividers, diplexers, mixer, antennas and many more [23-30]. Currently there were many ongoing projects in progress based on SIW technology. A very few have been mentioned here in this paper. Efficient synthesis and design of reconfigurable micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) based band pass filter (BPF) in SIW technology [31] is one of the ongoing projects. This project is focused on the development of novel microwave and millimeter wave fully reconfigurable BPF on SIW so that advantages of miniaturization, easy integration onto planar substrates, low losses, high power handling can be achieved. This project tries to combine the advantages of novel comb line SIW resonators with the enhanced characteristics of MEMS varactors to tune the response of coupled resonator filters. These filters are key components of emerging RF front ends for future telecommunication systems. SOSRAD-77GHz SIW system on substrates (SOS) radar front end is the other ongoing project based on SIW [32]. The aim of the project is to establish SIW technology as the leading high performance platform to encompass all available technologies within a common substrate at mm-wave frequencies. Some of the completed projects on SIW technology are stated; integrated focusing systems in SIW technology: full wave modeling and optimization [33] and Design and development of SIW based RF circuits and components using metamaterials in ku-band application [34]. REFERENCES [1] Dominic Deslandes, â€Å"Design considerations for tapered micro strip to substrate integrated waveguide transitions,† IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 46, no.5, pp.625-630, May 1998. [2] N. Ranjkesh and M. Shahabadi, †LOSS MECHANISMS IN SIW AND MSIW,† Progress in Electromagnetics Research B, Vol. 4, 299–309, 2008. [3] Li Yan, Wei Hong Guang Hua, Jixin Chen, Ke Wu and Tie Jun Cui, â€Å"Simulation and Experiments on SIW Slot array antennas,† IEEE Microwave and wireless components letters, vol. 14, no. 9, September 2004. [4]  Futoshi Kuroki and Ryo-ji Tamarulow, â€Å"Low-loss and Low-cost solution for printed Transmission Lines at Millimeter-wavelengths by using Bilaterally Metal-loaded Tri-plate,† Microwave Symposium Digest, 2009. MTT’09, IEEE MTT-S International. [5]  Dominic Deslandes and Ke Wu, â€Å"Integrated Micro strip and rectangular waveguide in planar form,† IEEE Microwave and wireless components letters, vol. 11, no. 2, February 2001. [6]  Uchimura, H.; Takenoshita, T.; Fujii , M., â€Å"Development of the laminated waveguide,† Microwave Symposium Digest, 1998 IEEE MTT-S International, vol. 3. [7]  a, J.; Ando, M, â€Å"Single layer waveguide consisting of posts for plane TEM wave excitation in parallel plates,† IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, vol. 46, no.5, may 1998. [8] a Wu, Dominic Deslandes and Yves Cassivia, â€Å"The Substrate Integrated Circuits-A new concept for high-frequency electronics and optoelectronics,† 6th international conference on Telecommunications in Modern Satellite, cable and Broadcasting Service, 2003, vol. 1. [9] M. Bozzi, L. Perregrini, K. Wu, and P. Arcioni, â€Å"Current and future research trends in substrate integrated waveguide technology,†Radioengineering, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 201–209, 2009. [10] Deslandes, D.; Bozzi, M.; Arcioni, P.; Kea Wu, â€Å"Substrate integrated slab waveguide (SISW) for wideband microwave applications,† Microwave Symposium Digest, 2003IEEE MTT-S International, vol. 2, pp. 1103-1106. [11] Nikolaos Grigoropoulos, Benito Sanz-Izquierdo and Paul R. Young. â€Å"Substrate Integrated Folded Waveguides (SIFW) and Filters,† IEEE Microwave and Wireless Components letters, vol.15, no. 12, December 2005. [12] W. Hong, B Liu, Y. Wang; Q. Lai, H. Tang, X. X. Yin. D. Dong, Y. Zhang, and K. Wu, â€Å"Half Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide: A new guided wave structure for microwave and millimeter wave applications,† in Proc. Joint 31st Int. conf. Infr. Millim. Waves, Sept. 18-22, 2006, pp. 219-219. [13] W. Wang, Yuan Jiang, W. J. Zou, R. J. Luo, X. Q. Lin, â€Å"A varactor-loaded tunable phase shifter based on folded half mode substrate integrated waveguides,† in Proc. International Symposium on Antenna, Propagation EM Theory(ISAPE)Oct. 22-26,2012 pp. 558-561. [14]  Suntives, A.;Abhari, R, Experimentalevaluationof ahybridsubstrate integrated waveguide, Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 2008. AP-S 2008. IEEE, pp.1-4. [15]  Cuixia Li,;Wenquan Che;Russer, P.,Propogation and Band Broadening Effect of Planar Ridged Substrate-integrated Waveguide(RSIW), Microwave and Millimeter Wave Technology, 2008. ICMMT 2008.InternationalConference,vol. 2,pp.467-470. [16] M. Bozzi, S. A. Winkler, and K. Wu, â€Å"Broadband and compact ridge substrate integrated waveguides,† IET Microw. Antennas Propag., vol.4, no. 11, pp. 1965–1973, 2010. [17] H. Ikeuchi, I. Ohta, M. Kishihara, and T. Kawai, â€Å"Honeycomb substrate integrated waveguide (HCSIW) and its application to design of SIW right-angle corner,† Proc. 42nd European Microwave Conf., pp. 112-115, Oct. 2012. [18] Daekeun Cho; Hai-young Lee,Folded Corrugated SIW(FCSIW) Slot Antenna for Backlobe Suppression, Antennas and wireless propagation Letters,IEEE, vol.2,2013. [19] R. F. Xu; B. S. Izquierdo; and P. R. Young, â€Å"Switchable substrate integrated waveguide,† IEEE Microw. Wireless Compon. Lett., vol. 21,no.4, pp. 194–196, Apr. 2011. [20] Farrall, A..J. ; Young, P.R,Rotated Half-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide, Antennas and Propagation Conference(LPAC),2013, pp.514-517. [21] Mohtashami, Y. ; Rashed-Mohassel, J,A Butterfly Substrate Integrated Waveguide Leaky-Wave Antenna,IEEE Transactions on Antenna and Propagation, 2014, vol. 62, pp.3384-3388. [22] A. Belenguer, H. Esteban, V.E. Boria,Novel Empty Substrate Integrated Waveguide for High-Performance Microwave Integrated Circuits,IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, April 2014, vol. 62, pp. 832-839. [23] W. Che, E. Yung, and K. Wu, â€Å"Millimeter-wave ferrite phase shifter in substrate integrated waveguide (SIW),† in IEEE Int. AP-S Symp. Dig.,Jun. 2003, pp. 887–890. [24] Y. Cassivi and K. Wu, â€Å"Low cost microwave oscillator using substrate integrated waveguide,† IEEE Microw. Wireless Compon. Lett., vol. 13,no. 2, pp. 48–50, Feb. 2003. [25] Y. Cassivi, L. Perregrini, K. Wu, and G. Conciauro, â€Å"Low-cost and high-Q millimeter-wave resonator using substrate integrated waveguide technique,† in Proc. Eur. Microw. Conf., Milan, Italy, Sep. 2002, pp. 1–4. [26] D. Deslandes and K. Wu, â€Å"Millimeter-wave substrate integrated waveguide filters,† in Proc. IEEE Elect. Comput. Eng. Conf., May 2003, vol. 3, pp. 1917–1920. [27] S. Germain, D. Deslandes, and K. Wu, â€Å"Development of substrate integrated waveguide power dividers,† in Proc. IEEE Can. Conf. Elect.  Comput. Eng., May 2003, vol. 3, pp. 1921–1924. [28] Z. Hao, W. Hong, J. Chen, X. Chen, and K. Wu, â€Å"Planar diplexer for microwave integrated circuits,† Proc. IEEE Microw. Antennas Propagat. Conf., vol. 152, no. 6, pp. 455–459, Dec. 2005 [29] J. Xu and K. Wu A sub harmonic self-oscillating mixer using substrate integrated waveguide cavity for millimeter-wave application,IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., pp.2019 -1022 2005. [30] W. Hong, â€Å"Development of microwave antennas, components and subsystems based on SIW technology,† in Proc. IEEE Microw., Antenna, Propag. and Electromagn. Conf., Beijing, China, Aug. 8–12, 2005, pp.P-14–P-17 [31] Efficient synthesis and designs of reconfigurable microelectromechanical systems based band pass filter in substrate integrated waveguide technology , cordis .europa . eu / project / rcn / 704581_en.html. [32] SOSRAD-77 GHz substrate integrated waveguide(SIW) system on substrate (SOS) radar front-end, http://www.cttc.es/project/77-ghz-substrate-integrated-waveguide-siw system on substrate-sos-radar-front-end/. [33] Integrated focusing systems in substrate integrated waveguide technology: full wave modeling and optimization, http://www.esf-newfocus.org/achievements_projects.html. [34] Design and development of SIW based RF circuits and components using metamaterials in ku-band application, www.becs.ac.in/project-etc-submenu.

Gender and Information Technologies Essay -- Feminist theories of tech

Technology is socially and culturally constructed as a male practice carried out in male institutions (Hellman, 1996). The dominant value system of underlying technological creative processes and decision making, is considered to be fundamentally masculine. This is because during the late 19th century mechanical and civil engineering increasingly came to define what -technology is, crucially it involved the creation of a male professional identity, based on educational qualifications and the promise of managerial positions, sharply distinguished from shop floor engineering and blue-collar workers (Wajcman, 2010). Take engineering for example: an archetypal masculine culture, where mastery over technology is a source of both pleasure and power for the predominantly male profession. These images resonate with MIT computer hacker students. Though they would deny their culture is macho, the preoccupation with winning and subjection to increasingly violent tests make their world male in s pirit and unfriendly to women. However that is not to say all women reject ‘geek culture’, nor that computer science is universally coded as masculine (Wajcman, 2010). In Malaysia women are well represented in computer science. Still Women in ICT sectors stand one to five in information technology electronic communication professions and managerial positions (Wajcman, 2010). Thus this brings me to my hypothesis that Information and communication technologies breed a culture of misogyny. Within this research it is shown that women are largely excluded from the technical design processes that shape the world we live in. In Ecofeminism (1993) authors Vandana Shiva, Maria Mies Critique and Evan Bond, they view the dominant stream of modern science as a ... ...the global economy. Information Technology for Development 14 (4): 262-279. DOI.org/10.1002/itdj.20098 Gurumurthy, A. (2011). Feminist Visions of the Network Society. Development 54 (4), 464-469. doi: 10.1057/dev.2011.82 Hellman, H. (1996). A Toy for the Boys only? Reconsidering the Gender Effects of Video Technology. European Journal of Communication 11(1): 5-32. Lee, M. (2006). What's Missing in Feminist Research in New Information and Communication Technologies? Feminist Media Studies, 6 (2): 191-210. doi: 10.1080/14680770600645168 Wacjman, J. (2010). Feminist theories of technology. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34, 143-152. doi:10.1093/cje/ben057 Wyatt, S. (2008). Feminism, Technology and the Information Society: learning from the past, imagining the future. Information, Communication & Society, 11 (1): 111-130. doi: 10.1080/13691180701859065

Syllabus for African Dance

Syllabus for African Dance MPADE-UE 1542. 002 Spring 2013 Contact hours: Wednesday, 1:30-3:30pm, studio 304 Education building Department of Music and Performing Arts Professions, Program in Dance Education New York University Instructor: Alfdaniels Mabingo Phone: 917-679-8119 E-mail: Consultation: By appointment —————————————– A survey course in East African dance with accompanying songs, music, and cultural contexts in which these dances originate. The course specifically offers knowledge and performance skills of traditional dance forms East Africa and methods for teaching these dances.It offers critical analysis of how these dances interact with cultural, social, occupational, and religious aspects that contribute to creating them. Besides critical understanding and performance of these dances, the course equips students with skills to perform the music that accompanies them. Learni ng outcomes 1. Students will demonstrate proficiency in performing ethnic dances from selected cultures in East Africa. 2. Students will learn and perform vocal and instrumental music that accompanies ethnic dances from cultures in Uganda. 3.Students will demonstrate techniques and methods of teaching ethnic dances from Ugandan cultures. 4. Students will acquire fundamental knowledge into critical analysis of how dances in East Africa interact with cultural aspects that participate in creating them. 5. Students will learn various techniques that are related to performance of various ethnic dances from cultures in Uganda. Students are expected to: a. Finish and present the assignments within the stipulated time. b. Actively participate in practical sessions and class discussion. Focus of selected readings and visual recordings ) Understanding the author’s message and use it as a point of departure for supplementary inquiries b) Establishing connections between the readings and visual recordings and the student’s class/practical experience c) Inspire students to learn the various dances Other important readings Adinku, W. O. (1995). African Dance Education in Ghana, Ghana, Accra: Universities Press. Aduonum, M. (2011). West African Dance in the United States University Curriculum, LAP Lambert Academic Publishing Nannyonga-Tamusuza, S. (2005. Baakisimba: Gender in Music and Dance of the Baganda People of Uganda.London and New York: Routledge. Tieron, A. (1992). Doople: Eternal Law of African Dance – Choreography & Dance Studies, New York: Routledge * * Welsh, A. K. (1996). African Dance: An Artistic, Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. Welsh, A. K. (2003). Umfundalai: An African Dance Technique, Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press Policies: * Assignment Formats: All assignments must be typewritten with at least a normal 12 pt font and double-spaced. Use a header and page numbers. Please hand in hard copies of as signments without folders.Do not email them; Emailed copies will not be accepted. * Attendance: You are expected to attend every session of the course. One excused absence is permitted with a doctor’s note or other acceptable evidence. If you are going to be absent please send an email to the instructor. Additional absences will decrease the cumulative grade by one letter grade increment. An unexcused absence will decrease the cumulative grade by one letter grade increment. Please make arrangements with a peer to collect course materials for you and contact the peer after the session for updates on the session activities and assignments. Late arrivals/Early departures: Being on time and staying throughout the duration of the course is to be expected. Three late arrivals, three early departures, or any three combinations of late arrivals and/or early departures to/from class will equate to an absence. A late arrival or early departure of more than 15 minutes will be counted as an absence. * Late Assignments: Late assignments are reduced in letter grade increment. Assignments may be handed in up to one week late. Late assignments may not receive significant feedback.Any assignments that are not complete at this time (one week late) will not receive a grade and will negatively affect your cumulative course grade. * Assignments Class attendance and participation20% Midterm paper25% Midterm performance25% Final performance30% Note: See the rubric for details about the requirements for each area of assignment * Grading: Letter Grade| Number Grade| Legend| A| 94-100| Exceptional| A-| 90-93| Excellent| B+| 87-89| Extremely Good| B| 84-86| Very Good| B-| 80-83| Good| C+| 77-79| Satisfactory| C| 74-76| Satisfactory| C-| 70-73| Nearing Satisfactory| D+| 67-69| Minimum Passing Grade|D| 65-66| Minimum Passing Grade| F| 0-64| Failure| * Incomplete Grading: Incomplete grades are not a grading option. Under exceptional circumstances, such as those with a serious illnes s or other emergency, and at the discretion of the course instructor, an incomplete grade may be granted, based on the student's performance throughout the course of the semester. * E-mail Communication with Instructor(s): Please keep your e-mails as succinct as possible. If you predict you will need to write more than one paragraph, it is an indication that you probably need to schedule a meeting rather than writing an e-mail. Special Accommodations: Any student attending NYU who needs an accommodation due to a chronic, psychological, visual, mobility and/or learning disability, or is Deaf or Hard of Hearing should register with the Moses Center for Students with Disabilities located at 726 Broadway, phone: 212. 998. 4980, or website address: www. nyu. edu/csd. * Please refrain from all cell phone use during class. * Please clean up after any food or drink. * Dress appropriately for the classes * Academic Integrity: Please be familiar with NYU Steinhardt policies: http://steinhardt . nyu. edu/policies/academic_integrity.

Original Writing- Jonas Brothers

Although many people don't realise it, music plays a big part in everyday life. If its auditioning for the X-Factor, going to gigs every week, singing hymns at mass, singing to your favourite tunes in the shower or just listening to the radio on the way to work, we all like our music. It gets us though the days and has a big influence on what we do. Music separates the people with the many different genres it offers and some very talented people are behind it all. Considering this I would like to tell you about one of my favourite bands; the Jonas Brothers. Jonas Brothers are a VMA-nominated American boy band. The band consists of three brothers; Kevin, Joe and Nick. They come all the way from Wyckoff, New Jersey and have released three albums; It's About Time (2006), Jonas Brothers (2007) and recently, A Little Bit Longer (2008), and one soundtrack; Camp Rock (2008). The band gained their popularity on the children's television network; Disney Channel, which is where the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock , starring the Jonas Brothers, was first shown. The band star in the movie as a boy band named Connect Three. One of my reasons for liking the Jonas Brothers, is the fact that they are well-known for their wholesome, family image. The brothers are all committed Evangelic Christians, and wear purity rings on their left-hand ring finger as a sign to not have pre-marital sex, of which neither of these things they are ashamed of or afraid of showing. Joe stated that the rings symbolize â€Å"a promise to ourselves and to God that we'll stay pure 'till marriage† and Nick thinks that â€Å"its pretty awesome, and the rings are just one of our ways of kind of like being different to everybody else out there†. They also abstain form alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Another reason for liking the Jonas Brothers is the fact that in 2007 they earned about $12 million dollars and donated 10% of it to their charity, Change for the Children Foundation. The charity is a foundation started by the Jonas Brothers, where the contributors donate to charities such as, Nothing but Nets, American Diabetes Foundation, St Jude Children's Research Hospital, Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Summer Stars: Camp for the Performing Arts. Their reasons for stating the charity is to â€Å"support programs that motivate and inspire children to face adversity with confidence, determination and a will to succeed†¦ kids helping other kids who are a little less fortunate.† Paul Kevin Jonas II, also known as Kevin, is the oldest of the brothers aged 21 and born November 5th 1987. He plays lead guitar (usually a Gibson Les Paul) and backing vocals. Kevin is also a songwriter and helped to write the bands self-titled album Jonas Brothers. Joseph Adam Jonas, was born August 15 1989, making him 19. He sings lead vocals, plays percussion and has played the guitar in the song A Little Bit Longer. Joe originally had no intentions of becoming a singer; he wanted to be a comedian and work on the show All That Nicholas Jerry Jonas, is the youngest of the band at only 16 years of age, born September 16 1992. He plays rhythm guitar (usually a Gibson SG in the original re stain colour), lead vocals with brother Joe, piano in the songs When you Look me in the Eyes and A Little Bit Longer, and drums in the songs, Australia, Can't Have You, Sorry and Video Girl. He can play various other instruments also. On November 16 2005 (aged 13), he was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Franklin Nathaniel Jonas, is the baby of all the brothers, of only 8 years of age and was born September 28 2000, and isn't in the Jonas Brothers, but being the bands younger brother he still plays a big part in their lives. He is also known as the Bonus Jonas and Frank the Tank. He will debut with his brothers on J.O.N.A.S!(a Disney Channel Original Series (2009)), and may have a small appearance in Camp Rock 2. Other members of the band are: John Taylor who helps produce for the band, as well as plays guitar. Greg Garbowsky has been with the brothers since they started out. He plays bass guitar and keeps a blog of Life on the Road with the Boys. Jack â€Å"Flawless Lawless† Lawless joined the band in early 2007, and has replaced former drummer Alex Noyes. Ryan Liestman plays the keyboards for the group. The single, A Little Bit Longer, released earlier this year, was written by Nick Jonas himself and is about his fighting battle to carry on pursuing his dreams with his diabetes. He sings alone in this song, about how â€Å"you don't know what it feels like until its gone†. This song is very emotional and on occasions, Nick has been seen to be crying on stage to this particular song. He's said â€Å"Luckily, I've got some really great people around me that really help me manage my diabetes. And it hasn't slowed me down yet, and I'm not planning on letting it do that. So I'm going to continue to do what I love and if I have occasional low or high blood sugar, it will be all right because I've got some really great people surrounding me.† With the Jonas Brothers being so talented and successful at such a young age, I find them so inspiring to listen to and am proud to be a fan of theirs. You could be in any situation, but you're holding on because you don't want to give up on love. Say you're in a terrible situation†¦you can always find the light if you look hard enough.

What Everyone Should Know About World War I

What Everyone Should Know About World War I World War I was an extremely bloody war that engulfed Europe from 1914 to 1919, with huge losses of life and little ground lost or won. Fought mostly by soldiers in trenches, World War I saw an estimated 10 million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. While many hoped that World War I would be the war to end all wars, in actuality, the concluding peace treaty set the stage for World War II. Dates: 1914-1919 Also Known As: The Great War, WWI, the First World War The Start of World War I The spark that started World War I was the assassination of Austrias Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The assassination occurred on June 28, 1914, while Ferdinand was visiting the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. Although Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the nephew of Austrias emperor and heir-apparent to the throne, was not very well liked by most, his assassination by a Serb nationalist was viewed as a great excuse to attack Austria-Hungarys troublesome neighbor, Serbia. However, instead of reacting quickly to the incident, Austria-Hungary made sure they had the backing of Germany, with whom they had a treaty before they proceeded. This gave Serbia time to get the backing of Russia, with whom they had a treaty. The calls for back-up didnt end there. Russia also had a treaty with France and Britain. This meant that by the time Austria-Hungary officially declared war on Serbia on July 28, 1914, an entire month after the assassination, much of Europe had already become entangled in the dispute. At the start of the war, these were the major players (more countries joined the war later): Allied Forces (a.k.a. the Allies): France, the United Kingdom, RussiaCentral Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary Schlieffen Plan vs. Plan XVII Germany didnt want to fight both Russia in the east and France to the west, so they enacted their long-standing Schlieffen Plan. The Schlieffen Plan was created by Alfred Graf von Schlieffen, who was the chief of the German general staff from 1891 to 1905. Schlieffen believed that it would take about six weeks for Russia to mobilize their troops and supplies. So, if Germany placed a nominal number of soldiers in the east, the majority of Germanys soldiers and supplies could be used for a quick attack in the west. Since Germany was facing this exact scenario of a two-front war at the beginning of World War I, Germany decided to enact the Schlieffen Plan. While Russia continued to mobilize, Germany decided to attack France by going through neutral Belgium. Since Britain had a treaty with Belgium, the attack on Belgium officially brought Britain into the war. While Germany was enacting its Schlieffen Plan, the French enacted their own prepared plan, called Plan XVII. This plan was created in 1913 and called for quick mobilization in response to a German attack through Belgium. As German troops moved south into France, French and British troops tried to stop them. At the end of the First Battle of the Marne, fought just north of Paris in September 1914, a stalemate was reached. The Germans, who had lost the battle, had made a hasty retreat and then dug in. The French, who couldnt dislodge the Germans, also dug in. Since neither side could force the other to move, each sides trenches became increasingly elaborate. For the next four years, the troops would fight from these trenches. A War of Attrition From 1914 to 1917, soldiers on each side of the line fought from their trenches. They fired artillery onto the enemys position and lobbed grenades. However, each time military leaders ordered a full-fledged attack, the soldiers were forced to leave the safety of their trenches. The only way to overtake the other sides trench was for the soldiers to cross No Mans Land, the area between the trenches, on foot. Out in the open, thousands of soldiers raced across this barren land in the hopes of reaching the other side. Often, most were hewn down by machine-gun fire and artillery before they even got close. Because of the nature of trench warfare, millions of young men were slaughtered in the battles of World War I. The war quickly became one of attrition, which meant that with so many soldiers being killed daily, eventually, the side with the most men would win the war. By 1917, the Allies were starting to run low on young men. The U.S. Enters the War and Russia Gets Out The Allies needed help and they were hoping that the United States, with its vast resources of men and materials, would join on their side. However, for years, the U.S. had clung to their idea of isolationism (staying out of other countries problems). Plus, the U.S. just didnt want to be involved in a war that seemed so far away and that didnt seem to affect them in any great way. However, there were two major events that changed American public opinion about the war. The first occurred in 1915 when a German U-boat (submarine) sunk the British ocean liner RMS Lusitania. Considered by Americans to be a neutral ship that carried mostly passengers, Americans were furious when the Germans sank it, especially since 159 of the passengers were Americans. The second was the Zimmermann Telegram. In early 1917, Germany sent Mexico a coded message promising portions of U.S. land in return for Mexico joining World War I against the United States. The message was intercepted by Britain, translated, and shown to the United States. This brought the war to U.S. soil, giving the U.S. a real reason to enter the war on the side of the Allies. On April 6, 1917, the United States officially declared war on Germany. The Russians Opt Out As the United States was entering World War I, Russia was getting ready to get out. In 1917, Russia became swept up in an internal revolution that removed the czar from power. The new communist government, wanting to focus on internal troubles, sought a way to remove Russia from World War I. Negotiating separately from the rest of the Allies, Russia signed the Brest-Litovsk peace treaty with Germany on March 3, 1918. With the war in the east ended, Germany was able to divert those troops to the west in order to face the new American soldiers. Armistice and the Versailles Treaty The fighting in the west continued for another year. Millions more soldiers died, while little land was gained. However, the freshness of the American troops made a huge difference. While the European troops were tired from years of war, the Americans remained enthusiastic. Soon the Germans were retreating and the Allies were advancing. The end of the war was near. At the end of 1918, an armistice was finally agreed upon. The fighting was to end on the 11th hour of 11th day of the 11th month (i.e. 11 am on Nov. 11, 1918). For the next several months, diplomats argued and compromised together in order to come up with the Versailles Treaty. The Versailles Treaty was the peace treaty that ended World War I; however, a number of its terms were so controversial that it also set the stage for World War II. The carnage left behind by the end of World War I was staggering. By the end of the war, an estimated 10 million soldiers were killed. That averages to about 6,500 deaths a day, every day. Plus, millions of civilians were also killed. World War I is especially remembered for its slaughter for it was one of the bloodiest wars in history.