Reggio Emilia Essay Example for Free

Reggio Emilia Essay The Reggio Emilia approach focuses on a childs natural development. Its child-centered and directed, taking the philosophy that learning must make sense to the student in order to be effective and meaningful. A childs point of view is completely respected and the student is encouraged to follow their own educational path. The method follow four key principles: The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles: children must have some say over what they learn; the senses play a big role in the learning process children must be able to touch, move, listen, see and hear in order to fully process something; children are encouraged to interact with other children and explore the world through material items and relationships; children should be encouraged to always express themselves and be given infinite means and opportunities to do so. Parental involvement is invited and encouraged. Many parents volunteer in the classroom and employ many of the methods found in the classroom at home. A variety of materials are used clay, paint, dramatic play among others. The approach was founded in the villages around Reggio Emilia, Italy after World War II. Parents were looking for a way to teach their children and found that the early years of development were the best time to help children figure out who they are as individuals. What is Documentation? Among many other possibilities, documentation is visible listening. The term documentation conjures up different meanings for different people. To our minds, one of the primary features of documentation as practiced in Reggio Emilia is a focus on how and what children learn. This focus is reminiscent of careful listening; thus, documentation, in many ways, is visible listening. Some of the elements of documentation include: conducting careful observations eveloping questions and tentative answers about how and what children are learning collecting evidence of individual and group learning interpreting observations and evidence in relation to your question(s) inviting others interpretations using the information to guide future teaching starting all over again Documentation can take many formsobservation notes, partial transcripts, audiotapes, a list of students responses to a prompt, photographs or videos of individual and group learning, and adult or student analyses of or reflections on student work.

Impact of the Enron Scandal on Accounting Standards

Impact of the Enron Scandal on Accounting Standards Abstract Every firm and its managers are expected to maximize investor returns while complying with regulatory standards, avoiding principal-agent conflicts of interest, and enhancing the reputational capital of their firms. However, in practices, being ethically is not just about giving large sum of charitys money but recognizing and acting on potential ethical issues before they become legal problems are more important aspects to taking care of. Enron collapsed as the result of unethical management practices such as the equivocation of taxes and fraudulent accounting practices. The Enron scandal is the most significant corporate collapse in the United States since the failure of many savings and loan banks during the 1980s. This scandal demonstrates the need for a close look at the ethical quality of the culture of business generally and of business corporations in the United States. Organization need to infuse ethics and integrity throughout their corporate cultures as well as into their d efinition of success. Unethical and illegal business practices at Enron led to the creation of Serbanes Oxley Act of 2002. This report will discuss and find out illegal and unethical activities, impacts on stakeholders and lessons from the Enron case. The Enron Scandal and Ethical Issues Enron Corporation is an energy trading, natural gas, and electric utilities company located in Houston, Texas that had around 21,000 employees by mid-2001, before it went bankrupt. Its revenue in the year 2000 was more than $100 billion and named as Americas most innovative companies for six consecutive years by Fortune. Enron was a company that was able to profit by providing the delivery of gas to utility companies and businesses at the fair value market price. Enron was listed as the seventh largest company in the United States and had the domination in the trading of communications, power, and weather securities (Corporate Narc, nd). At first sight, Enron looks like an excellent corporate citizen, with all the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and business ethics tools in community (Sims Brinkmann, 2003). However, the scandal of Enron has been the largest corporate scandal in history, and has become emblematic of institutionalized and well-planned corporate fraud; the Enron scandal involves both illegal and unethical activities. According to Carroll and Buchholtz (2008), the CFO Jeffrey Skilling and the CEO Ken Lay played major roles in the Enron scandal. Both of them committed securities fraud and conspiracy to inflate profit. In disguise debts of Enron, Lay and Skilling used off-the-books partnerships, after that they lied to investors and employees about the companys disastrous financial situation while selling their own companys shares (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008, p. 256). Enrons top level management has violated several accounting laws, SPE laws, and bent the accounting rules to satisfy their own desires of profit in the short term but ignoring long term repercussions for investors, stockholders, employees and the business itself. The close relationships that were formed among top leading executives and the board of directors grew arrogant, thinking they were invincible and causing them to act in an unethical manner. Enron allowed Andrew Fastow, the Chief Financial Officer to control two SPEs (special pur pose entities) that were knowingly connected to Enron, and gave him an opportunity to abuse his power. Enron also parked some of its debt on the balance sheet of its SPVs and kept it hidden from analysts and investors. When the extent of its debt burden came to light, Enrons credit rating fell and lenders demanded immediate payment in the sum of hundreds of millions of dollars in debt (Sims Brinkmann, 2003). It means that Enrons decision makers saw the shuffling of debt rather as a timing issue and not as an ethical one. They maintained that the company was financially stable and that many of their emerging problems really were not too serious, even though they knew the truth and were making financial decisions to protect their personal gains. No discussion of the Enron scandal would be complete without a discussion of the involvement of Enrons accountants, the firm Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen was one of many causes of the Enron collapse when they were the conflict of interest between the two roles played for Enron, as auditor but also as consultant. Andrew Fastow, the Chief Financial Officer of Enron pushed many deals across where he had a vested interested on both sides of the deal. By creating and knowingly participating in these deals, he put his financial greed above the responsibility to his position for the company. According to Paul and Palepu (2003) in 2000, Arthur Andersen earned $25 million in audit fees and $27 million in consulting fees, this amount accounted for roughly 27% of the audit fees of public clients for Arthur Andersens Houston office. The auditors methods were questioned as either being completed solely to receive its annual fees or for their lack of expertise in properly reviewing Enrons reve nue recognition, special entities, derivatives, and other accounting practices. Due to these relationships that Enron had with Arthur Andersen, it was just too easy for both Enron and the accounting firm to work together in covering up financial losses and debt. Andersen was also responsible for some of Enrons internal bookkeeping, with some of Andersens employees eventually leaving to work for Enron. The result of the accounting scandal was that many of the losses that Enron encountered were not reported in its financial statements. In November, 2001, Enron revises financial statements for the previous five years to account for $586 million in losses (Corporate Narc, nd). After a series of scandals involving irregular accounting procedures bordering on fraud involving Enron and its accounting firm Arthur Andersen, it stood at the verge of undergoing the largest bankruptcy in history by mid-November 2001. As Enron was considered a blue chip stock, this was an unprecedented and disastrous event in the financial world. Enrons plunge occurred after it was revealed that many of its profits and revenue were the result of deals with special purpose entities (Corporate Narc, nd). Enrons leaders also ignored, then denied serious problems with their business transactions and were more concerned about their personal financial rewards than those of the company. When the companys stock price began to drop as the problems were becoming public, the company was transitioning from one investment program to another. Impacts on Stakeholders Every business has a moral obligation to serve its stakeholders, whether they are business partners, customers, stockholders, or employees. Enrons bankruptcy has injured several parties including banks, stockholders, former employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and also the United States. Impacts on Employees The first thing, and most important thing the Enron scandal had an effect was the job situation. Carroll and Buchholtz (2008) argued that when Enron went bankrupt and then the Arthur Andersen accounting firm went out of business in 2002, employees were displaced and significantly affected (p. 47). Enrons financial implosion has cost thousands of employees their jobs, left thousands of people still employed by the bankrupt trader and left 5,600 employees jobless and facing retirements with no nest eggs (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008, p. 256). Many employees had their entire pensions vested in Enron stock, Kenneth Lay advised employees keep their Enron stock when the firm was crashing, and he was selling his own. While the employees were unable to sell their stock, Lay and other executives were quickly selling off many of their shares. The lives and savings of thousands employees were destroyed. They also were deprived of the freedom to diversify their retirement portfolios; and they had to stand by helplessly while their retirement savings evaporated at the same time that top managers cashed in on their lucrative stock options. Impacts on Investors and Stockholders As the result of Enron scandal, individual and institutional investors lost millions of dollars because they were misinformed about the firms financial performance reality through questionable accounting practices, and all of the shareholders lost the money that they had invested in the corporation after it went bankrupt. Shareholders lost nearly $11 billion when Enrons stock price, which hit a high of US$90 per share in mid-2000, plummeted to less than $1 by the end of November 2001 (Answers.com, 2010). Investors those who were hurt can never be made totally whole once again after the terrible experiences of Enron. Impacts on the United States and Communities Political parties, such as the Bush administration, who accepted contributions from Enron, were finding themselves in positions where returning the funds to Enron or donating them to a charitable. Enron also affected the United States in several important ways. If anything positive can be said about the Enron scandal, it is that the scandal itself heightened awareness of the importance of integrity in Accounting and business in general, and led to the creation of new safeguards to make sure that something like this would not happen again, or at least not to the full extent of the Enron damage. Enron cynically and knowingly created the phony California electricity crisis of 2000 and 2001. Between 30 percent and 50 percent of Californias energy industry was shut down by Enron a great deal of the time, and up to 76 percent at one point, as the company drove the price of electricity higher by nine times (Corporate Narc, nd). Impacts on Other Stakeholders The Enron scandal also harmed other stakeholders. For example, Enron top managers pressured Arthur Andersen to certify maximum-risk; questionable accounting practices in part to retain their consulting business and, by acceding to this pressure, Arthur Andersen won huge contracts in the short run however ultimately lost their professional credibility and client base. Some investment banks such as Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, and Merrill Lynch made over $200 million in fees from deals that helped Enron and other energy firms boost cash flow and hide debt, and, by failing to exercise their own adequate due diligence, they multiplied the harm done to other stakeholders. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in particular appeared to have significant amounts to lose with Enrons fall. Punishment Thousands of aggrieved employees, investors, and other stakeholders were waiting to find out what punishment will be meted out to those who covered up Enrons true financial position so successfully for so long. Three individuals that participated in the various frauds that were committed by Enron included the former president and CEO of Enron, Jeffrey Skilling; former chief financial officer in charge of LJM, Andrew Fastow; founder, former chairman, and CEO, Kenneth Lay. At first, in 2002, Enrons former chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, and three other current and former Enron executives exercise their Fifth Amendment right not to testify at a congressional hearing. He was charged with securities fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. It is alleged that Fastow and others devised a scheme to defraud Enron and its shareholders (Cbsnews.com, 2006). Fastow, his wife Lea Fastow and nine other former executives faced 31 more charges and 98 counts of fraud an d they were also indicted on a host of fraud, insider trading, and other counts (Associated Press, 2006). Andrew Fastow pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy. The plea called for a 10-year sentence and his aid in targeting former top Enron executives Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Lea Fastow pleaded guilty to filing false tax forms. Finally, in March 2006, Fastow had already pleaded guilty and faced up to 10 years in prison on two counts of conspiracy. Lay and Skilling went on trial for their part in the Enron scandal in January 2006 in Houston. Skilling faced 31 counts ranging from fraud to lying to auditors for allegedly lying about Enrons financial state. Lay faced seven counts of fraud and conspiracy for allegedly perpetuating the scheme. After six days of deliberations, on May 25, 2006 a verdict was reached in the Houston trial of former Enron chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Skilling was convicted of 19 of 28 counts of securities fraud and wire fraud and acquitted on the remaining nine, including charges of insider trading, making him the highest ranking former executive charged in the collapse of Enron. He was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in prison for his role in one of the biggest corporate scandals in U.S. history (Cbsnews.com, 2006). Lay was convicted of all six counts against him, including conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud and he faced a total sentence of up to 45 years in prison. However, be fore sentencing was scheduled, Lay died on July 5, 2006 due to a heart attack (Answers.com, 2010). Lessons from the Enron Case In the new economic, the Enron scandal has been being the morality lesson. The case will teach executives and the American public the most important ethics lessons. The first lesson it that both individuals and organizations or firms should only earn money by providing goods or services that have real value in the new economic. Moreover, executives who are paid too much can think they are above the rules and can be tempted to cut ethical corners to retain their wealth and perquisites. Every firms need to demonstrate that they have eliminated all off-books accounts which distort the publics understanding of the financial health of the organization and they should to pledge that they will not suspend the companys code of conduct, or at least report to the public when they do. In order for companies to prevent an Enron-like scandal, there needs to be supervision over managers and executives as they exercise their own business judgments about what is in the best interest for an organizat ion. Kirk Hanson (2002), executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, explained that the Enron scandal demonstrates the need for significant reforms in accounting and corporate governance in the United States, as well as for a close look at the ethical quality of the culture of business generally and of business corporations in the United States. Due to the accounting frauds that occurred in the Enron scandal, several accounting firms should reorganize their employees towards remaining loyal to the ethical standards demanded by the SEC. In order for companies to prevent an Enron-like scandal, there needs to be supervision over managers and executives as they exercise their own business judgments about what is in the best interest for an organization. On the other hand, when accounting firms have been moving to sever in both auditing and consulting services for their consulting businesses, the SEC should probably adopt additional disclosure requirements. Government regulat ions and rules need to be updated for the new economy, not relaxed and eliminated. Conclusion Looking at the Enron scandal from the retrospective viewpoint of history, essentially most of the problems faced by Enron derive from the immoral and unethical actions taken on by the board of directors in their attempt to achieve personal profits. The Enron scandal changed the lives of everyone in America and perhaps just as importantly, it forced everyone to look at themselves and fully realize the consequences of reckless greed and the breakage of laws on a whim. Most of individuals and organizations had been receiving proper punishment and lessons for their relevance.

Wilfred Owens Poetry and War Essay -- Wilfred Owen Poetry Poems War E

Wilfred Owen's Poetry and War Wilfred Owen is now seen as one of the most important of the many poets of the First World War. He was born the son of a railway worker in Shropshire, and educated at schools in Shrewsbury and Liverpool. His devoted mother encouraged his early interests in music and poetry. When he could not afford a university education, he went abroad to teach English in France. He was there when war broke out in 1914, and decided to return to England to volunteer for the army. After training, he became an officer and was sent to France at the end of 1916, seeing service first in the Somme sector. In spring 1917, he took part in the attacks on the German Hindenburg Line near St Quentin. When a huge shell burst near him, he was shell-shocked and sent back to England. The horrors of battle dramatically changed him from the youth of August 1914, who had felt 'the guns will effect a little useful weeding'. From his experiences, Owen was able to write very graphic and realistic poems, to show his reader the true atrocities of war. Three of his poems that show different aspects of war are; 'Anthem for Doomed Youth', 'Dulce et Decorum Est', and 'The Send-Off'. The poem 'Anthem for Doomed Youth', is a long comparison between the elaborate ceremonial of a Victorian-style funeral, and the way in which men go to their death on the western front. The poem is written in the form of a sonnet, and has a very traditional format. Owen wrote in this way mostly due to the influence of the poet Siegfried Sassoon, whose experience and high education helped him greatly during this period. The poem is made up of fourteen lines, and follows the rhyme scheme abab, cdcd, effe, gg. The title of the poem ... ...st; the contrasting 'lie' of the phrase 'Dulce et Decorum Est, Pro patria mori', the contrast of elaborate Victorian funerals and the way in which men go to death, in Anthem for Doomed youth, and in The Send-off, the contrast of the phrase 'grimly-gay', to imply a sense of guilt and conspiracy to the poem. The three poems that I have studied, all show different aspects of war, and have many similarities and comparisons. However, they were all written with the same intention and opinion, by a soldier who had first-hand experience of the front line, and as such would not be duped by the media's portrayal of war as romantic and heroic. I think that the overall message Owen is trying to portray, is that the atrocity of war should be considered utterly senseless, brutal, and inhumane, and avoided at all costs, no matter what the situation happens to be.

Right-Wing Influences in American Media :: Essays Papers

Right-Wing Influences in American Media Since the advent of television networks, Americans have relied on local and national newscasts to inform them of the world’s happenings. In the 1950’s there were no other mass informational outlets besides the network news and newspapers. Today we have the internet, which allows independent research, but the majority of Americans still depend on network and cable newscasts for their local, political, and foreign news. With the responsibility and power of informing an entire country, are television newscasts as reliable as most Americans assume them to be? Most Americans don’t consider where their news is coming from or who is producing it. Network and cable news are owned and operated by people and thus are not as objective and unbiased as we would like to think. In light of the war in Iraq and the most recent presidential election, critics of television network administration are voicing their concern for today’s presentation of the news. Increasi ngly more Americans are demanding a rehabilitation of newscasts, starting with ownership. News Ownership Before examining media practices, let’s establish what the major news networks are and who owns them. As most Americans know, ownership of media outlets is largely centralized around 6 main networks or mergers. Since 2000 the â€Å"Big Six† conglomerates (as they are often referred to) account for ninety percent of all media ownership including television, radio, newspapers, internet, books, magazines, videos, wire services and photo agencies. (Adams) In 2001, America Online (AOL) and Time Warner merged to become the world’s largest media organization. AOL Time Warner accounts for twelve television companies including Warner Brothers, 29 cable operations companies across the globe including CNN and Time Warner Cable, 24 book brands, 35 magazines including Time and Fortune, 52 record labels, the Turner Entertainment Corporation which owns four professional sports teams, and provides AOL internet services to 27 million subscribers in fourteen countries. In addition, the conglomerate owns multiple theme parks and Warner Brothers stores in thirty countries across the globe. AOL Time Warner is chaired by Steve Case, with Gerald Levin as CEO and boasts 79,000 employees worldwide. AOL Time Warner’s multi-faceted conglomerate brings in $31.8 billion in revenues annually. (New Internationalist) The second-largest media conglomerate is the Walt Disney Corporation, which has come a long way from its cartoon industry decades ago. The Disney Channel broadcasts in eight countries, with its sister sports channel ESPN broadcasting to 165 countries on three continents.

Correctional Officer

University of Phoenix Material Assignment: Reliable Sources Worksheet Due Week 6 Day 7 (Sunday) Post to [Assignment section of eCampus Page] as an attachment Locate three sources in the University Library on a topic of your choice. Refer to the University Library tutorial for information about finding sources. Provide the required information for each sources. Complete the Reliable Sources Worksheet †¢ Answer each question in complete and clear sentences using an academic tone (use formal language, eliminate contractions, and capitalize the word â€Å"I†).Be sure to provide detailed responses (100 words). †¢ Post the assignment as a Microsoft ® Word attachment to the Assignment section of your eCampus page by Week 6 Day 7 (Sunday). †¢ Post the Certificate of Originality (located in the Course Materials forum) to the Assignment section of your eCampus page when you post your assignment. Important: Be sure to review the grading rubric, provided in the Course Mat erials forum, which shows the point distribution for each element of the assignment. Source 1 Author:Date: Title: Publication: Peer Reviewed? What words did you use to find this article? What type of article is this (research, summary, reflection, essay, etc. )? Did this article include an abstract? Summarize the article (100 words) Source 2 Author: Date: Title: Publication: Peer Reviewed? What words did you use to find this article? What type of article is this (research, summary, reflection, essay, etc. )? Did this article include an abstract? Summarize the article (100 words) Source 3 Author: Date: Title:Publication: Peer Reviewed? What words did you use to find this article? What type of article is this (research, summary, reflection, essay, etc. )? Did this article include an abstract? Summarize the article (100 words) Respond to each of the following questions: What is an abstract? How is an abstract helpful in refining your search? (100 to 150 words) An abstract is a thought or an idea but not having a physical existing. How do these articles contribute to its relevancy of the topic/search? (100 to 150 words)What makes these scholarly articles? How current is their information? How quickly does information in this topic change? How can you tell if a source is reliable or credible? (100 to 150 words) How do these articles reflect bias on the authors’ part? If so, what is the bias? If not, explain why you think they do not reflect bias. (100 to 150 words) What support options does the library offer that will help you in writing papers, doing research, and achieving your academic goals? (100 to 150 words)

Geely Holding? Group? Marketing Essay

Markets,? Marketing? and? Strategy? Essay? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Strategy? This? essay? will? attempt? to? identify,? analyze? and? discuss? the? strategic? issues? in? Geely? Holding? Group? using? industry? structure? and? dynamics.? There? are? five? competitive? forces? that? shape? the? strategy? of? a? company,? threat? of? new? entrants,? bargaining? power? of? supplier,? bargaining? power? of? buyers,? threat? of? substitute? and? rivalry? among? current? competitors.? However,? as? covering? all? five? forces? will? be? beyond? the? scoop? of? this? essay,? it? will? be? focusing? on? threat? of? ew? entrants? and? rivalry. Even? though? Geely? Holding? Group? exports? cars? on? top? of? selling? in? its? local? market,? its? main? market? is? the? China’s? automobile? industry1.? With? China’s? automobile? market? growing? rapidly? in? the? last? few? years,? it? has? become? one? of? the? biggest? automobile? markets? in? the? world,? this? mean? that? t he? existing? firms? in? the? industry? will? have? to? be? aware? of? new? entrants? into? the? industry.? Gerenally,? barriers? are? high? in? an? automobile? industry,? and? there? are? several? main? factors? contributing? to? this.? One? of? he? factors? is? supply? side? economics? of? scale.? When? firms? have? high? output,? it? allows? them? to? cut? cost? in? production? by? buying? in? bulk? and? because? they? have? huge? buying? power,? supplier? will? not? want? to? lose? them? as? customers? and? give? them? better? deals.? They? will? also? be? able? to? spread? cost? over? more? units? for? their? marketing,? research,? services? and? distribution.? This? means? that? new? entrant? will? have? a? much? higher? cost? of? production? unless? they? are? able? to? come? in? on? a? large? scale.? With? 1. 2? million? Geely? cars? on? the? oad? globally 2,? this? is? certainly? an? advantage? that? Geely? has? over? smaller? new? entrants. Established? firms? also? enjoy? demand? side? benefits? of? scale.? When? more? people? use? the? product,? it? will? assure? people? that? the? product? is? trustable,? causing? even? more? people? to? be? willing? to? pay? for? the? product.? With? products? like? automobiles,? quality? is? important.? Incumbents? have? the? advantage? of? having? experience,? acquiring? technology? and? building? customer? loyalty? over? the? years? thus,? unlike? entrants,? they? do? not? have? to? spend? as? much? on? arketing? and? advertising? to? prove? that? they? are? trustable.? In? 2010,? Geely’s? sales? surpassed? target? by? 15,000? units3.? It? sales? will? be? a? testimony? of? its? reliability? to? new? customers? who? would? be? more? willing? to? buy? from? a? company? that? is? doing? well? than? to? take? a? risk? with? a? newcomer.? All? these? will? discourage? entry,? as? entrants? will? have? to? keep? their? prices? much? lower? to? compete? for? customers.? To? enter? the? automobile? industry,? there? is? a? high? capital? requirement.? The? high? level? of? investment? sometimes? will? keep? entrants? ut? because? it? means? that? risk? is? high.? Entrants? will? need? not? only? to? invest? in? fixed? facilities,? they? will? need? to? invest? in? advertising? and? research,? which? are? mostly? unrecoverable? cost,? if? they? 1? Geely? Automobile? Holdings? Limited? Annual? Report? 2009? [ONLINE].? Available? 2? Geely? Holding? Group? [ONLINE].? Avilable? from:? from: http://hmdatalink. com/PDF/C00530/e00175(116). pdf http://www. geely. com/english/1? 6. html 3? Geely? Auto? sales? surpass? 2010? target.? (January,? 2011)? [ONLINE].? Avaliable?

History of the American West

As far as history is concerned, prior to the settling of what we now, the great United States of America, minority groups of inhabitants are the first to established their living in that continent. Their lifestyle, tradition and culture are admirable as well as unique. The first inhabitants of the area are peaceful living natives of the land. However, an entry has changed everything. The phrase mentioned above seemingly denotes the vast riches accumulated in American West from the national expanse that occurred during the westward American expansion.As per history, it connotes the successive flow of riches in their area considering every line of factors such as trade, climate, events and other causation proofs that are evident even in today’s generation. Analyzing the phrases in the statement reveals claims of chain successive economic blooms, which is stated without adequate basis. However, the aggressive entry of American people over the west side has greatly affected the li vings of various inhabitants in the area.Tremendous effects of this entry have brought countless lives to experience suffrage in the early west side. The advancing foreigners tremendously hit the established communities of the native inhabitants causing massive degradation as well as damage in the land of these natives. The advances may have triggered advancement in the side of American people; however, there are those minority individuals and communities that suffered the damage of their actions. Moreover, the land filled with natural blessings has been ravaged by the suppressive citizens of America.It is, indeed, a fact that the west side during those period of time is immersed in massive content of natural resources, geographically, topographically, climatic and most of all naturally. Another fact is, the resources have brought immense conquer in the land of the natives. For the American people, the west side has become their garden flowing with milk and honey. In this essay, we shall take a glimpse back in the past and analyze the scenario that occurred before and compare it in the statement imposed by Martin Ridge.The claims of this treasury build-up are refuted in this paper. Various factors need to be considered before adhering in these false causations. Subjective narration without substantial basis cannot support this kind of claims, especially if the claim is way to opposite from what is reality. We shall analyze the pieces of this statement piece by piece, and critically scrutinize it to prove that such wordings are not even appropriate. â€Å"The history of the American West is, almost by definition, a triumphal narrative†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Starting from the first part mentioned in the statement, connoting â€Å"triumphal narrative† depicts an entry of galore, glorious moment in the history and an event that everybody looks forward. However, does this statement really cover the facts embedded in the American West? Judging the factors, such as top ographical, geographical and the natural advantages present in the place, can we still conclude the same conclusion mentioned in the statement? Crude to say but actually, the United States that we see today is very different compared before when the American people is still starting to colonize the west side.Stephen H. Long, an American explorer who explored the some areas of the Louisiana Purchase in 1819, first gave the term, â€Å"Great American Desert† to illustrate the area roughly between the 98th parallel and the Rocky Mountains. In a series of maps and journals, Long described this region as â€Å"wholly unfit for cultivation and uninhabitable for those dependent on agriculture. † Americans largely view Long's negative impression of the trans-Mississippi as a barren wasteland for decades and most did not become interested in settling there until after the Civil War.During 1803, the President Thomas Jefferson has had a secret conversation through a secret note t hat he has given to the Congress ordering for an expedition into the place west of the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. He has felt that a quality and smart military man with perhaps a dozen of handpicked crew can victoriously plot the entire route and do it on an estimation of roughly $2,500. Jefferson's message is regarded secret due to France ownership in that territory. If this is found by the French Government, the expedition can be branded as trespassing.This is the first view of those who seen this great desert; however, western boosters have come up with a plan in order to lure settlers in the area by promoting the â€Å"The Myth of the garden. † In addition, during this period, France has offered a piece of territory in the west side, which is the whole Louisiana Territory, for $15,000,000. That same year, President Tomas Jefferson has his mind patched up and agreed to take the offer. Surprisingly, after an overnight, United States grew by about one million sq uare miles, from the Mississippi to the Rockies and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.This event has greatly caused widening in the part of the America. During the late 1800’s, around 1870s and 1880s, climatic changes have begun to occur in this arid wasteland. This has encouraged the inhabitants to settle and stay put in this area. American settlers have started rampaging, packing up their luggage and migrated in the land of â€Å"Mythical West Garden†. This became the start of the native’s nightmare. The native settlers during this period are Indians and other minority groups; however, they have been driven away from their homelands by the aggressive and domineering Americans.The stampede has occupied 430 million acres of land, which is actually twice the size of the nation. Furthermore, these settlers carved out ten new states until the three western-based commercial â€Å"empires† are established. Around 1865 and 1890 the American settlers have began their territorial rerouting and their way of income have been through mining, especially gold and silver; farming; and the cattle industry. During the westward expansion, widespread beliefs, activities, and objects influenced the daily existence of western emigrants. Moreover, the American settlers discovered the wide resources present in this area.The long protected forests and the divine natural up-springs are all tarnished by the American advancement and modernization. Mining and deforestation has become two of the most devastating hazards accompanied by the advancement. The natural resources of the native Indians are greatly mistreated by the Americans. The trees are cut down in order to be replaced by the houses, establishments, and ranches for the American community. Homeland of the natives, and their territories have been pushed away without being considered by the Americans until, major forests and natural resources are greatly damaged and reduced.In the end, the original fo restry respected by the ancestors of Indian cultures and traditions have been tarnished and destroyed by the advancing colonizers. During the same year and time, Cowboys have been popularized. The estimate of 35,000 males has entered the profession of being a cowboy. 25% of them are black, 12% are Mexican and majority of them are White Americans, 63%. The herding of domesticated animals have lead into territorial overtake since, ranch requires these land hectares in order to place their animals. In the end, the space between Indians and American has grown smaller, particularly in the side of the Indians.Because of this continuous threat, reckless advances and cruelty of American colonizers, the North America’s Indian forces started their civil war with the Americans. Around 1865, the Indian people have fought fiercely using their axes, bow and arrows and spears. However, they are still no match from the gunpowders and advance tools of the Americans. In the end, large reductio n from their population occurred. This event has caused the forces of Indians to be weak and fragile. Many of their women have become slave workers for the Americans. Some have been persecuted and disregarded.In the end, the Indians have become useless human beings. In 1860s, the Western Frontier has emerged and their definite aim is to transform the savagery of civilians battling over territories, towards a decent, moral and civilized individuals. The frontier reproduces American democracy and individualism – the frontier requires Americans to develop new institutions and â€Å"free land makes free men. † The frontier migration targets the expanse of territory as well as accumulation of riches; however, savagery and conflicts have become the exchange of such actions.Racial oppression not only for the Indians but also towards other cultural backgrounds occurs. The race of Hispanics, Blacks and Chinese has been greatly looked down by the Whites. The Hispanics during tho se times are traders as well Chinese, and these people are considered low class merchants; hence, the treatment pattern for these people as also low class. Degradation, racial and social discrimination are also the biggest issues during this period. The blacks, aside from Indians, are the ones who suffered the tremendous discriminative character of the whites. They are regarded as lowly individuals and most of them are treated as slaves.People during this time are greatly quarrelling mostly about their material properties and belongings, but little do they know that there are people being stepped aside and being ignored by their reckless actions. In the end, the effect boils down to those discriminated races and they are the ones that suffered because of the reckless and greedy actions of the Whites. One of the biggest historical events in this period is the Gold Rush, wherein the substance of interest is non-other than gold. The out-migration of non-natives following the Gold rush has given the Indians renewed numerical importance.The discovery of Gold in California and other nearby mines has lead easterners to migrate in the said are in order to have their part in this gold galore. This event has caused great multitude of immigrants coming from local and foreign lands. The situation has damaged mines; natural resources and influx of people have led into chaotic way of life. The situation of the people especially the original inhabitants of the area, which is the natives, has greatly worsened by the migratory frontiers. Going back to the statement of Martin Ridge,â€Å"The history of the American West is, almost by definition, a triumphal narrative for it traces a virtually unbroken chain of successes in national expansion† This is indeed a refutable statement. The Americans may have entered the land of Mythical Desert Garden; however, there are many people that have suffered because of their ruthless actions. It may be triumphal because they have over taken the natives, but the natural resources and the craving of their hands have been diminished. In the end, the statement remains doubtful for there are so many sacrifices that are heavier that the rewards they have taken.