Friday, January 24, 2020

Greek And Roman Architecture :: Architecture Greek Roman Essays

Greek and Roman Architecture   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Greeks thought of their Gods as having the same needs as human beings, they believed that the Gods needed somewhere to live on Earth. Temples were built as the gods' earthly homes. The basic design of temples developed from the royal halls of the Maycenaean Age. A Mycenaean palace consisted of a number of buildings often more than one story high, grouped around a central courtyard. It was brightly painted, both inside and out. In each palace there was a large hall called a megaron, where the king held court and conducted state business. Little remains of the megaron at Mycenae. This reconstruction is based on the remains from other palaces, which would have been similar.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Romans took and borrowed a lot of things from the Greek culture. For example, the took the Greek Gods and renamed them. They also took the styles of Greek temples, but they changed them some. The temple was rectangular, with a gabled roof, with a frontal staircase giving access to its high platform. They used mainly the Corinthian style, but they also made combinations, for instance the Corinthian-Ionic style. The Romans also added a lot of details and decorations to their temples. The Romans also made what became the very common round, domed temple. The main temple of a Roman city was the capitolium. The Pantheon, the famous temple in Rome, was a sample for some of the modern day cathedrals and churches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Classical Period Temples became much larger and more elaborate. Parthenon, one of the most famous structures ever, was created during that period. The Greeks held many religious festivals in honour of their gods. The purpose of festivals was to please the gods and convince them to grant the people's wishes. Such as making the crops grow or bringing victory in war. In addition to religious events athletic competitions and theatrical performances took place at festivals too..   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The early Greek architecture, from about 3000 BC to 700 BC, used mainly the post and lintel, or post and beam, system. Their main building material was marble. Classic Greek architecture is made up of three different orders that are most seen in their temples: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. All three had the same components, but had different types of details. The orders are known mostly by their column style. The Corinthian order was not as widely used as Doric and Ionic. It was fancier than the others, and had a lot more detail. The Greeks only used one order on one building, they never mixed. The basic temple followed these same rules.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

Past, Present, and Future

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on my personal and professional growth during my Criminal Justice program of study at the University of Phoenix. The paper will reflect upon where I was before I began college at the University of Phoenix. Then I will evaluate the growth I experienced during my University of Phoenix program of study. To conclude, the paper will analyze the impact of completing the University of Phoenix bachelor's program on my current and future professional goals.I went to college for the first time right after high school and learned very quickly that I did not know why I was there. I attained a job, thinking I would return when I decided what I wanted to be. The second time I went to college, I was in my early thirties, and because of the daycare I had been providing in my home, decided I should pursue a degree in early education. By the time I finished my general education courses, I changed my mind. I no longer wanted a degree in early education, and did n ot know what degree I wanted.Once again I quit college with a decision to return, once I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Many years went by and during those years I worked different low-level low-pay jobs. I began working for State Farm in the call center of the claims department in 2003. Although this position was also a low-level, low-paying job, I was enjoying learning the process of insurance claims and wanted to pursue a different position within the claims department. My supervisor encouraged me to go back to college because a degree would make me more competitive for higher positions within the company.In the next couple years, I managed to receive a position in a different department, but still low level. I continued in this position for three years and during this time, I had interviewed for three positions that I did not receive because I lacked a degree. My supervisor again encouraged me to go back to college to acquire the problem-solving, written and oral commu nication skills I needed to advance within the company. My desire was to return to college but did not believe I could work full-time while going to college.I shared this reasoning with my coworker who told me about the University of Phoenix, so I contacted the school and made an appointment. University of Phoenix’s accelerated program was the answer I needed. Each course was five weeks and I would take one course at a time. A program of study was my next dilemma as I never decided on this in the past. I did have a desire to work in the Special Investigative Unit in the claims department, so I spoke with a claim representative within that department who had a degree in Criminal Justice, and my choice was made.The first class I took was GEN/300 Skills for Professional Development that helped me to understand a new way of learning. I was used to a traditional curriculum; study a textbook, then take a test. GEN/300 taught me the computer skills and the tools needed for this new way of learning. Instead of tests, I learned to write academic papers that illustrated that I understood the course information. My research skills were enhanced as I learned to go beyond the textbook and use the Internet to retrieve information needed for my assignments. I was also introduced to a learning team environment.The learning team taught me how to work with different personalities to accomplish the same goal (University of Phoenix, 2008). In SCI/362 Environmental Issues and Ethics, the learning team assignment was a case study. Each week the learning team worked on a specific part of the case study that would build up to the final presentation for week five. This style of learning enhanced my written and oral communication skills as I worked with the team. The learning team learned to use each other’s strengths to put the presentation together (University of Phoenix, 2008).The two core courses during my program of study that had the greatest effect on my potential employment are CJA/413 Ethics in Criminal Justice and CJA 423 Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice. These two courses revealed to me that everyone does not perceive the world the same as I do. People who are from a different culture may have different ethics than I. This concept opened my understanding that I need to consider people’s cultures and ethics to communicate more successfully in professional settings.This is an essential tool that everyone needs to be successful in the business world (University of Phoenix, 2009). My college experience with the University of Phoenix has been challenging at times but rewarding. The most challenging was the learning teams. Each team I was on seemed to face the same problem, which was to meet outside the classroom. Team member’s schedules conflicted, which made it difficult to meet to work on the team assignment. I believe the classroom setting should include mandatory learning team meetings. The meetings should be at the beg inning or middle of the classroom time.When time is given for learning team meetings during class, my experience has been that the professor gives the time at the end of class, and this has not been productive. Most of the class members have worked all day, and they are tired, so either they leave class early or they are not productive in the meetings. Online courses at University of Phoenix should be more affordable to students. This would help during times in a student’s life when he or she cannot make it to class. For example, a mother may have a sick child and whereas a mom cannot attend a class, a mom with a sick child could still attend class if the class is online.Mom with a sick child is just one example of the many situations that come up in life that an online course would better serve the student than the classroom setting. As I discussed earlier in this paper, I work for State Farm in the Auto Claims Department and with my Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Just ice my goal is to attain a position within the Special Investigative Unit. This unit works claims that may be fraudulent. I am taking online claim courses that my company provides for employees seeking a position in the SIU department, and I will continue to take courses on diversity and ethics.Also I will seek a mentor within the department who can show me the correct steps I need to take as I move forward toward this goal. I am considering continuing my education to receive a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. My goal with this degree is maybe later in life to be a college professor. I believe the future college will be primarily online, which will open many opportunities for professors to teach from anywhere at anytime. This paper reflected on my personal and professional growth during my Criminal Justice program of study at the University of Phoenix.I discussed where I was before I began college at the University of Phoenix and evaluated the growth I experienced during my University of Phoenix program of study. In conclusion, I analyzed the impact of completing the University of Phoenix bachelor's program on my current and future professional goals.Reference University of Phoenix (2008). Program credits. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/Program/Credits/Program University of Phoenix (2009). Program credits. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/Program/Credits/Program

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

How Scientists Determine Climates of the Past

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction (also known as paleoclimate reconstruction) refers to the results and the investigations undertaken to determine what the climate and vegetation were like at a particular time and place in the past. Climate, including vegetation, temperature, and relative humidity, has varied considerably during the time since the earliest human habitation of planet earth, from both natural and cultural (human-made) causes. Climatologists primarily use paleoenvironmental data to understand how the environment of our world has changed and how modern societies need to prepare for the changes to come. Archaeologists use paleoenvironmental data to help understand the living conditions for the people who lived at an archaeological site. Climatologists benefit from the archaeological studies because they show how humans in the past learned how to adapt or failed to adapt to environmental change, and how they caused environmental changes or made them worse or better by their actions. Using Proxies The data that are collected and interpreted by paleoclimatologists are known as proxies, stand-ins for what cant be directly measured. We cant travel back in time to measure the temperature or humidity of a given day or year or century, and there are no written records of climatic changes that would give us those details older than a couple of hundred years. Instead, paleoclimate researchers rely on biological, chemical, and geological traces of past events that were influenced by the climate. The primary proxies used by climate researchers are plant and animal remains because the type of flora and fauna in a region indicates the climate: think of polar bears and palm trees as indicators of local climates. Identifiable traces of plants and animals range in size from whole trees to microscopic diatoms and chemical signatures. The most useful remains are those that are large enough to be identifiable to species; modern science has been able to identify objects as tiny as pollen grains and spores to plant species. Keys to Past Climates Proxy evidence can be biotic, geomorphic, geochemical, or geophysical; they can record environmental data that range in time from yearly, every ten years, every century, every millennium or even multi-millennia. Events such as tree growth and regional vegetation changes leave traces in soils and peat deposits, glacial ice and moraines, cave formations, and in the bottoms of lakes and oceans. Researchers rely on modern analogs; that is to say, they compare the findings from the past to those found in current climates around the world. However, there are periods in the very ancient past when the climate was completely different from what is currently being experienced on our planet. In general, those situations appear to be the result of climate conditions that had more extreme seasonal differences than any weve experienced today. It is particularly important to recognize that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were lower in the past than those present today, so ecosystems with less  greenhouse gas  in the atmosphere likely behaved differently than they do today. Paleoenvironmental Data Sources There are several types of sources where paleoclimate researchers can find preserved records of past climates. Glaciers and Ice Sheets: Long-term bodies of ice, such as the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, have annual cycles which build new layers of ice each year like tree rings. Layers in the ice vary in texture and color during warmer and cooler parts of the year. Also, glaciers expand with increased precipitation and cooler weather and retract when warmer conditions prevail. Trapped in those layers laid down over thousands of years are dust particles and gases which were created by climatic disturbances such as volcanic eruptions, data which can be retrieved using ice cores.Ocean Bottoms: Sediments are deposited in the bottom of the oceans each year, and lifeforms such as foraminifera, ostracods, and diatoms die and are deposited with them. Those forms respond to ocean temperatures: for example, some are more prevalent during warmer periods.Estuaries and Coastlines: Estuaries preserve information about the height of former sea levels in long sequences of alternating layers of organic p eat when the sea level was low, and inorganic silts when the sea level rose.Lakes: Like oceans and estuaries, lakes also have annual basal deposits called varves. Varves hold a wide variety of organic remains, from entire archaeological sites to pollen grains and insects. They can hold information about environmental pollution such as acid rain, local iron mongering, or run-offs from eroded hills nearby.Caves: Caves are closed systems, where average annual temperatures are maintained year-round and with a high relative humidity. Mineral deposits within caves such as stalactites, stalagmites, and flowstones gradually form in thin layers of calcite, which trap chemical compositions from outside the cave. Caves can thus contain continuous, high-resolution records which can be dated using uranium-series dating.Terrestrial Soils: Soil deposits on land can also be a source of information, trapping animal and plant remains in colluvial deposits at the base of hills or alluvial deposits in valley terraces. Archaeological Studies of Climate Change Archaeologists have been interested in climate research since at least Grahame Clarks 1954 work at Star Carr. Many have worked with climate scientists to figure out the local conditions at the time of occupation. A trend identified by Sandweiss and Kelley (2012) suggests that climate researchers are beginning to turn to the archaeological record to assist with the reconstruction of paleoenvironments. Recent studies described in detail in Sandweiss and Kelley include: The interaction between humans and climatic data to determine the rate and extent of El Nià ±o and the human reaction to it over the last 12,000 years of people living in coastal Peru.Tell Leilan in northern Mesopotamia (Syria) deposits matched to ocean drilling cores in the Arabian Sea identified a previously-unknown volcanic eruption that took place between 2075-1675 BC, which in turn may have led to an abrupt aridification with the abandonment of the tell and may have led to the disintegration of the Akkadian empire.In the Penobscot valley of Maine in the northeastern United States, studies on sites dated to the early-middle Archaic (~9000-5000 years ago), helped establish a chronology of flood events in the region associated with falling or low lake levels.Shetland Island, Scotland, where Neolithic-aged sites are sand-inundated, a situation believed to be an indication of a period of storminess in the North Atlantic. Sources Allison AJ, and Niemi TM. 2010. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of Holocene coastal sediments adjacent to archaeological ruins in Aqaba, Jordan. Geoarchaeology 25(5):602-625.Dark P. 2008. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction, methods. In: Pearsall DM, editor. Encyclopedia of Archaeology. New York: Academic Press. p 1787-1790.Edwards KJ, Schofield JE, and Mauquoy D. 2008. High resolution paleoenvironmental and chronological investigations of Norse landnà ¡m at Tasiusaq, Eastern Settlement, Greenland. Quaternary Research 69:1–15.Gocke M, Hambach U, Eckmeier E, Schwark L, Zà ¶ller L, Fuchs M, Là ¶scher M, and Wiesenberg GLB. 2014. Introducing an improved multi-proxy approach for paleoenvironmental reconstruction of loess–paleosol archives applied on the Late Pleistocene Nussloch sequence (SW Germany). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 410:300-315.Lee-Thorp J, and Sponheimer M. 2015. Contribution of Stable Light Isotopes to Paleoenvironmental Reconstructio n. In: Henke W, and Tattersall I, editors. Handbook of Paleoanthropology. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p 441-464.Lyman RL. 2016. The mutual climatic range technique is (usually) not the area of sympatry technique when reconstructing paleoenvironments based on faunal remains. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 454:75-81.Rhode D, Haizhou M, Madsen DB, Brantingham PJ, Forman SL, and Olsen JW. 2010. Paleoenvironmental and archaeological investigations at Qinghai Lake, western China: Geomorphic and chronometric evidence of lake level history. Quaternary International 218(1–2):29-44.Sandweiss DH, and Kelley AR. 2012. Archaeological Contributions to Climate Change Research: The Archaeological Record as a Paleoclimatic and Paleoenvironmental Archive*. Annual Review of Anthropology 41(1):371-391.Shuman BN. 2013. Paleoclimate reconstruction - Approaches In: Elias SA, and Mock CJ, editors. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science (Second Edition). Amsterdam: Elsevier. p 179-184.