t Laughed, I Would Have Cried

I was indestructible. I was ruthless. I broke out, hurling a flurry of precise, mastered and skilful kicks. Each kick grew in supremacy, as I glared at my opponent’s face: grief stricken and glazed with unmistakable distress. Each kick neared her towards tasting the bitterness of a palpable defeat. Rhapsody enticed my face as I smirked mercilessly. I emerged from under the bedclothes and encountered the mottled morning light. Today was the day my dreams would become reality. I had always harboured a competitive streak but I was not always good at actually realising it. This was to be my first Taekwondo competition and the desire to win was overwhelming. I affectionately selected my loose white uniform that hung alongside my green school dress. Each Sunday morning for the past twelve months I had religiously swapped the academic rigidity of school for the physical rigidity of Taekwondo and noticed that even now, the whiteness of my uniform was a little dulled and the threads slightly frayed, revealing the chronic blows that it had suffered. Two badges were sewn onto the front by unorthodox and jagged black threads, visibly overlapping the stark whiteness of my uniform. Each badge bore the fist of a martial artist and was intended to highlight strength, skill and indomitable spirit. However, despite the air of sophistication emitted by the badges, my clumsy Year 10 stitching defeated their purpose as being signs of professionalism. My transformation was almost complete. I picked up my belt and placed it around my waist, cautious to avoid any untidy overlapping. Tying a taut knot, the two remaining straps were left to suspend freely, yet, their presence did nothing except weigh heavily on my pride. I was a yellow belt, a mere novice, and felt demeaned by such a lowly status. Nevertheless I managed to reassure myself, this was to be the final day I would have to endure the humiliation of this sallow shade. I surveyed my ref... 't Laughed, I Would Have Cried Free Essays on If I Hadn\'t Laughed, I Would Have Cried I was indestructible. I was ruthless. I broke out, hurling a flurry of precise, mastered and skilful kicks. Each kick grew in supremacy, as I glared at my opponent’s face: grief stricken and glazed with unmistakable distress. Each kick neared her towards tasting the bitterness of a palpable defeat. Rhapsody enticed my face as I smirked mercilessly. I emerged from under the bedclothes and encountered the mottled morning light. Today was the day my dreams would become reality. I had always harboured a competitive streak but I was not always good at actually realising it. This was to be my first Taekwondo competition and the desire to win was overwhelming. I affectionately selected my loose white uniform that hung alongside my green school dress. Each Sunday morning for the past twelve months I had religiously swapped the academic rigidity of school for the physical rigidity of Taekwondo and noticed that even now, the whiteness of my uniform was a little dulled and the threads slightly frayed, revealing the chronic blows that it had suffered. Two badges were sewn onto the front by unorthodox and jagged black threads, visibly overlapping the stark whiteness of my uniform. Each badge bore the fist of a martial artist and was intended to highlight strength, skill and indomitable spirit. However, despite the air of sophistication emitted by the badges, my clumsy Year 10 stitching defeated their purpose as being signs of professionalism. My transformation was almost complete. I picked up my belt and placed it around my waist, cautious to avoid any untidy overlapping. Tying a taut knot, the two remaining straps were left to suspend freely, yet, their presence did nothing except weigh heavily on my pride. I was a yellow belt, a mere novice, and felt demeaned by such a lowly status. Nevertheless I managed to reassure myself, this was to be the final day I would have to endure the humiliation of this sallow shade. I surveyed my ref...

Mexican-American War - Aftermath

Mexican-American War - Aftermath Previous Page | Contents Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo In 1847, with the conflict still raging, Secretary of State James Buchanan suggested that President James K. Polk send an emissary to Mexico to assist in bringing the war to a close. Agreeing, Polk chose Chief Clerk of the State Department Nicholas Trist and dispatched him south to join General Winfield Scotts army near Veracruz. Initially disliked by Scott, who resented Trists presence, the emissary soon earned the generals trust and the two became close friends. With the army driving inland towards Mexico City and the enemy in retreat, Trist received orders from Washington, DC to negotiate for the acquisition of California and New Mexico to the 32nd Parallel as well as Baja California. Following Scotts capture of Mexico City in September 1847, the Mexicans appointed three commissioners, Luis G. Cuevas, Bernardo Couto, and Miguel Atristain, to meet with Trist to discuss peace terms. Commencing talks, Trists situation was complicated in October when he was recalled by Polk who was unhappy with the representatives  inability to conclude a treaty earlier. Believing that the president did not fully understand the situation in Mexico, Trist elected to ignore the recall order and wrote a 65-page response to Polk outlining his reasons for doing so. Continuing to meet with the Mexican delegation, final terms were agreed to in early 1848. The war officially ended on February 2, 1848, with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty ceded to the United States the land that now comprises the states of California, Utah, and Nevada, as well as parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. In exchange for this land, the United States paid Mexico $15,000,000, less than half the amount offered by Washington prior to the conflict. Mexico also forfeited all rights to Texas and the border was permanently established at the Rio Grande. Trist also agreed that the United States would assume $3.25 million in debt owed by the Mexican government to American citizens as well as would work to curtail Apache and Comanche raids into northern Mexico. In an effort to avoid later conflicts, the treaty also stipulated that future disagreements between the two countries would be settled through compulsory arbitration. Sent north, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was delivered to the US Senate for ratification.   After extensive debate and some alterations, the Senate approved it on March 10.   In the course of the debate, an attempt to insert the Wilmot Proviso, which would have banned slavery in the newly-acquired territories, failed 38-15 along sectional lines.   The treaty received ratification from the Mexican government on May 19.   With Mexican acceptance of the treaty, American troops began departing the country. The American victory confirmed most citizens’ belief in Manifest Destiny and the nation’s expansion westward. In 1854, the United States concluded the Gadsden Purchase which added territory in Arizona and New Mexico and reconciled several border issues that had arisen from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Casualties Like most wars in the 19th century, more soldiers died from disease than from wounds received in battle. In the course of the war, 1,773 Americans were killed in action as opposed to 13,271 dead from sickness. A total of 4,152 were wounded in the conflict. Mexican casualty reports are incomplete, but it estimated that approximately 25,000 were killed or wounded between 1846-1848. Legacy of the War The Mexican War in many ways may be directly connected to the Civil War. Arguments over the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired lands further heightened sectional tensions and forced new states to be added through compromise. In addition, the battlefields of Mexico served as a practical learning ground for those officers who would play prominent roles in the upcoming conflict. Leaders such as Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Braxton Bragg, Thomas â€Å"Stonewall† Jackson, George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, George G. Meade, and James Longstreet all saw service with either Taylor or Scott’s armies. The experiences these leaders gained in Mexico helped to shape their decisions in the Civil War. Previous Page | Contents

Operations management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Operations management - Essay Example However, in some situations, intangible factors may lead to the specialization of the company in a certain area. Some of the companies may not be aware of the intangible specialization and are therefore faced with serious problems in their attempt to shift from a certain market segment. Intangible specialization can be simply defined as specialization of a company in a certain area due to some intangible factors mainly brought about by the routinized activities of the company in performing its different operations relating to the production of the main product the company produces. The intangible factors include routinized and path-dependent decision-making routines that help in the regulation of the process and product design and renewal of the product (Maielli, 2005, p. 250). In addition, intangible specialization is mainly concerned with the internal routines and the accumulation of intangible capital in the designing and manufacturing of certain products, making the company effic ient in the production of such products, as well as other products. Intangible specialization may restrict the company in a certain field and hinder its attempt to change the area of its operation. It reduces the output mix flexibility of the company even if the company has technical flexibility in its production technology (Maielli, 2005, p. ... The company should therefore device means of reaping maximum income from the area of specialization, as attempts to shift into other areas will be difficult in most cases. Knowledge of the intangible specialization also helps the company in formulation and application of strategies that will aid the shift to other areas in the supply chain. Intangible specialization is categorized into the evolution theory of economic change. The theory emphasizes the importance and effects of routinized and path-dependent decision-making and output-mix decision-making (Maielli, 2005, p. 250). In addition, intangible specialization usually affects the way a company reproduces the technical skills that aid in the manufacture of certain types of products (Maielli, 2007, p. 285). It usually comes up involuntarily as a response to the domestic market in the area of operation of the company. Intangible specialization may be advantageous or a limitation to the company. This is mainly dependent on the strat egies that the company formulates while factoring in the strengths and weaknesses due to its intangible specialization in a certain area of operation. One of the main benefits of intangible specialization is that it may help a company overcome different financial difficulties if efficient strategies are put in place to enable it to have output-mix optimization in the area where it has intangible specialization. 2. How did Intangible Specialization affect Fiat’s strategy and output-mix optimization in the 1970s? Fiat is an Italian company mainly involved in the manufacture of cars. The company has a strong reputation in the manufacture of city cars, though it also manufactures other types of vehicles. Intangible specialization has made the