Why Byzantine Economy Remained One of the Most Powerful in Europe Through Early Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

Why Byzantine Economy Remained One of the Most Powerful in Europe Through Early Middle Ages Essay â€Å"Why Byzantine economy remained one of the most powerful in Europe through Early Middle Ages? † The Byzantine cconomy was one of the largest systems throughout Europe and the Mediterannean for many centuries. Both local and international trade were of huge importance for the Byzantine Empire. Lower class, including traders, depended on the upper class. Their need of the foreign goods in order to stay in Local trade was much less popular. Throughout the fourth and sixth centuries, long-distance trade was operating successfully, until the plague appeared, which killed around one-third of the citizens in the Byzantine Empire, and ruined the trade networks. The Byzantine economy had recovered in the tenth century, and Italian merchants contributed to its steady growth in the Mediteranian through the tenth and eleventh centuries (Katz 27-39). To begin, the decades of instability as well as foreign invasions mostly by Germanic tribes, led to an establishment of a new military, political, and administrative framework under Diocletian (284-305), and Constantine I, which also led to a new economic power in Byzantine and Constantinopole. From 395 to 476, the Empire was in a big crisis until the Germans left the territory. Emperor Justinian I provided the growth of the economy, but also the growth period ended with the â€Å"Justinian Plague† that broke out in Egypt in 542, and reduced the population in all provinces of the empire. The â€Å"Justinian Plague† continued until the 8th century. At the same time, political disadvantage occurred with the warfare against Sasanian Persia in 6th and 7th century, which had a really bad impact on Byzantine economy. In the 7th century, after the death of Prophet Mohammed, the Arabs started to invade eastern parts of the empire, and the Byzantine was still weak from the war with Persia, and until 642, most of the revenue of the empire was gone, but due to their unbreakable economic system, the empire survived again. After the survival of Arabian attacks, Byzantium appeared as a completely new power that was financed by a new effective tax system. In the 9th century, conditions in the empire largely improved, which led to an increase of security and economic growth. After that, Byzantium was a completely new empire (Laiou 9-28). The Byzantine economy was based on money provided by taxes which enabled government to receive huge budgets, which is enormous even nowadays. The well organized economy of the empire allowed it to survive dangers of money shortage. In the 950 and 1200 Byzanine economy grew rapidly, which led to a creation of aristocracy, which was a basic link in the state system. Public expenditures were primarily annual payments in gold to state functionaries, military, Constantinopolitan and provincials. However, a desire for the coinage grew with the growth of the economy, but actually it was not easy for Byzantium to meet the standards for coinage, and it appeared that coins were in a short supply once again in Constantinopole. This suggested a sustained thirst for gold to service the state economy. From the 4th to the end of the 6th century people were using coinage called â€Å"solidi†, from 7th to 11th century â€Å"nominsata†, and from 12th to 14th century â€Å"hyperpyra†. In 540 annual revenue of the empire was 11,300,000 solidi which was more annual revenue than in any other year from 4th to 6th century (Morrison 900-1000). The 6th century economy had a power that accompanied the whole Mediterranean, followed by Justinians conquests. In the period of his reign, the economy was full of activity and exchange, that lasted until middle of the sixth century. The trade networks expanded, and Byzantine trade developed as far as England to the west and to the east,including the Red Sea and beyond as far as India. A significant economic undertaking also represented the construction of cities in the fifth and sixth century and new ways of architecture and infrastructre. (Morrison 172). However, trade was more developed in the eastern part of the empire. For the international trade, the Byzantine Empire used well-organized systems of Roman roads and bridges and adapted them for their own use. The resurfacing of the roads and bridges and well organized infrastructure allowed the traders to import and export fresh food, use places to sleep and eat, and just have a good trading experience. According to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, it was necessary to know which roads were narrow or steep, and at the same time unsafe for transport, and which ones were good. The most important road in the empire was the â€Å"Imperial Rode,† which ran from the northwest to the southeast of the empire. The Black Sea connection was also of importance, which was the connection path to the Asia, and its exporters (Avramea 57-90). The base of the Byzantine economy was agriculture. The interest of the state is that agriculture keeps the state revenue flowing in. Agriculture was also important for gathering as many gold coins and returning a portion to the state treasury. Paying taxes was the best way to prove the ownership of the land. The seaside areas were featuring vines, sea crops, and production of lives, which played an important role for the Byzantine Empire. The manpower or â€Å"the musscle of the peassants† was also a big significance for the empire, because the economy would have been useless without the manpower. However, the imports were mainly constructed of the common goods that kept the business including, oil, wool, metals, spices, and jewelery that were imported mostly from China, India, and Persia. Byzantium took care of the timely arrival of the goods to both eastern and western parts of the empire. The Byzantines considered land a common resource, not to be bought or sold, but it is valuable only if the men were invesing in it. The biggest loss of the inhabitants and land was in 541 due to the plague, where Constantinopole lost 40 % of its inhabitants. It affected both cities and countryside, as well as the routes of trading and communication, and significantly shrank the economic production. In the 9th century after the plague, peace was slowly reestablished and territories started to increase (Bryer 101-113). From the other side, Constantinople was presented as a very wealthy capital which served as propaganda for the foreigners that came to visit it, as well as for their own citizens. Constantinopole was fully decorated with the foreign imported material such as silk or gold. The 10th century was one of the most powerful in the Byzantine Empire history, and through that period, Constantinopole was the biggest centre of the international trade, with merchants mostly from Italy, Syria, and Bulgaria. In the middle of the 10th century international trade with Muslims became very popular, while in the 11th and 12th century economy of exchange took place. Before the ninth and tenth century, Arabs were invading Egypt and Syria, which ruined the Byzantine trade, but since the population size increased in ninth and tenth century, production and trade also increased, especially the demand for grain. The shipping was important for the international trade, so good quality of the ships was needed. One of the popular brands was â€Å"dromon†, which followed the Roman shipbuilding tradition. The big change in the technology of the sea transport came from the storage jar, which gave way to the wooden barrel, which overall reduced the weight of the ship, allowing for more things to be transferred from one side to another (Avramea 55-89). Coinage was the basic form of the money in the Byzantine Empire, but even though businessmen were very skillful, they were not capable to speed up the circulation of the coins through the empire. The gold coinage was mostly used from 7th to the start of 11th century. At the start of 11th century, silver and copper coins were circulating more through the monetary system. However, there was a coinage crisis going through many periods, until Alexios I Komnenos put the end to a coinage crisis. His reign was based on his family as a centre of government. His reign was known for power and wealth, and Komnenian policies enhanced the importance of the Byzantine ports and cities. The entirely new coinage released from the economy of state helped the massive expansion in subventions of land-based tax privileges. These subventions strengthen local market economies, which encouraged peasants to develop the production. The state collected the taxes in cash, but they used excess to pay off obiligations to the state. These grants had also grown significantly in the 11th century and Alexios Komnenos used it as a reward for the military and his family. As the state mostly depended on aristocrats, there were always the difference between upper and lower class, and as much as aristocrats were giving to the state, they were also increasingly working for their own interest. The best example of that system is shown in the Komnenos family. The main interest of the aristocrats was to benefit from the states’ weaknesses, but not to weaken the state, which would deprive the poor of access to the resources and stop aristocrats seeking benefits by competing with each other (Lopez 209-234). Even though the estate and the village competed with each other about the territory because there was a big amount of land available, the estate and the village also need each other. The estate needed land for farming, such as growing crops or raising life. From the other side, the village needed the land for spreading their trading facility as well as commerce. Within the Byzantine Empire, regardless of where the person lived, the same as in the Roman Empire, men were in charge of almost every part of their property, considering cultivation of the land and other physical activities which were including hard work that women usually could not do. Women were in charge of children and the life inside the house (Laiou 45-56). During the period from 9th to 11th century, it appeared that the economy was almost completely monetized. All the taxes had to be payed in gold, while in the other countries such as Bulgaria, tax was paid in kind. The organization of the fiscal services evolved in the 9th century. There were various offices with employees that were writing documents and accounting books. The tenth and eleventh centuries also viewed a development of â€Å"charitable houses,† institutions that were using revenue for financing the upper aristocratic class, which is another example of the power of the upper class and the Byzantine Empire economy (Oikonomides 577-581). Even though the Byzantine economy had ups and downs like any other economy in any other system, the positive thing is that through the longer period it remained strong and powerful. The 6th century and Justinian and start of the 11th century and Komnenians’ reign were the periods when the ecomony reached its climax and showed the world its characteristics and endurance. Even in modern times, it appeared difficult for many economies to reach the Byzantine economic level of wealth and strength.

Understanding HIV and AIDS :: health, virus, medicine

HIV/ AIDS HIV/AIDS is an epidemic that effects both men and women of all ages. It has an impact on many people's lives either by themselves being infected, knowing someone who is infected, or being a health care worker. HIV is a virus that attacks the body's immune system. It also effects the blood cells (lymphocytes) and cells of the organs (bone marrow, spleen, liver, and lymph glands). It effects the lungs, central nervous system and gastrointestinal system. People begin with having the HIV virus. An HIV infected person is likely to stay fit and well for a long time. In time, however the infected person develops rare illnesses or cancers because their immune system is weakened. When this happens, the person now has AIDS. Some people live for several years once they have AIDS, but it is always fatal. HIV is diagnosed with a blood test known as an HIV antibody test or HIV test. If the test shows that HIV is present, the person is referred to as HIV positive. It may take up to 6 months after contact to show up. The number of women with HIV and AIDS in the United States is steadily rising. From 1985 to 1996, the proportion of reported US AIDS cases occurring among women increased from 7-20% (Women and AIDS). An analysis from the National Cancer Institute estimates that between 107,000 and 150,000 women on the U.S. are living with HIV infection (many of whom have not developed AIDS (Women and AIDS) AIDS presents a great worry for women. It is the third leading cause of death among women ages 25 to 44 and the leading cause of death among African-American women of the same age group. (Women and AIDS) Although AIDS cases are reported in all 50 states, the highest rates in 1996 were in New York, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland and Delaware (Women and AIDS) HIV may not produce any initial symptoms. However, as this disease progresses, symptoms begin to appear. Among them are: fatigue, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, fever, diarrhea, recurrent respiratory and skin infections, swollen lymph glands throughout the body, genital changes, enlarged spleen and mouth sores. Vaginal yeast infections, common and easily treated in most women, are harder to treat in HIV infected women. Bacterial vaginosis and common STDs such as gonorrhea, chlamydia trichomoniasis, and pelvic inflammatory disease are more common and aggressive in HIV-infected women.

How Do You Think the Asian Passenger Air Transport

The Asian passenger air transport marketplace will stable and growing rapidly. The latest Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF), released in December 2010, shows that key drivers for the marketplace are the replacement of aircraft for newer more eco-efficient models in mature markets, dynamic growth in new emerging markets, the further growth of low-cost carriers – particularly in Asia-Pacific and Europe, further market liberalisation and capacity growth on existing routes. In 2010, views on whether low-fare airlines would continue to flourish in Asia varied. Three factors regulation, population demographics, and socioeconomic trends -drove this calculus. Although the target consumer base for AirAsia was enormous -more than 500 million people lived within three hours of AirAsia's hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, more than Western Europe's entire population -the failure of Asia's regulatory environment to keep pace and the uncertain demand for low-fare services created uncertainty. Those who sold airplanes, airports or advice tended to be of the opinion that low-fare carriers would redraw Asia's socioeconomic map, offering affordable international travel to millions and thereby fostering the integration of a region divided by water, politics, and poor infrastructure. Analysts who saw a large and growing market predicted that budget airlines would tap pent-up demand among less affluent Asians, who typically travelled by bus and hardly expected attentive service. Since the global economy peaked in the second half of 2006 and even during the recession of 2008-2009, Asian carriers had seen increased success. â€Å"We're seeing that people in Asia travel as soon as they have some extra money in their pocket,† said Don Birth, president and chief executive officer of Abacus, a distribution services provider†) Although average incomes were lower in Asia than in Europe, Timothy Ross, an analyst for UBS, said that the region's lower average incomes should boost rather than constrain demand for cheap fares. Other analysts argued that there had traditionally been too few bilateral agreements that allowed new low-fare carriers to fly between countries and too few of the satellite airports that the airlines needed to keep costs low. In that vein, budget airlines such as AirAsia were hoping for increased cross-border travel in the wake of the December 2008 Asean open skies agreement. The agreement allowed carriers based in the region to make unlimited flights between all 10 Asean member states. Although it would be 2015 before the agreement was fully implemented, it was a positive step forward. For instance, in January 2010, the Indonesian Transportation Ministry announced it was gearing up for the country's full participation in the Asean air transport liberalization plan and intended to inc1ude five of Indonesia's twenty-seven international airports in the implementation. † Although this was only a small proportion, it was a symbolic start. â€Å"Liberalization tends to be infectious, and the germs of change are in the air,† concluded Peter Harbison, the executive chairman of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. ‘ As more and more countries opened their skies, AirAsia was quick to start cross-border joint ventures, most notably in Thailand and Indonesia. AirAsia prompted increased passenger travel with its 2007-2008 â€Å"To Malaysia with Love† campaign. The campaign celebrated 50 years of nationhood for Malaysia, and offered travelers affordable fares â€Å"starting from MYR0. 50 (about 15 cents), available for all destinations to/from its Malaysian hubs. ,,36 Cheaper airfares were also made possible by the low-cost carrier terminal at Kuala Lampur Airport, with a throughput of about 10 million passengers annually. Even though, external, industry-wide challenges -particularly the escalating cost of fuel -also posed a threat to AirAsia. As the lowest cost carrier in the world, the company suffered more from high fuel prices, as they were a higher percentage of total costs, than any other airline (assuming similar equipment and seat density). Surcharges and baggage fees covered some of this but the airline was conscious that if it loaded on the full charge, it might find no demand on some flights due to a high base price (e. g. inimum or zero fare plus taxes, fees and surcharges). To offset this eventuality, AirAsia did a lot to improve operations and efficiency and also saw the benefits of the fuel efficient Airbus 320 help to maintain its low-fares brand position. To retain its cost advantage in the wake of the global recession, AirAsia entered into an alliance in January 2010 with Jetstar, the low-fare subsidiary of Australia's flag carrier, Qantas. This was the first time two leading budget airlines had collaborated in this fashion. The alliance allowed the companies to explore joint aircraft purchasing, passenger and ground handling services cooperation and the transportation of each other's passengers in the event of a disruption. Assuming the focus of the alliance was on cost sharing for services and aircraft procurement, it might prove effective. AirAsia had played the game very well and had ambitious growth plans to keep ahead of the pack. Time would tell if Fernandes and his team could maintain the company's position as Asia's -or perhaps the globe's -most successful budget airline. But what were the business implications for AirAsia if oil prices remained above $100 a barrel for the foreseeable future? Little possibility. Between slim and none The pattern in other regions suggested that once rules start to relax, growth follows. In the United States, the upsurge of budget carriers saw passenger numbers rise nearly 50 per cent in the five years following deregulation, compared with four per cent for traditional airlines. In 2010, low-fare carriers now had more than a third of the market. In Australia, Virgin Blue took only three years to win a 30 per cent market share. The growth of low-fare carriers had great potential to spill over into the broader tourist and business travel economy: having more air passengers generates higher demand for hotel rooms. This connection had been seen in Australia, where Virgin Blue took nearly one-third of the domestic market from Qantas Airways (which responded in part by setting up Jetstar). This resulted in a sharp upturn in demand for economy hotels, such as Accor. â€Å"In many cases, it's entirely new business that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for cheap air tickets,† commented Peter Hook, general manager for communications at Accor Asia Pacific . In addition, low-fare carriers might offer options for Asian travelers to mix business with pleasure, as many North American and European business travelers did, by extending trips or bringing family members to accompany them. Ultimately, Fernandes pointed out, budget airlines in Asia had an advantage in that Asia had almost no interregional highways and no high-speed international rail. â€Å"There's a lot of sea in between,† he said. â€Å"Air travel is the only way to develop interconnectivity in Asia. â€Å"

Reflective account of teaching session Free Essay Example, 1750 words

Introduction As a nursing I usually have to teach patients several do-it-yourself practices and guide them to ensure that they perform suchprocedures well. The success of transfer of such knowledge from me to them depends to a large extent on my teaching and the patient’s efforts. It is thus important that on my part, I analyse my approach in teaching to determine its effectiveness, strengths, weaknesses and what I should do to make it better. The best approach to examine my approach to teaching is definitely through the use of Gibb’s reflective cycle as it will enable me to reflect a great deal in using one situation and analyse everything that occurred in it, relating my actions to each result that occurred. Through Gibb’s Reflective Cycle, I will analyse a case in which I taught a patient how to change a stoma. I will first describe the context of the teaching- how I acted and how the patient reacted. According to Jasper (2003) this should be followed by anal ysing ones feelings in the situation and emotions at the event. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflective account of teaching session or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now One then follows this up with an evaluation of the experience, determining which aspects turned out to be positive and which ones were not, and what failed to go according to plan. After this one needs to critically analyse the occurrence, establishing a conclusion on the entire experience and ultimately come up with an action plan to follow in case of a similar experience in the future. By the time I am through with this, the teaching experience will be analysed in entirety and the next patient I teach how to change a stoma will have a better experience. The context of the teaching This is the first step of Gibb’s Reflective cycle, where I will analyse what actually happened as I taught the patient how to change the stoma. To begin with, the patient had undergone a surgery to due to a severe case of diverticulitis and was just about to be discharged. I visited her ward as was required of me and undertook to explain to her how from that moment henceforth she would be changing the stoma. The patient was clearly in anxious emotional state due to the surgery she had just undergone, although it had been very successful. As Winston et al (1987) so ably puts it, the pre-operative and post-operative emotional states of surgery patients is characterised by anxiety, misgivings, depression and irritability. Spielberger (1973) had earlier on suggested that patients usually develop anxiety to surgery as an emotional reaction towards situations that physically threatening, while Furst (1978) demonstrated that patients under surgery usually reported fear, apprehensio n, worry and uncertainty.