Progressivism And Progressivism - 1108 Words

In the early 1880’s a new movement began to rise, progressivism. Progressivism spread rapidly from the large cities that began to form across America, to the smaller towns that were beginning to go from agrarian paradises to more suburban landscape. These abrupt changes in society meant changes in social conduct, and norms must change with them. With factories on the rise many men were forced to work 12-16 hour shifts seven days a week with no benefits, breaks, or safety standards, progressivism was the driving force behind unions, public education, professionalism, skilled labor, government based services, and political and economic rights of the disadvantaged in America. The trade unions, better known as labor unions, got off to a rocky†¦show more content†¦The workers on strike attacked the mine guard’s camp later that week in retaliation. (Barkey) As Child Labor Laws came into effect in the early 1900’s many children were sent to public schools for the first time in their lives, as many schools were private up until then. (Brackemyre) These children had an opportunity many in their families did not, they learned â€Å"the three R’s, reading, writing, and arithmetic.† (Absten) This newfound education of the masses led to an uptick in professional careers, and skilled labor. This led to colleges being more widespread, and universities being easier to access for the average American. Working class families had the ability to send children to school instead of to hard labor jobs, and this meant longer life expectancies, as well as better quality of life. It set the stage for a new social age, the ability to live bet ter than your parents did before you, it gave a whole new meaning to the American Dream. This change in society showed as increasingly more children each generation chose less hard labor, and more professional jobs. This increase in professional work led to suburban areas outside of major cities popping up everywhere, these areas highlighted the lack of emergency services, law enforcement, and other government services. With many people living outside of the city where guards could break up trouble, but still in populated enough areas that trouble still found a way in, law enforcement became a necessity for manyShow MoreRelatedProgressivism Historiography Essay2107 Words   |  9 PagesAwesome Student Mrs. Aars CIS American History 15 March, 2013 My Take on the Progressives The common thought about progressivism before the 1950s were that it was a movement by the common people to curb the excessive power of powerful people such as urban bosses, corporate moguls, and corrupt officials. However, when George Mowry wrote his Progressivism: Middle Class Disillusionment, he challenged the common idea that the progressives were middle class citizens and instead considered them toRead More Progressivism Essay1891 Words   |  8 PagesProgressivism The Progressive Movement in the late nineteenth century, early twentieth century presented quite a situation for historians to conquer. At the turn of the twentieth century political questioning was the norm. Practically every historian that writes about this time period has a different opinion of what made up â€Å"Progressive Movement,† some even going so far to beg the question if it was actually a movement or if it was more of an â€Å"era.† The two are interchanged so often that theyRead MoreProgressivism Within Twenty First Century Learning1203 Words   |  5 PagesProgressivism within Twenty-First Century Learning By Josh Fix Submitted to the Faculty of Columbus State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Leadership Columbus State University Columbus, GA July 2015 By design twenty-first century learning prepares students to be successful, contributing citizens in the locale of today’s global society. Twenty-first century learning requires students to understand how to learnRead MoreEssay about Interpreting American Progressivism2954 Words   |  12 PagesInterpreting American Progressivism The period referred to as the Progressive Era in American history is one which historians often disagree over, and as in all areas of history, there are many theories surrounding the era which sometimes contradict each other. Historians are always aware of prominent theories within the field, and they often participate in an ongoing dialogue concerning their research. One of the first historians to make a major mark regarding the Progressive Era was RichardRead MoreProgressivism : A Great Number Of Urban Middle Class1722 Words   |  7 PagesThananun Prasertsup (Nine) History Research 420 Word Count: Progressivism in the Roosevelt Corollary From 1900 to about 1920, a great number of urban middle class people began to consider problems created by urbanization, class conflict, immigration, corruption, etc. This broad movement had large effects on American politics and the name of this time, known as the Progressive Era. Not only did the progressive movement happen in the era, Latin American economic crises also occurred. Venezuela wasRead MoreProgressivism And Progressivism925 Words   |  4 PagesTo begin the paper, I will give a summary of what progressivism is and what effect it had within the United States. Progressivism is defined as a movement that is to limit the social destructiveness effects of capitalism. Progressives look at capitalism as unhindered. That they need to extract from the markets in a capitalist system and to counterbalance the tasks that capitalism leaves such as terrible social effects. They wanted the public well being to be better off. Progressives overall did notRead MoreAdvantages And Disad vantages Of The Progressives1277 Words   |  6 PagesProgressivism, †¦unlike populism, whose grassroots appeal was largely confined to rural regions in the South and Mid-West, focused on the nation altogether, coming in all different forms. (Shi Tindall 778) The movement consisted of moral Christians who disliked politics. They believed that politics, †¦had become a contest between good and evil, honesty and corruption (Shi Tindall 778). Therefore, they believed the government should provide more, addressing the issues dealing with rapid urbanRead MoreThe Movement Of Stem Education1815 Words   |  8 PagesThrough philosophical foundations there emerges certain philosophies of education. Those philosophies of education can then be directly linked to issues/ problems in education today. This paper will take a detailed look at pragmatism and its link to progressivism. Then, an examination of how those principles have shaped the movement of STEM education will provide a co mplete overview of these early century physiological foundations to modern day education issues. There are principles and thinking withinRead MoreThe First Midterm Assignment During American History1500 Words   |  6 PagesIn other words the progressive movement was established to fix society’s ills that occurred in the late-19th century and early-20th century especially from the Gilded Ages, without including controversy and trying to please everyone’s needs. â€Å"Progressivism was wide-ranging impulse rather than a single organized movement, a multifaceted, often fragmented, and at times contradictory response to the urgent problems created by unregulated industrialization, unplanned urbanization, unrelenting immigrationRead More Populists v Progressives Essay705 Words   |  3 Pagesday of eight hours, postal banks, pensions, and the reform of immigration regulations are just some of the other views and beliefs of populists. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Progressives are activists in a political reform movement known as progressivism, which is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th cent. In the decades following the Civil War, rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed, agriculture was mechanized

Marriage and Divorce in the Post Victorian Era Essay

Marriage and Divorce in the Post Victorian Era Marriage is a social structure. When couples get married they enter into a relationship that is societally recognized and to some degree societally regulated. Laws, customs, traditions and cultural assumptions are intrinsically involved in defining the path that a marriage will take. In the late 19th century many Americans had to come to terms in some way with the societal expectations of marriage, guided by the Victorian mores. But as the 20th century began these elements began to evolve. As personal expectations became more important societal expectations lost prevalence. The laws and regulations of the 1920s succeeded in making it more difficult to obtain a divorce. More†¦show more content†¦Cases against men of the time included: inability to provide for basic needs disruption of domestic life with vices and abuse or cruelty. Cases against women covered: inadequacy in motherhood, not fulfilling domestic responsibilities, and any use of vices. What changes happened over the next forty years to cause an increase in the divorce rate? One might guess that women became more liberated or that the influx of immigrants may have caused competition for jobs. May proposed the idea that a revolution took place within society, a change that did not include all of the aspects of Victorianism. During this time there was an industrial revolution, a sexual revolution and urbanization. All of these meant that new roles needed to be defined within the home and between the sexes. In the workplace corporations began to rise and ruin the opportunity for economic autonomy. No longer could a have the pride and power of running his own business, he was now forced to work under someone and in most cases take a pay cut. This also meant many women were almost forced into the workforce. Though many husbands didnt want their wives to have to work many women were encouraged to go out and get a job. Some women saw this as a new opportunity, which meant more freedom , but many were very unhappy with this idea. This was an accepted claim for divorce in many of the cases in California in the beginning of the 20th century. As industry began to boomShow MoreRelatedGender Roles Of The House807 Words   |  4 Pagesinfluences that I believe initiated these changes fall into three themes: 1. The marriage relationship and outside paid work, 2. Education and its impact on femininity, and 3. Technology and its impact on domesticity. The three themes address issues that women navigated as society changed as their roles in the home and outside of the home changed. I will briefly address each theme and then delve into the relationship between marriage and work outside of the home. The three themes transverse the politicalRead MoreMurder at the Priory: Who Killed Charles Bravo?1534 Words   |  7 Pages(â€Å"Florence Bravo,† n.d.). After dinner Bravo retreated to his room and a few minutes later, Bravo cried out for hot water. The maid and Mrs. Cox rushed to help Bravo and he soon fell into unconsciousness. Three days later Bravo was pronounced dead. The post-mortem in St Thomas’s hospital revealed that Bravo died of a massive dose of tartar emetic – 30 to 40 grains (Scriven, 2001) and according to Thienes and Haley (1972), 150 mg of tartar emetic is a lethal dose. Bravo had swallowed ten times the lethalRead MoreThe Independence Born From Desperation1248 Words   |  5 Pageson their marriage had as result in a deep conversation and their relationship changed. When she was fully recovered, Louisa returned to college to finish her bachelor degree and after some time, she got a very good job as a teacher. Today, my dear friend has a fulfi lled life as a teacher, mother, and wife. Like in Louisa’s relationship, the major conflict in The Yellow Wallpaper, written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892, is the confinement by domestic roles of motherhood and marriage, which ledRead MoreAn Active Member Of International Organisations1516 Words   |  7 Pageschanges in the 1960s. The 1960s destroyed a cultural continuity that had lasted since the Victorian period including the development of popular music such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The British Royal family became more newsworthy. The marriage of Price Charles to Diana brought some much needed glamour to the Royal family. The birth of two sons was followed soon after by recriminations and divorce. Never the less the British monarchy remained and continued to remain newsworthy. AbortionRead MoreEssay on Women ´s Right Activism1664 Words   |  7 Pagescorrelated to strength and aggressiveness in America. A man isnt strong if he gives his â€Å"dams el in distress† power over him, therefore our society wants women to stay quiet and accepting of the patriarch in their household. This goes back to the Victorian era with the cult of domesticity, how women were told to be four things: sexually inactive (not enjoying sex but only enduring it for their husbands and reproductive reasons), the moral compass of the family, submissive to her patriarch, and strivingRead More Movie Essays - Jane Campions Film of Henry Jamess The Portrait of a Lady3966 Words   |  16 PagesJane Campions Film Version of Henry Jamess The Portrait of a Lady Jane Campions film version of Henry Jamess novel, The Portrait of a Lady, offers the viewer a sexually charged narrative of a young naive American girl in Victorian era Europe. Jamess novel focuses on what an exciting inward life may do for the person leading it even while it [a persons life] remains perfectly normal (James 54). James could not or would not place into his narrative the sexual thoughts, suggestions,Read MoreNora Helmer s A Doll s House2548 Words   |  11 Pagesbeginning of the play. The main character in this play is Nora. Nora goes through a complete transformation, changing from a child like and dependant woman to a self strong woman pushing to become independent. Ibsen portrays the roles of society in the Victorian times in this play. Throughout her whole life, Nora’s husband and father have always controlled her; she has never been able to be independent, and the treatment she receives is not equal to the males around her, and the people around her belittleRead MoreFeminism in India4692 Words   |  19 Pagesagainst the social evils of Sati;[2]  the second phase, from 1915 to Indian independence, when Gandhi incorporated wome ns movements into the  Quit India movement  and independent womens organizations began to emerge;[3]  and finally, the third phase, post-independence, which has focused on fair treatment of women in the work force and right to political parity.[3] Despite the progress made by Indian feminist movements, women living in modern India still face many issues of discrimination. Indias patriarchalRead MoreCompare and Contrast - Women5945 Words   |  24 Pagesprofessional lives. women are far more independent financially than 100 years ago Despite changes in the nature of work women were involved in after the war, by the end of the 1940s women were a bigger proportion of the workforce than in 1939. The post-war upswing, technology, and the expansion of higher education, increased expectations for women. b. Pay: 1. 100 years Horrible 2. Women Today Better than the past IV. Rights a. Education 1. 100 years They b. Right to vote 1. 100Read MoreFrom Salvation to Self-Realization18515 Words   |  75 PagesTherapeutic Ethos 10The origins of the therapeutic ethos are too complex to describe in detail here. In part, its genesis involved the professionalization and growing authority of medicine. That process had been under way at least since the early antebellum era, when health reformers sprouted like mushrooms, linking medical with moral standards of value. But during the late nineteenth century, medical prestige became far more firmly established. While urban ministers authority waned, doctors of body and mind

A Kid Named Cudi/The Prayer by Kid Cudi free essay sample

Music Review â€Å"The Prayer† – Kid Cudi I remember the day as if it was only yesterday. I was sitting on my couch, watching TV. Along comes along my sister’s boyfriend listening to music on his computer. The song that was playing immediately caught my attention, so I asked him who the artist, and what the song was. He then replied to me the words that would soon change my persona about music. â€Å"The Prayer by Kid Cudi† he said. As soon as we said those 2 golden words I burst out of my seat and rushed to the computer. I sat there and listened to Kid Cudi and all his numerous songs for a while. The Prayer was one of my favorites that I listened to and became fond of Kid Cudi’s style in his work. In â€Å"The Prayer† Cudi is trying to express many feelings about his rapping career and how he wants to respected and remembered as a gifted artist if he were to die. We will write a custom essay sample on A Kid Named Cudi/The Prayer by Kid Cudi or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He wants to let all his fans know that he is grateful and appreciates their support. Kid Cudi is also trying to express in the song that he thinks God put him on the Earth for the reason, and that he has achieved his goal of making millions of people happy by listening to his music. The beat of â€Å"The Prayer† was originally heard in the song â€Å"The Funeral† by Band of Horses, except now it has been changed from a more rock type song into a rap. One part of Cudi’s song that I found remotely funny was a line where he says â€Å"To all the girls I’ve dated I’m not mad at you. Basically he was saying that even though he broke up with those girls he isn’t mad at them about it. Overall Kid Cudi outdid himself in this song, and more people should appreciate what the artists go through to make us listeners happy. Over the years Cudi has introduced three albums to his listeners. The first of which was called â€Å"A Kid Named Cudi† whic h was also the album â€Å"The Prayer† was released on. He also released two more albums which were instantly popular amongst his fans. The second album released was the â€Å"Day N’ Nite† album and became a huge hit in the first week of release. It was listed on the charts as #4, and also listed Kid Cudi’s best track â€Å"Day N’ Nite.† The third album that was released by Kid Cudi was named â€Å"Man on the Moon† from one of Cudi’s top songs which was also named â€Å"Man on the Moon.† Kid Cudi has been a very successful young rap artist and continues pleasing his fans with his albums. Kid Cudi grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. In numerous songs of his he mentions growing up in Ohio and the life he had as a kid. His real name is Scott Ramon Seguro Muscudi but prefers being known as Kid Cudi. When he was only 11 years old his father passed away from cancer. This sad and dramatic event in Cudi’s life altered his person ality, and gave him the motivation to start his music career. He then later on dropped out of college and moved to New York City and released his first album â€Å"A Kid Named Cudi.† This set the tone for his career and he continues what he loves to do, rap. The Prayer, which I believe is one of Kid Cudi’s best work so far, his various albums and Cudi himself are what I think make this young artist so special. Thanks to my sister’s boyfriend I have heard an outstanding rapper, and I can easily say Cudi is my favorite artist out there. His work has changed my persona on rap music greatly. Everyone out there who thinks rap is stupid, just listen to some of Kid Cudi’s music and hopefully you will change your mind.

XOXO (Kiss Hug) by EXO free essay sample

XOXO was the first album released by South-Korean boy group, EXO. The album was released on June 3, 2013. EXO debuted in 2011 and started out with 12 members, but now, there are 9 members left. XOXO sold over one million copies and became the best-selling album in the K-pop industry. On the XOXO album are K-pop, dance pop, and R B. This is the kind of album that makes you want to either get emotional, rock your head back and forth, or dance. The voices of EXO were intense, deep, and powerful. I have to say though, the song â€Å"Baby, Don’t Cry† was very memorable to me due to the great vocals and emotions associated with it. The song was very intense that it would most likely make you want to cry or feel a throb in your heart. â€Å"Baby, Don’t Cry† would start out with good vocals, and then it would climax with brilliance that can’t be expressed. We will write a custom essay sample on XOXO (Kiss Hug) by EXO or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Today, we listen to songs that are rare in expressing an artist’s emotions and don’t really have a lot of meaning associated with it, but this album is different. Why? Because XOXO has a variety of songs for different purposes, it was to either tell you about a breakup, a desire for a girl, a girl’s effect on someone, and etc. You didn’t need to understand any of the songs, it was like you could know what the songs meant based on how the songs were sang and the feelings you got when you heard the songs. In the end, I â€Å"XOXO† this album and think we are so â€Å"Lucky† to have this album to listen to.

Ravi B. Lucas Essays - Adam And Eve, Satan, Young Goodman Brown

Ravi B. Lucas April 11, 2000 The Young GoodMan Brown Young Goodman Brown, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is a story that is rich in metaphors which ultimately question the very morals and ethics of his religious society. In Young Goodman Brown, Goodman Brown is a proud Puritan who meets with the devil that causes him to become aware of the society he lives in. The story about Goodman Brown centers on a proud man who thinks that a meeting with the Devil can't alter his faith in religion. He also desires to find more about his inner domains, but eventually finds out how hypocritical his community is. The story's crux is based upon religious metaphors of Hawthorne's town of Salem during their religious conflict. The beginning of the story mentions the Goodman's wife, Faith who has a double meaning to her name. Goodman's name also should not be overlooked because it is a double-edged sword as well. Hawthorne plays with Faith's name in that it symbolizes religious faith. Faith- Goodman's wife- is seen as a pious woman who like Goodman, is deep into her religious beliefs. She is innocent like her religion. To indicate Faith's innocence, Hawthorne gave her pink ribbons to wear. These ribbons are important, because they expose Faith's character. Pink is seen as a pleasant color that promotes no tension. Pink is not as violent as red, or gloomy as black. In addition, there is Goodman." His name represents what his society thought of him. He was a religious good person, who came from a long linage of prominent Puritans. Young Goodman Brown begins when Faith, Brown's wife, pleads with him not to go on his errand." Goodman Brown says to his love and my Faith (passage 5) that this one night I must tarry away from thee (passage 5). When he says his love and his Faith," he is talking to his wife, but he is also talking to his faith in God. He is venturing into the woods to meet with the Devil, and by doing so; he leaves his unquestionable faith in God with his wife. He resolves that he will cling to her skirts and follow her to Heaven (passage 5). This is an example of his excessive pride. He feels that he can meet with the Devil because of the promise that he made to himself. There is tremendous irony to this promise because when Goodman Brown comes back at dawn; he can no longer look at his wife with the same faith he had in her before. Throughout literature, authors continue to use metaphors like darkness, sunsets, colors, paths, and nature to help illustrate their hidden thoughts. This tool is supposed to give the reader the feeling of something evil, or negative commencing. Goodman's errand sends him off into the wild forest during the sunset where he is walking on a narrow dark path that is easy to lose. The forest is a place where there are no rules to life, and a place where nature can turn against civilized humans. When Goodman Brown finally meets with the Devil, he declares that his reason for being late was because Faith kept me back awhile (passage 10). This statement has a double meaning because his wife physically prevented him from being on time for his meeting with the devil, but his faith to God psychologically delayed his meeting with the devil. The Devil had with him a staff that bore the likeness of a great black snake" (passage 10). The staff is a reference to the snake in the story of Adam and Eve. The snake led Adam and Eve to their destruction by leading them to the Tree of Knowledge. The Adam and Eve story is similar to Goodman Brown in that they are both seeking immeasurable amounts of knowledge. Once Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they were exiled from paradise. The Devil's staff eventually leads Goodman Brown to the Devil's ceremony, which destroys Goodman Brown's faith in his fellow man, therefore expelling him from his utopia. Goodman Brown almost immediately declares that he kept his meeting with the Devil and no longer wishes to continue on his errand with the Devil. He says that he comes from

Medieval Methods for Making Fabric From Wool

Medieval Methods for Making Fabric From Wool In the Middle Ages, wool was turned into cloth in the thriving wool production trade, in home-based cottage industry, and in private households for family use. Methods could vary depending on the wherewithal of the producer, but the basic processes of spinning, weaving, and finishing cloth were essentially the same. Wool is usually sheared from sheep all at once, resulting in a large fleece. Occasionally, the skin of a slaughtered sheep was utilized for its wool; but the product obtained, which was called pulled wool, was an inferior grade to that shorn from live sheep. If the wool was intended for trade (as opposed to local use), it was bound up with similar fleeces and sold or traded off until it reached its final destination in a cloth-manufacturing town. It was there that processing began. Sorting The first thing done to a fleece was to separate its wool into its various grades by coarseness because different types of wool were destined for different end products and required specialized methods of processing. Also, some types of wool had specific uses in the manufacturing process itself. The wool in the outer layer of fleece was ordinarily longer, thicker and coarser than the wool from the inner layers. These fibers would be spun into worsted yarn. The inner layers had softer wool of varying lengths that would be spun into woolen yarn. Shorter fibers would be further sorted by grade into heavier and finer wools; the heavier ones would be used to make thicker yarn for the warp threads in the loom, and the lighter ones would be used for the wefts. Cleansing Next, the wool was washed; soap and water would usually do for worsteds. For the fibers that would be used to make woolens, the cleansing process was particularly stringent and could include hot alkaline water, lye, and even stale urine. The aim was to remove the wool grease (from which lanolin is extracted) and other oils and greases as well as dirt and foreign matter. The use of urine was frowned upon and even outlawed at various points in the Middle Ages, but it was still common in home industries throughout the era. Following cleansing, the wools were rinsed several times. Beating After rinsing, the wools were set out in the sun on wooden slats to dry and were beaten, or broken, with sticks. Willow branches were often used, and thus the process was called willeying in England, brisage de laines in France and wullebreken in Flanders. Beating the wool helped remove any remaining foreign matter, and it separated entangled or matted fibers. Preliminary Dyeing Sometimes, dye would be applied to fiber before it was used in manufacturing. If so, this is the point at which the dyeing would occur. It was fairly common to soak fibers in a preliminary dye with the expectation that the color would combine with a different shade in a later dye bath. Fabric that was dyed at this stage was known as dyed-in-the-wool. Dyes usually required a mordant to keep the color from fading, and mordants often left a crystalline residue that made working with fibers extremely difficult. Therefore, the most common dye used in this early stage was woad, which did not require a mordant. Woad was a blue dye made from an herb indigenous to Europe, and it took about three days to use it to dye fiber and make the color fast. In later medieval Europe, such a large percentage of wool cloths were dyed with woad that cloth workers were often known as blue nails.1 Greasing Before the wools could be subjected to the harsh processing treatment that lay ahead, they would be greased with butter or olive oil to protect them. Those who produced their own cloth at home were likely to skip the more rigorous cleansing, allowing some of the natural lanolin to remain as a lubricant instead of adding grease. Although this step was done primarily to the fibers intended for woolen yarn, there is evidence that the longer, thicker fibers used to make worsteds were also lightly greased. Combing The next step in preparing wool for spinning varied depending on the type of wool, the instruments available and, oddly enough, whether certain tools had been outlawed. For worsted yarn, simple wool combs were used to separate and straighten the fibers. The teeth of the combs might be wooden or, as the Middle Ages progressed, iron. A pair of combs was used, and the wool would be transferred from one comb to the other and back again until it had been straightened and aligned. Combs were usually constructed with several rows of teeth and had a handle, which made them look a little like a modern-day dog brush. Combs were also used for woolen fibers, but in the central Middle Ages cards were introduced. These were flat boards with many rows of short, sharp metal hooks. By placing a handful of wool on one card and combing it until it had been transferred to the other, and then repeating the process several times, a light, airy fiber would result. Carding separated wools more effectively than combing, and it did so without losing the shorter fibers. It was also a good way to blend together different types of wool. For reasons that remain unclear, cards were outlawed in portions of Europe for several centuries. John H. Munroe posits that the reasoning behind the ban could be a fear that the sharp metal hooks would damage the wool, or that carding made it too easy to fraudulently blend inferior wools into superior ones. Instead of carding or combing, some woolens were subjected to a process known as bowing. The bow was an arched wooden frame, the two ends of which were attached with a taut cord. The bow would be suspended from the ceiling, the cord would be placed in a pile of wool fibers, and the wooden frame would be struck with a mallet in order to get the cord to vibrate. The vibrating cord would separate the fibers. Just how effective or common bowing was is debatable, but at least it was legal. Spinning Once the fibers were combed (or carded or bowed), they were wound on a distaff a short, forked stick - in preparation for spinning. Spinning was chiefly the province of women. The spinster would draw a few fibers from the distaff, twisting them between thumb and forefinger as she did so, and attach them to a drop-spindle. The weight of the spindle would pull the fibers down, stretching them out as it spun. The spinning action of the spindle, with the help of the spinsters fingers, twisted the fibers together into yarn. The spinster would add more wool from the distaff until the spindle reached the floor; shed then wind the yarn around the spindle and repeat the process. Spinsters stood as they  spun  so that the drop-spindle could spin out as long a yarn as possible before it had to be wound up. Spinning wheels were probably invented in India sometime after 500 CE.; their earliest recorded use in Europe is in the 13th century. Initially, they werent the convenient sit-down models of later centuries, powered by a foot pedal; rather, they were  hand-powered  and large enough so that the spinster would need to stand to use it. It may not have been any easier on the spinsters feet, but much more yarn could be produced on a spinning wheel than with a drop-spindle. However, spinning with a drop-spindle was common throughout the Middle Ages until the 15th century. Once the yarn was spun, it might be dyed. Whether it was dyed in the wool or in the yarn, color had to be added  by  this stage if a multi-colored cloth was to be produced. Knitting While knitting wasnt wholly unknown in the Middle Ages, scant evidence of hand-knitted garments survives. The relative ease of the craft of knitting and the ready availability of materials and tools for making knitting needles makes it hard to believe that peasants didnt knit themselves warm clothing from wool they got from their own sheep. The lack of surviving garments isnt at all surprising, considering the fragility of all cloth and the amount of time that has passed since the medieval era. Peasants could have worn their knitted garments to pieces, or they may have reclaimed the yarn for alternate uses when the garment grew too old or threadbare to wear any longer. Far more common than knitting in the Middle Ages was weaving. Weaving Weaving cloth was practiced in households as well as in professional cloth-making establishments. In homes where people produced cloth for their own use, spinning was often the province of women, but weaving was usually done by men. Professional weavers in manufacturing locations like Flanders and Florence were also usually men, though women weavers were not unknown. The essence of weaving is, simply, to draw one yarn or thread (the weft) through a set of perpendicular yarns (the warp), threading the weft alternately behind and in front of each individual warp thread. Warp threads were usually stronger and heavier than weft  threads  and came from different grades of fiber. The variety of weights in warps and wefts could result in specific textures. The number of weft fibers drawn through the loom in one pass could vary, as could the number of warps the weft would travel in front of before passing behind; this deliberate variety was used to achieve different textured patterns. Sometimes, warp threads were dyed (usually blue) and weft threads remained undyed, producing colored patterns. Looms  were constructed to make this process go more smoothly. The earliest looms were vertical; the warp threads stretched from the top of the loom to the floor and, later, to a bottom frame or roller. Weavers stood when they worked on vertical looms. The  horizontal loom  made its first appearance in Europe in the 11th century, and by the 12th century, mechanized versions were being used. The advent of the mechanized horizontal loom is generally considered the most important technological development in medieval textile production. A weaver would sit at a mechanized loom, and instead of threading the weft in front of and behind alternate warps by hand, hed merely have to press a foot pedal to raise up one set of alternate warps and draw the weft underneath it in one straight pass. Then hed press the other pedal, which would raise the other set of warps, and draw the weft underneath  that  in the other direction. To make this process easier, a shuttle was used a boat-shaped tool that contained yarn wound around a bobbin. The shuttle would glide easily over the bottom set of warps as the yarn unspooled. Fulling  or Felting Once the fabric had been woven and taken off the loom it would be subjected to a  fulling  process. (Fulling wasnt usually necessary if the fabric was made from worsted as opposed to woolen yarn.) Fulling thickened the fabric and made the natural hair fibers mat together through agitation and the application of  liquid. It was more effective if heat was part of the equation, as well. Initially,  fulling  was done by immersing the cloth in a vat of warm water and stomping on it or beating it with hammers. Sometimes additional chemicals were added, including soap or urine to help remove the natural lanolin of the wool or the grease that had been added to protect it in the earlier stages of processing. In Flanders, fullers earth was used in the process to absorb impurities; this was a type of soil containing a significant amount of clay, and it was naturally available in the region. Though originally done by hand (or foot), the  fulling  process gradually became automated through the use of fulling mills. These were often quite large and powered by water, although smaller, hand-cranked machines were also known. Foot-fulling was still done in household manufacturing, or when the cloth was particularly fine and wasnt to be subjected to the harsh treatment of hammers. In towns where cloth manufacture was a thriving household industry, weavers could take their cloth to a communal fulling mill. The term fulling is sometimes used interchangeably with felting. Although the process is essentially the same,  fulling  is done to cloth that has already been woven, whereas felting actually produces cloth from unwoven, separate fibers. Once cloth was fulled or felted, it could not easily unravel. After  fulling, the fabric would be thoroughly rinsed. Even worsteds that didnt need  fulling  would be washed to remove any oil or dirt that had accumulated during the weaving process. Because dyeing was a process that immersed the fabric in liquid, it may have been dyed at this point, especially in home industries. However, it was more common to wait until a later stage in production.  Cloth  that was dyed after it was woven was known as dyed-in-the-piece. Drying After it was rinsed, cloth was hung up to dry. Drying was done on specially-designed frames known as tenter frames, which used tenterhooks to hold the cloth. (This is where we get the phrase on tenterhooks to describe a state of suspense.) The sturdy frames stretched the fabric so that it wouldnt shrink too much; this process was carefully gauged, because fabric that was stretched too far, while large in square feet, would be thinner and weaker than fabric that was stretched to the proper dimensions. Drying was done in the open air; and in cloth-producing towns, this meant the fabric was always subject to inspection. Local regulations often dictated the specifics of drying cloth in order to ensure quality, thus maintaining the reputation of the town as a source of fine cloth, as well as that of the cloth manufacturers themselves. Shearing Fulled fabrics- especially those made from curly-haired woolen yarn were often very fuzzy and covered with nap. Once the fabric had been dried, it would be shaved or  sheared  to remove this extra material. Shearers would use a device that had remained pretty much unchanged since Roman times: shears, which consisted of two razor-sharp blades attached to a U-shaped bow spring. The spring, which was made of steel, also served as the handle of the device. A shearer would attach the cloth to a padded table that sloped downward and had hooks to keep the fabric in place. He would then press the bottom blade of his shears into the cloth at the top of the table and gently slide it down, clipping the fuzz and nap by bringing down the top blade as he went. Shearing a piece of fabric completely could take several passes, and would often alternate with the next step in the process, napping. Napping or Teaseling After (and before, and after) shearing, the next step was to raise the nap of the fabric enough to give it a soft, smooth finish. This was done by grooming the cloth with the head of a plant known as a teasel. A teasel was a member of the  Dipsacus  genus and had a dense, prickly flower, and it would be rubbed gently over the fabric. Of course, this could raise the nap so much that the cloth would be too fuzzy and had to be sheared again. The amount of shearing and teaseling necessary would depend on the quality and type of wool used and the result desired. Though metal and wood tools were tested for this step, they were considered potentially too damaging for fine cloth, so the teasel plant was used for this process throughout the Middle Ages. Dyeing Cloth might be dyed in the wool or in the yarn, but even so, it would usually be dyed in the piece as well, either to deepen the color or to combine with the previous dye for a different tint. Dyeing in the piece was a procedure that could realistically take place at almost any point in the manufacturing process, but most commonly it was done after the fabric had been sheared. Pressing When the teaseling and shearing (and, possibly, dyeing) was done, the fabric would be pressed to complete the smoothing process. This was done in a flat, wooden vise. Woven wool that had been fulled, dried, shorn, teaseled, dyed, and pressed could be luxuriously soft to the touch and made into the finest clothing and draperies. Unfinished Cloth Professional cloth manufacturers in wool production towns could, and did, produce cloth from the wool-sorting stage to the final pressing. However, it was quite common to sell fabric that wasnt completely finished. Producing undyed fabric was very common, allowing tailors and drapers to choose just the right hue. And it was not at all uncommon to leave out the shearing and teaseling steps, reducing the price of the fabric for consumers willing and able to perform this task themselves. Cloth Quality and Variety Every step along the manufacturing process was an opportunity for cloth-makers to excel or not. Spinners and weavers who had low-quality wool to work with could still turn out fairly decent cloth, but it was common for such wool to be worked with the least possible effort in order to turn out a product quickly. Such cloth would, of course, be cheaper; and it might be used for items other than garments. When manufacturers paid for better raw materials and took the extra time required for higher quality, they could charge more for their products. Their reputation for quality would attract the wealthier merchants, artisans, guildsmen and the nobility. Although sumptuary laws were enacted, usually in times of economic instability, to keep the lower classes from garbing themselves in finery ordinarily reserved for the upper classes, it was more often the extreme expense of the clothing worn by the nobility that kept other people from buying it. Thanks to the diverse kinds of cloth manufacturers and the many types of wool of different levels of quality they had to work with, a wide variety of wool cloth was produced in medieval times.

How has information communications technology (ICT) changed the way Essay

How has information communications technology (ICT) changed the way students communicate & learn - Essay Example With civilization, humans have leveraged on technology to enhance their communication and learning. It is no wonder Bray (2007) acknowledge that in the current century, Internet and mobile technology have transformed the interaction, working and learning among humans. Just as other sectors of the economy have invested immensely in ICT in the modern world, the education sector has also invested in ICT in the recent years. Acknowledging this trend, the World Bank (2013) attributes this to the general ability of ICT to empower teachers and learners thus positively impacting on educational achievement. ICT promotes communication and learning among students thus presenting immense benefits. First, ICT enhances international collaboration among students. Bray (2007) observes that ICT is the reason for a more social modern society. Student tutors easily mentor students from other countries, the same way students from different countries effectively share educational information leveraging on ICT capabilities as documented by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UIS (2014). This practice enhances and diversifies the scope of learning. Furthermore, ICT makes learning materials more available. The World Bank Group (2013) refers to access of information as the main use of ICT with regards to education. Indeed, UIS (2014) affirms the availability of open source textbooks and even teacher guides on the Internet. This enables students to easily access the required learning resources. Finally, ICT supports learning objectives. One of such objectives includes the acquisition of up-to-date informa tion that would make students resourceful in a practical work set-up. According to the World Bank Group (2013), ICT has enabled teachers to access relevant, timely and continuous professional development. This enables them to explore new knowledge base, developing new