Selfie and Self-portrait Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Selfie and Self-portrait - Research Paper Example They can also fail to present the person facing down with no focus, which can distort the image. Self-portraits include reason and thought during the composition of the image or photo (McHugh n.p). It is significant to note that self- portrait is another way of looking at me and reflecting on my personal life while a selfie is not looking at me because in most cases people gaze empty. When a person takes a selfie, the eyes look bigger and shiny because of the closeness to the camera but self-portrait the artist produce every part of the image in accordance with the way it appears. While taking a selfie, the gestures imply that look at me I am taking a selfie or a photo of me or I am here. It tries to capture the attention of other people. On contrary, Self-portrait tries to reveal certain messages or information about the image. For instance, the artist draws the image with an intention to pass a message to the people (Jim 17). The common similarity between a selfie and a self-portrait is that people analyze and assess themselves. In addition, in selfie people retouch and change themselves or transform their images to represent the current emotional state while artists or painters do their self-portrait because there is no one around to practice human anatomy and once their work is complete, they do not have a chance to retouch and change it.  

Requirement Model For Student Monitoring Systems

Requirement Model For Student Monitoring Systems The focus of this study is to get a good requirement model for Student Attendance Monitoring Systems (SAMS) in secondary school. It is aimed at system designer who want to know how to design an efficient SAMS. At the end of this study, a SAMS prototype will be designed based on the requirement model and also analyze user acceptance of this system. A generation ago, either in principle or in practice, attendance was not optional. Today, often in principle and almost in practice, it is optional (Romer, 1993). According to Lim, Sim and Mansor (2009), most educational institutions administrators are concerned about student irregular attendance. Shendell et al. (2004) defines it can affect student in overall academic performance. Romer (1993) found that attendance did contribute significantly to the academic performance of students. There are a slightly stronger relationship between attendance and performance. Also, Durden Ellis (1995) conclude that attendance does matter for academic achievement. Thus, it makes student attendance mandatory in schools (Romer, 1993), (Woltz, 1955). Yet, almost everyone noticed that attendance in schools is far from perfect (Romer, 1993). There have a lack of school attendance data and a lack of consistency in the definition and measurement of non-attendance (Bourke, Rigby Burden, 2000). Large schools are more likely to have problems with student attendance than small ones (Epstein Sheldon, 2002). Everyday, school staffs spends much time to handle students attendance. There are many problems when recording data manually (Richard, 2005). Sometimes, the attendances record books were missing. In real situation, it is hard for school staffs to search students record by looking at attendances record books one by one. School staffs usually spend much time to find the students record especially when there are many classes in the school. Furthermore, parents may miss to get any information or letter from schools when their children didnt attend to school. According to Epstein Sheldon (2002), high school staffs communications with parents about attendance can increased student attendance and reduced chronic absenteeism. Hence, by creating school attendance system is one of the best solutions to address this problem. The system should help school staffs to take attendance for student especially in secondary schools. It must make the process of taking the attendance easier, faster and secure as compared to conventional method. The conventional method of taking attendance by calling names or signing on paper is very time consuming, inefficient, and insecure (Ervasti, Isomursu, Kinnula, 2009), (Lim, Sim Mansor, 2009). It is a one way that helps teachers or school staffs reducing the taken time to carry out routine processes and enable them connected with parents by sending real-time information on their childrens attendance immediately if students are not-attended to school more than the limit. Thus, teacher have more time for teaching. (Ervasti, Isomursu, Kinnula, 2009). Problem Statement In schools, attendance is important and mandatory. Nowadays, due to enlarge of information technology environment, it is efficient to use School Attendance Monitoring System (SAMS) to manage attendance in secondary schools. In recent years, system designers have expands many ways and characteristics in design a good system. The problem of this study is to identify important characteristics to design a good SAMS, set up a requirement model, and build a prototype for testing user acceptance. The requirement model must meet the user needs, goals and constraints in order to determine the important feature, relations and design implications. The requirement must be specify clearly about what and how the SAMS should perform. Objectives To create a SAMSs requirement model for secondary school. To design and build a prototype of SAMS. To help other system developer within related area. Scope The study will be conducted within the Kampar district, Perak. All schools chosen for survey will be secondary schools only. Similarly, there are nine secondary schools in Kampar district (sample size). People who manage secondary school organizations are the only respondents of the study. The population is between 15 to 25 or more school staffs. The particular focus areas of the study would include attendance system which is already used in secondary schools. LITERATURE REVIEW According to Epstein Sheldon (2002), reducing the rates of student chronic absenteeism has been and continues to be a goal of many schools and school systems. In 1999, a student tracking system involving a database is being trialed in government and non-government schools Western Australia (Bourke, Rigby Burden, 2000). The student tracking system involved a set of processes, procedures and systems which can identify and monitor the location of students. In the Torres Strait schools, they used a system called Student Information Management System (SIMS). The SIMS provides a good quality data regarding student attendance. This computer-based system collates individual class attendance records on a weekly basis (Bourke, Rigby Burden, 2000). The relationship between staffs and parents was seen as vitally important by parents and principals. The student survey results indicated that attendance levels were significantly higher among students when teachers got in touch with their parents to talk about how they were going at school (Bourke, Rigby Burden, 2000). Therefore, in schools where students have attendance problems, school staffs may need to go beyond the school building to involve parents in reducing absenteeism (Epstein Sheldon, 2002). Hence, student attendance monitoring system should help school staffs and parents easy to communicate. There are varieties of opportunities for implementing IT in management education. Technology can be used to facilitate the display of information, to increase access to external explicit information, and to increase the sharing and construction of knowledge (Leidner Jarvenpaa, 1995) but some of the use of this technology is not yet widespread, efficient and practical for implementation of data management (Wayman, et. al., 2004). Implementation of an application system can present many unforeseen challenges. The first step toward implementing a student data analysis system should be to thoroughly assess the data, needs, and resources available to a school or district. The successful implementation is important for the long-term development of a data based decision-making climate (Wayman, et. al, 2004). Fig. 1 shows the model for integrated functional requirement which has been explained by Malet et al. (2007) Figure 1: Model for Integrated Functional Requirement In Fig. 1, functions can be linked with specific processes. The technical realization of functions takes place in these processes. Functions can also be related to specific positions in the product structure. As a result of linking the requirements with functions, functions to processes and the product structure, an indirect relation between requirements, processes and the product structure has been established (Malet et al., 2007). There are many views of softwares development or development process though that has evolved over the years. What follows is a brief discussion of the theories of the software development process that recently used today. The first formal description of the software development process model is published in 1970 by Winston W. Royce. Below is one of the software development processs model: Figure 2: Conceptual model of software development process According to Royce (1970), firstly, developer must analyze user requirements. After that, make requirement specifications by clearly set out necessary features of system based on user requirement. Then, developer can design a suitable solution and do implementation by develop the proposed solution. In addition, developer must test the system to ensure that the solution solves the original problem and works in context. Lastly, developer must maintain the system. METHODOLOGY Fig. 3 shows the requirement modeling process which has been explained by Malet et al. (2007) Figure 3: Requirement modeling process The first step is elicitation of requirements. The requirements will be based on collected data. The sites are the secondary school managing departments. The sampling frame will be based on the list of the secondary schools within area of Kampar district, Perak. The sample size will be nine secondary schools. The population is between 15 to 25 or more employees including principal, clerks, and teachers. The method of data collection is by questionnaire and interview. According to Creswell (1994), measurement instrument can helps in get a quantifiable data. A questionnaire will be given to each employee within the sampling to get employees personal details, personal experiences of using any school attendance system, problem with existing attendance system and an opinion or suggestion for the future systems developer. The purpose of the study and how to answer the questionnaire will be explained to the employees under study. During interview session, the informants will be selected ind ividuals within the sample employees who had an experience of using any school attendance system. The second step is analyzing the requirements. All user requirements will be investigated. The data will be analyzed and displayed using SPSS 16.00. The percentage, the mean and statistic formula (ANOVA) will be used when describing the data. It will be interpreted and translated into a form that suitable for other developer (sequence diagram, activity diagram, class diagram etc.). A requirement specifications model will be defined by clearly set out necessary features of SAMS. The third step is managing the requirements. In this step, a prototype of SAMS will be design and built based on user requirement model by using several types of tool such as Dreamweaver CS4, Photoshop CS4 and etc. The programming language that will be used for building the system is PHP. During this system development lifecycle, requirements might be change and evolve. These changes need to be tracked and traced (Malet et al., 2007). Lastly, the fulfillment of requirements needs to be validated with virtual or physical tests. A product is deemed successful (by means of satisfying the customer) if all requirements are fulfilled (Malet et al.,2007). SAMS will be tested to ensure that the solution solves the original problem and integrate the system to make sure that the solution will working in circumstance. The user acceptance testing will be done by choosing user randomly within the sample. Requirements modeling takes place in all phases of product development. More emphasis needs to be put on later development phases such as usage, recycling and maintenance. The knowledge gained in these phases, once included in the development process, can accelerate the development of new products (Malet et al.,2007). EXPECTED FINDINGS At the end of this study, the requirement model can help any system designers to design good SAMS for secondary schools. They will know how to design useful, usable and desirable SAMS such as in the system should contain the right functions, secure and must be user friendly. SAMS should contain all these basic needs of attendance system. Below shows the flow of Students Attendance Monitoring Systems (SAMS): 1 Record attendance 2 Check attendance 3 Process data 4 Save data 5 Send email Figure 4: The flow of Students Attendance Monitoring Systems (SAMS). SAMS should helps school staffs records students attendance, checks either student is present or absent, process the attendance data, save it and send an email to the parents if student was absent more than three days. SIGNIFICANCE The aimed of requirement model for Student Attendance Monitoring System (SAMS) is to help system designer in designing a good attendance system and also conduct them to develop the attendance system in the future. Attendance system are important because can gives many benefit to schools such as security on attendance, reduce work time on taking attendance and create connection between school staffs and parents. CONCLUSION There is no comprehensive and generally accepted manual on how to design good human factors into computer systems (Shackel, 1984) but there are a lot of guideline on how to design a system. However, this requirement model can guide any system designers who want straightly focus to design Student Attendance Monitoring System (SAMS). Creativity and innovation are required to make a great SAMS. The system should be usable. Usability consists of many pieces such as system performance, system functions, user interfaces organization and so on. REFERRENCES Bourke, C. J., Rigby, K., Burden J. (2000). Better Practice in School Attendance: Improving the School Attendance of Indigenous Students. Commonwealth of Australia. 1-62. Creswell, J. W. (1994). Research design. Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. Durden, G. C. Ellis, L. V. (1995). The Effects of Attendance on Student Learning in Principles of Economics, The American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundredth and Seventh Annual Meeting of the American Economic association Washington, 85(2), 343-346. Epstein, J. L., Sheldon, S. B. (2002). Present and Accounted for: Improving Student Attendance Through Family and Community Involvement. Educational Research and Improvement. 95(5). 308- 318. Ervasti, M., Isomursu, M., Kinnula, M. (2009). Bringing Technology into School NFC-enabled School Attendance Supervision. ACM 978-1-60558-846-9 09 Leidner, D. E. Jarvenpaa S. L. (1995). The Use of Information Technology to Enhance Management School Education: A Theoretical View. MIS Quarterly: Special Issue on IS Curricula and Pedagogy, 19(3), 265-291. Lim, T. S., Sim, S. C. Mansor, M. M. (2009). RFID Based Attendance System, Symposium on Industrial Electronics and Applications (ISIEA 2009), 2, 778-782. Maletz, M., Blouin, J. G., Schnedl, H., Brisson, D., Zamazal, K. (2007). A Holistic Approach for Integrated Requirements Modeling in the Product Development Process. The Virtual Vehicle-Research Center, Graz, Austria. 1-10. Richard, L. (2005). Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. Romer, D. (1993). Do Students Go to Class? Should They?. Journal of Economics Perspectives, 7(3), 167- 174. Royce, W. W. (1970). Managing the Development of Large Software Systems. Proceedings IEEE WESCON. 1-9. Shackel, B. (984). Information Technology: A challenge to ergonomics and design. Behaviour and Information Technology. 3. 263-275. Shendell, D. G., Prill, R., Fisk, W. J., Apte, M. G., Blake, D. Faulkner, D. (2004). Associations between Classroom CO2 Concentrations and Student Attendance in Washington and Idaho. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: LBNL Paper LBNL-54413. Retrieved from: http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/88r0924r Wayman, J. C., Stringfield, S., Yakimowski, M. (2004). Software Enabling School Improvement Through Analysis Of Student Data. Research on the Education of Students, 67. Woltz, C. K. (1955). Compulsary Attendance at School. Law and Comtemporary Problems. 20(1), 3-22.

The Characters of For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls Essay -- For Whom

The Characters of For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls  Ã‚     Ã‚   For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls is Christopher Durang's hilarious 1994 parody of The Glass Menagerie, a 1945 play by Tennessee Williams. In both plays, the main characters must deal with several serious problems, including isolation, fear of the outside world, and the need for understanding. Whereas the characters in The Glass Menagerie handle their problems in a relatively serious manner, those in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls take a more farcical approach. For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls offers an alternate view of the situations in The Glass Menagerie, and it comments on how the American society has changed since the 1940s. Durang's parody accomplishes its humor by developing extreme versions of the characters in The Glass Menagerie through magnification of their faults and idiosyncrasies: Laura's shyness toward the world, Amanda's lack of understanding for her children, Tom's anger with his family, and Jim's partial deafness (however minor in Williams' play). It is more difficult to sympathize with Lawrence in For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls than with Laura in The Glass Menagerie because he is so much more irritating and pathetic than his female counterpart. Laura is a young woman who suffers from extreme shyness and self-consciousness because she has a slightly malformed leg and needs to wear a leg brace; consequently, she is afraid to talk to new people and enter new situations. Laura's psychological problems are amplified in Lawrence, who fakes several ailments, including asthma, eczema, and a crippled leg. He never leaves the safety of his house, and his only friends are his glass swizzle sticks, which he gives such names as "Q-tip" (1942), "Ther... ...children's; in addition, Durang adds two homosexual characters: Tom and Ginny. This is evidence that For Whom the Belle Tolls does more than just provide a humorous approach to the situations in The Glass Menagerie: it shows how the American society and family have changed since Williams wrote his play. According to Durang, people have become more open with their personal feelings and sexuality, but they have also become more self-centered. Works Cited Durang, Christopher. For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls. Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 1937-1948. Williams, Tennessee. "The Glass Menagerie." Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Eds. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 1704-1750.      

My Country My Pride Nepal

â€Å"Mother and motherland are greater than heaven. † It is true statement. We are born in this country which is full of natural beauties. We are highly patriot. We love nation more than soul. country is like a heaven for me. My country name is Nepal. It is derived from two magical words ne and pala. The word Nepal means the country of peace and love. This is a country where lord Gautam Buddha ‘light of Asia’ was born. This is a country of Bir Gorkhalies. The highest peak in the world Mt. Everest is located in country which makes country in the top. There are many mountains in my country therefore it is called mountainous country. Many rivers flow from mountain to the hills and plain land of terai. My country Nepal is divided into three geographical regions and five development regions. country national flower is rhododendron, national bird is Danphe, national col is simrik and national weapon is khukuri. My country Nepal which is very small in the world map but to me my country whether it is small or big it is world for me. Many national personalities are born in country life : Prithivi Narayan Shah, Bahadur Shah, Rajendra Laxmi and so on. History of country Nepal is very powerful. All the pages of history are filled with hot and red blood of national heroes. My country Nepal is the Yam between two big stones. I mean it is between the two biggest country India and China. country Nepal is divided into many ethnic group. country is multi-caste, multi-culture, multi-tradition and multi-religious. They are of different caste but they are living in ‘unity in diversity’ without fighting in the name of culture, religion, caste, etc. They are living in peaceful environment. any tists by which numbers of tists are increasing day by day. Tists are attracted by country by which country can move ahead in its economic status. Foreign currency which tist left in country helps to make country more developed. We Nepalese people do not need the big building, expensive things etc. We are happy by the smell of rhodonderon. We are happy by the natural beauties which are located in country. We all know that there is a great sa ying, â€Å"Hario ban Nepal ko dhan†. Yes it is true green forest are wealth for country. More than 80% of total population of the whole country is depends upon agriculture therefore country can be said as agricultural country also. Many rivers, green forest, mountains, lake, etc. makes country in top. My country Nepal is heaven for me. I love my country very much. I fill proud to say that I am Nepali, my country which is full of natural beauties is everything for me what I want. We all Nepalese are ready to sacrifice soul to country Nepal. We really feel very proud to be Nepali. So, that we say country is pride for us.

American Literature in the 19th Century Essay

Much has been said about America being the â€Å"Land of Opportunity† throughout history. From Columbus, to Walt Whitman, to present times, American society and its values differed quite a bit from American society and its values today. As these values have changed, so have the opportunities that present themselves within society, such as the ability to write about certain issues or topics. This means that the topics of literature have changed drastically along with the times as well. Much of the time, these issues and topics covered in pieces of American Literature are controversial: slavery, racism, ethnocentrism, women’s rights, and the qualities needed to obtain the opportunities America provides for people. That is why in order to be considered American Literature, the piece must characterize or define American values, morals, ideals, or standards in some way, whether it is to represent them or to oppose them. To Crevecoeur, who was not an American by birthright, but a visitor who considered America his home, America is the embodiment of opportunity. Crevecoeur marks America as a place where oppressed people are able to come and pursue their own freedoms, self-interests, and independence. It is a place where any hard working man can earn economic stability for his family; a place of humility and new ideas. Crevecoeur explains through his character, Farmer James, that an American farmer possesses, â€Å"freedom of action, freedom of thoughts, ruled by a mode of government which requires but little from us†. He speaks of â€Å"national pride† when realizing there are no aristocratical families, no invisible power giving to a few a very visible one. The rich and the poor are not so far removed from each other as they are in Europe. And finally, Crevecoeur claims that Americans are â€Å"All animated with the spirit of an industry which is unferrered and unrestrained,† which means that as long as the people of the nation work hard, they will be able to achieve whatever they wish. These are the reasons why America is the â€Å"melting pot† it is today, because people during Crevecoeur’s time period that came from other countries viewed America as an escape to all their oppression and problems. This was the American dream or ideal: through industriousness, you could provide a better life for your family in America. Since Crevecoeur believed he could have freedom of thought and action in America, he was also more sympathetic to the rights of African-Americans, who were being used as slaves during the time, and Native Americans. Crevecoeur found slavery to be a terrible institution, speaking out on behalf of the enslaved African-Americans by saying, â€Å"Forced from their native country, cruelly treated? They are neither soothed by the hopes that their slavery will ever terminate? mildness of their treatment? † Crevecoeur also asserts through Farmer James, â€Å"Though our erroneous prejudices and opinions once induced us to look upon them as fit only for slavery? With us they are now free? they are in general become a new set of beings,† showing his general consideration for the African-Americans. As for Crevecoeur’s standpoint on Native Americans, Farmer James makes the observation that, â€Å"they are as stout and well made as the Europeans? they are in many instances superior to us†. Obviously, Crevecoeur held the belief that the African-American and Native American populations could provide contributions to society and should not looked down upon as inferior â€Å"savages† by the white man. Rather, the white man should be willing to set good examples through gentleness to make them socially acceptable. To Crevecoeur, a country could never truly flourish with an imprudent system such as slavery in place, which was quite a progressive stance for the time. It took a lot of courage to speak out for what he believed in, because it went against mainstream America’s majority belief of superiority over the slaves and the Natives. While minority cultures were fighting for equal rights amongst the whites, females were also fighting for equal rights amongst the men. Female writers and activists such as Judith Sergeant Murray openly protested the typical female virtues set for women of the 19th Century, and before, by society. She did not want to be submissive and obedient. She wanted females to vote, to own property, and to have a life outside the household. In her Letters on the Equality of Sexes, she outwardly condemns these â€Å"virtues†, and she addresses the fact that men shun a woman for having dreams of equal opportunities. Then, she vents about the undeniably constant battle between women and men, because their lives and work are only valued at half that of men. â€Å"Though sensibility, soft compassion, and gentle commiseration are inmates in the female bosom, yet against every deep laid art, altogether fearless of the vent, we will set them array; for assuredly the wreath of victory will encircle the spotless brow†. What makes texts on the equality of the sexes so special is that they have felt the direct effects of oppression based on the white male patriarchal society set before them, and they are attempting to use their experience as modes for change in that society so others will not have to suffer as they have. Even before certain issues such as equal rights for women and racism were brought up in American, the land obviously had to be explored. The stories of exploration are a great place to begin looking at how this great country developed. They give us a good sense of the type of land and people of the time when our country was just getting started. These types of writing help us develop a definition of American Literature because they were some of the first documented texts and they give us a good foundation of details about the cultures back then. A major role of Early American Literature would be that it gives us a clearer sense of the life and culture of the time it was written in or about. The exploration stories of Columbus are able to do that for us as readers. Columbus’ story is a good starting description of America because it gives the readers of his letters an idea of what the land itself was like. He used his words to paint a positive image of the new land and was convincing people back home that their money was well spent on the exploration. Although this work doesn’t exactly define any American morals or values, it is necessary to literature because it is the first good taste we get of what America was like. Columbus used his work to more or less â€Å"sell† the New World to anyone who would read about it. He described the people and the culture there as delightful and entertaining. The works of Columbus go along with the definition of American Literature because it gave readers a good feel of what the â€Å"land of opportunity† had to offer them. Determination is a vital characteristic one must have when getting on their feet in the land of opportunity. Without determination, a man might as well not even try to make a like for himself and his family. In John Smith’s Virginia, New England, and the Summer Isles, that is exemplified. John Smith and the voyagers that traveled along with him experience plenty of hardship during their trek. Within the first ten days of their trip, many people were sick due to lack of a healthy diet and sufficient lodging. During this time, Captain Smith often left himself shortchanged to benefit the health of his crew. One day, while Smith was attempting to make trades, he was shot in the leg by some savages and taken hostage. At this point is when the text takes a turn to define values of America. Smith remains determined to make the best of the situation and stays totally polite and collected towards the savages. After spending time as a hostage, they developed a great deal of respect for Smith and personally escorted him back through their village to his camp. From this time on, every other week or so, Pocahontas would bring the settlers of Jamestown enough provisions so that they could lead a healthy life and continue to flourish. I consider this particular text a good example of American Literature because it shows characteristics that were necessary to live during the early development of America. The works of Paine and Jefferson are a great summary of the overall view of what America is as an idea and an ideal. They describe characteristics of true American men and women. Throughout their texts, they reiterate many of the visions of Crevecoeur. America is described as a vision of a place where people could come and be free to start a life of their choice. The pursuit of happiness and success were key points mentioned as well. When an outsider of America came to our country, they came to learn and embody things such as practicality, progressiveness, tolerance, self reliance and education for all. All of these things were mentioned again and again throughout the pieces of Paine and Jefferson, which makes them a great example of impact literature. The beauty of American Literature is also the hardest part of coming to a distinct, tangible definition of what it is. The freedom of speech and expression through American Literature is so broad, as are what American values, morals, and standards are exactly, that American Literature can be in the form of travel or slave narratives, speeches, poetry, letters, autobiographies, myths, etc. However, it is evident that in any of these genres of literature, they constantly contain American values, morals, ideals, and standards. And in order to progressively move into the future, there must be literature to stand by or and oppose these American values, morals, ideals, and standards, just as the great American authors of the past have.

Ceramic Masks essays

Ceramic Masks essays Since the earliest times masks have played an important role in the culture of Africa. Masks have varied in appearance and function. Many masks are associated with religious ceremonies, myth, dance, rituals or are concerned with spirits of the dead, rites, or even curing sickness. The mask has been used by the Africans mainly to solve major human and social problems. When a man wears a mask his identity is hidden and the expression on the mask projects a new identity. If the features on the mask are unnatural such as an abstract from an animal, it will make the mask emit a more effective and dramatic identity. Because the person is wearing a mask the human identity is hidden so the viewer is unsettled, this causes the man wearing the mask to be strange or unpredictable, this leads the viewer to become fascinated so the masked man can deceive the viewer. Masks representing harmful spirits were often used to keep a required balance of power. This type of mask was often associated with secret societies, especially in Africa, which has the greatest variety of masks on Earth. In ancient Egypt priests used masks to represent gods. Masks were also placed upon the face of mummies to keep alive the appearance of the deceased after death or to give a boost to him and his image. Masks use different facial features such as idealizing human features, frightening features, animal features and naturalistic features to give a deeper meaning to what the mask is meant to express. Masks were often used as a form of ranking in villages, for example a mighty warrior who is known to have a lot of strength would be presented with a mask that would describe this type of strength (e.g. a wolfs mask) whereas the villages leader would have a distinct mask that no one else has, as a symbol of his power and status in the elite, e.g. (an eagles mask). Masks may also be used to help identify the members of a village or tri ...

The Countries Involved in World War I

The Countries Involved in World War I The relevance of world in the term World War I  is often difficult to see, because books, articles, and documentaries generally concentrate on Europe and America; even the Middle East and Anzac forces (Australian and New Zealand) are often glossed over. The use of world isnt, as non-Europeans might suspect, the result of self-important bias toward the West, because a full list of the countries involved in WWI reveals a picture of global activity. Between 1914 and 1918, more than 100 countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australasia,  and Europe were part of the conflict. Key Takeaways: Countries Involved in World War I Although most of the battles of World War I occurred in western Europe, many other countries were involved in the events.  Some, like Canada and the U.S., declared war, sent troops, and manufactured armaments.Other countries kept prisoner of war camps or sent infrastructure workers.  Many countries in Africa and Asia were colonies of the large empires and were coerced to help with the war effort.   How Involved Were Countries? The levels of  involvement differed hugely. Some countries mobilized millions of troops and fought hard for more than four years; some were used as reservoirs of goods and manpower by their colonial rulers, while others simply declared war later on and contributed only moral support. Many were drawn in by colonial links: When Britain, France, and Germany declared war, they also committed their empires, involving most of Africa, India, and Australasia, while the 1917 entry of the U.S. prompted much of central America to follow. Consequently, the countries in the following list didnt necessarily send troops, and few saw fighting on their own soil; they either declared war or were considered involved in the conflict, such as being invaded before they could declare anything. Its important to remember, though, that the effects of WWI went beyond this global list. Even countries that remained neutral felt the economic and political effects of a conflict that shattered the established global order. Africa In 1914, 90 percent of the continent of Africa were colonies of the European powers, with only Liberia and Ethiopia retaining independence, and so much of Africas participation was enforced or conscripted. All told, about two million Africans served as soldiers or laborers, and half that total was coercively recruited as carriers or other workers, used to build transportation and other infrastructure projects or perform auxiliary services. The only regions to remain neutral in Africa were Ethiopia and the four small Spanish colonies of Rio de Oro (Spanish Sahara), Rio Muni, Ifni, and Spanish Morocco. Colonies in Africa that were involved in some manner included: AlgeriaAngolaAnglo-Egyptian SudanBasutolandBechuanalandBelgian CongoBritish East Africa (Kenya)British Gold CoastBritish SomalilandCameroonCabindaEgyptEritreaFrench Equatorial AfricaGabonMiddle CongoUbangi-SchariFrench SomalilandFrench West AfricaDahomeyGuineaIvory CoastMauretaniaSenegalUpper Senegal and NigerThe GambiaGerman East AfricaItalian SomalilandLiberiaMadagascarMoroccoPortuguese East Africa (Mozambique)NigeriaNorthern RhodesiaNyasalandSierra LeoneSouth AfricaSouth West Africa (Namibia)Southern RhodesiaTogolandTripoliTunisiaUganda and Zanzibar Americas When they finally joined the war effort in 1917, the United States sent four million men to the Allies. As a dominion of the United Kingdom, Canada sent 400,000 enlisted men, and, like the United States, manufactured armaments, aircraft, and ships. Latin American governments seesawed between neutrality and entry into the war, and Brazil was the only independent South American country to declare war in WWI; it joined the Entente countries- Great Britain, France, and Russia- against Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1917. Other South American nations severed their relations with Germany but did not declare war: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Uruguay, all in 1917. BahamasBarbadosBrazilBritish GuianaBritish HondurasCanadaCosta RicaCubaFalkland IslandsFrench GuianaGrenadaGuatemalaHaitiHondurasGuadeloupeJamaicaLeeward IslandsNewfoundlandNicaraguaPanamaSt. LuciaSt. VincentTrinidad and TobagoU.S.AWest Indies Asia Of all the Asian countries involved in World War I in some manner, India, a colony of the British Empire at the time, sent the most: 1.3 million troops and laborers went to the imperial war effort. China was officially neutral but provided about 200,000 laborers to the Allied forces to repair tanks. Japan sent 14 destroyers and a flagship cruiser to assist British ships in the Mediterranean Sea. Tiny Siam stayed neutral until mid-1917 and then sent about 1,500 men as pilots, aircraft mechanics, automobile drivers and mechanics, and medical and support staff. Regions in Asia contributing to the war effort were: AdenArabiaBahrainEl QatarKuwaitTrucial OmanBorneoCeylonChinaIndiaJapanPersiaPhilippinesRussiaSiamSingaporeTranscaucasiaTurkey Australasia and Pacific Islands The largest contributors to the war efforts were the large Australian Imperial Force (Australia still being a colony of England at the time), 330,000 soldiers sent to aid the Allies in the Middle East and Germany. Other contributing countries included: AntipodesAucklandAustral IslandsAustraliaBismarck ArchipelagoBountyCampbellCaroline IslandsChatham IslandsChristmasCook IslandsDucieElice IslandsFanningFlintFiji IslandsGilbert IslandsKermadec IslandsMacquarieMaldenMariana IslandsMarquesas IslandsMarshal IslandsNew GuineaNew CaledoniaNew HebridesNew ZealandNorfolkPalau IslandsPalmyraPaumoto IslandsPitcairnPhilippinesPhoenix IslandsSamoa IslandsSolomon IslandsTokelau IslandsTonga Europe Map of military alliances of Europe in 1914. historicair Most of the battles of World War I took place in Europe, and willingly or not, the people of most of the countries were somehow active in the conflict. For the Allies, 5.2 million British men served in the conflict, just under half of the available pool of men aged 18-51; 7.9 million French citizens were called to serve. A total of 13 million German citizens fought in the war between 1914 and 1918.  In the occupied territories, Germany and its allies also coerced civilians into labor: citizens from Italy, Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, Romania, and Russian Poland all had conscripts fighting or assisting with the Entente efforts. AlbaniaAustria-HungaryBelgiumBulgariaCzechoslovakiaEstoniaFinlandFranceGreat BritainGermanyGreeceItalyLatviaLithuaniaLuxembourgMaltaMontenegroPolandPortugalRomaniaRussiaSan MarinoSerbiaTurkey Atlantic Islands AscensionSandwich IslandsSouth GeorgiaSt. HelenaTristan da Cunha Indian Ocean Islands Andaman IslandsCocos IslandsMauritiusNicobar IslandsReunionSeychelles Sources Beauprà ©, Nicolas. France.  International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Universitt Berlin, 2014. Web.Badsey, Stephen. Great Britain.  International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Universitt Berlin, 2017. Web.Boissoneault, Lorraine. The Surprisingly Important Role China Played in WWI. World War I: 100 Years Later. Smithsonian.  2017. Web.Granatstein, J.L. Canada. International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Universitt Berlin, 2018. Web.Johnston, Eric. Japans Little-Known, but Significant, Role in World War I. The Japan Times  (2017). Web.Koller, Christian. Colonial Military Participation in Europe (Africa). International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Universitt Berlin, 2014. Web.Rinke, Stefan and Karina Kriegsmann. Latin America.  International Encylopedia of the First World War. Eds. Daniel, Ute, et al. Berlin: Freie Universitt Berlin, 2017. Web. Strahan, Hew. The First World War in Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Print.