The influence of credit risk in financial institutions Research Proposal

The influence of credit risk in financial institutions - Research Proposal Example Financial institutions primarily play a role of assisting the flow of funds from various ‘individual surplus units’ to ‘deficit units’. Financial institutions comprise of commercial banks, finance companies, savings institutions, credit unions, money market funds, mutual funds, pension funds and insurance companies (Madura, 2008). Adequate management of the credit risk in the financial institutions is a critical aspect for the growth and survival of the institutions. If a financial institution fails to control risks like that of credit risk then it can lead to insolvency (Wenner & Et. Al., 2007). The recent financial crisis had a major impact on the worldwide financial system. Managing risk and capital requirements in the various financial institutions have turned out to be an utmost necessity. Financial institutions generally have a quite complex structure related to liability. Credit risk of a financial institution is considered as a function of market val uations of the institution’s asset portfolio and its leverage (Chen & Et. Al., 2009). Thereby, the study aims to critically discuss the influence that the credit risk generally has on financial institutions. Aim of the Study & Specification of Objectives The aim of the study is to recognise the significant and influential capabilities of credit risk in financial institutions. The relevance of the study can be judged from the fact that in terms of financial risks that a financial institution face, the credit risk or default risk is considered to be one of the most significant and critical risk factors that every financial institution endeavours to mitigate to protect the financial institution and its consumers from insolvency. Objective of the study is to analyse and identify influence of different credit risks on financial institutions such as default risk; credit spread risk, sovereign risk, downgrade risk and counterparty risk. Therefore, a few questions that can be conside red are: What is the credit risk? What is the influence of credit risks on financial institutions such as commercial banks, insurance companies, savings institutions and others? What are the ways by which credit risks are being mitigated by financial institutions? In order to find answers to these questions scholarly articles, books, journals and others will be observed and used to identify the relevant aspects related to the study. Literature Review According to Investopedia (2011), credit risk can be identified as a risk if an individual or a company will be incapable to pay the principal or contractual interest on its debt obligations. This type of risk is mainly concerned with the investors who generally hold bonds within their portfolio. Government bonds, primarily issued by the federal government, are considered to have the slightest amount of default risks as well as lowest amount of returns. Corporate bonds have a tendency to have the highest level of default risks but it al so provides higher level of interest rates. Bonds that hold higher chances of being default are measured to be junk bonds, whereas, bonds that have lower chance of default are generally

Nation and Imperialism Essay Example for Free

Nation and Imperialism Essay Imperialism was a very effective form of empowerment over weaker nations for early Britain and other European countries. They dominated and fought over whole continents and countries, arguing over who had conquered more land. There were many reasons why the European’s wanted to imperialize unindustrialized nations such as natural resources. This also made a big impact on said nations, positive and negative. Going on that state of mind, the long term effects of imperialism showed for decades after it really being assumed not an imperialistic state anymore. Some of the reasons the Europeans’ sought out to imperialism is because of social Darwinism, raw materials and natural resources, and prestige. Social Darwinism, the theory of survival of the fittest, was their justification for conquering weaker countries, if the country could fend off invaders then it shall be considered conquered. Raw materials and natural resources were of big importance to the Europeans. Diamonds and other precious assets that could not be found in Europe were found in the countries and could be used for trade, making the economy better. Prestige was also a major influence for imperialistic Europe. If one country had more than another then that country had to conquer more. It was all like a big game to the Europeans, until the natives of the country fought back. Then it was all a strategically thought out counter attack. The impact this made on the conquered was quite noticeable and apparent; both good and bad. A positive effect is the Europeans built them roads, canals, and railways. Showed them the telegraph, newspaper, established schools for them, gave them the blessing of their civilization, and overall made them economized. They were part of modern culture after this occurred. There were new crops; tools and farming methods, which helped increase food production. These changes meant less death to smaller colonies, and overall improve the state of living. A negative effect is the people of the dominated nations were put to work as cheap labor. They had no freedom, had to do what the mother country said since it has so much towering power over them, they were exploited and were taken advantage of. As a result, there were long term effects. The most obvious one would be the formation of nationalism. Imperialism essentially created nationalism. People of different countries under imperialism were  united because of single governmental system, one national language, development of roads, rails, common defense systems, and an unified education system; thus, making people more aware of their identity and rights; eventually leading to independence of their governing countries. The era of imperialism gave birth to new modern world. Aside from their own languages, people of different nations under imperialism also learned the language of the imperialists and started go to diverse places and establishing new links through learning and education of their conquerors. So in conclusion, imperialism had many advantages and disadvantages making it very successful for all involved. The Europeans had reasons and means to imperialize nations, made impacts, and then long term effects which in turn made each country either thrive or perish. The other nations gained economic, social, and political wealth.

Task-Based Teaching and Learning

Task-Based Teaching and Learning Abstract The Task-based Teaching and Learning mode has been enjoyed a lot in nowadays English education process. Not only because it has specified the aims of both teaching and students learning, but also during the process of reaching the goals, it will help stimulate teachers inspiring abilities and students creativities, thus to develop the interest in learning and the state of studying to their best. However, there are various problems occurring in class teaching, of which standout and influential are the low class participation rate and students low efficiency in acquiring the required knowledge. To find out solutions to these problems, the author has studied different materials as well reflected from the teaching experience (case study method), suggesting that applying cooperative study, or teamwork spirit into class teaching will be the most effective. Key words: cooperative study, Task-based English Teaching, participation 1. Introduction It is not easy to reach better education goals when a class has encountered problems like low participation rate, meaning that not all the students are interested in asking or answering questions and participating in activities, simply because the activities are not intriguing at all. And the other problem is students low efficiency in acquiring the required knowledge. There are many factors influencing the quality of a class teaching. Owning better constructions of teaching facilities, like advanced multimedia, is far from enough to make a class get its expected goals. As for this, many teachers and experts have been trying to work out ways to promote students desire to know and willingness to do, for example, having more out-of-classroom activities and setting up more innovative topics to talk and research. But how to make the best of these is still left to explore. By studying previous researches and doing teaching practice in Deyang Foreign Language School, the author believes co operative study, which is also called team-work should be more used in teaching and educating. In the following part of the thesis, the causes for these problems mentioned above will be explained. Following that, the concept of Cooperative Study and its positive relationship with Task-based Class Teaching will be introduced as well as how we can actually apply it into real teaching. The research the author has done in Deyang Foreign Language School will be discussed in the last part. 2. Review of Literature 2.1 Theory of task-based English Class Teaching Task-based teaching is to master the language by using language in the activities rather than simply training for language skills and knowledge of the language learning outcomes. In teaching activities, teachers should focus on specific communications and language projects, design of specific and practical tasks. Students are to complete the learning tasks through expression, communication, negotiation, interpretation and other language in the form of inquiry. Task-based teaching method is to absorb the advantages of the past formed of a variety of teaching methods, while it does not exclude other teaching methods. It was first put forward in the 1980s, stressing on learning by doing in the language teaching method and communicative approach is the development of language education in the world. This has provided teaching theoretical basis for the gradual introduction of English teaching in China, foreign language teaching reform in China as a trend. The features of Task-based Teaching Method include focusing on finishing the tasks instead of manipulating some sort of meaningless language form, and aiming at raising students resounding and interests by providing interactions which are closely related to real life and experience. 2.2 Theory of Cooperative Study Cooperative study (or cooperative learning) is an approach to organizing classroom activities into academic and social learning experiences. Students work in groups to complete tasks collectively. Everyone succeeds when the group succeeds. There are 5 basic elements of cooperative study. They are Positive Interdependence, Individual Accountability, Face to Face Interactions, Social Skills, and Benefits. First, Positive Interdependence requires that group members feel connected to each other in the process of accomplishing the goal. Second, Individual Accountability means that every group member is responsible for being able to demonstrate understanding and comprehension of the learned academic expectations and social goals. Third, Face to Face Interactions suggest that the group must participate by communicating and discussing the goal. Fourth, Social Skills include listening, body language, sharing, accepting ideas and differences, etc. These are the skills needed prior to or being developed during the group work. And fifth, Benefits include higher self esteem, achievement and retention of academic information 2.3 Co-relationships between task-based teaching and cooperative study From a chart, we can see the co-relation between cooperative study and task-based teaching: (chart 2.1) Tasks Proper activities teachers Team goals Group activities students When all the teaching goals are assigned as group work, those proper activities are needed to be fulfilled by all the students with cooperative spirit applied into the process and with the guidance of the teachers. The features of cooperative study fit the measures taken to finish task-based teaching. 3. Causes for problems Before actually getting to know how Cooperative Study can be fully applied into teaching, it is necessary to get to know the causes for those problems (low participation rate and low efficiency in learning) mentioned above. Why not all the students are willing to participate, and what are the obstacles for leveling up students efficiency in acquiring knowledge? Being not interested in the class is the reason why they dont want positively thinking and talking, which directly influence their quality of acquiring knowledge. Maybe it is because of the materials are boring, the way the teacher teaches is boring, or it is their own problems. Students in middle school are in the teen ages, during which many physical and psychological problems will happen to them. Based on the teaching practice done in Deyang Foreign Language, the author has found out that there are mainly three aspects of influential factors listed out as follows: on the aspect of students, on the aspect of teachers, and on the aspect of school. 3.1 On the aspect of students Chai Lujing (2006), who has wrote about how to applying cooperative spirit into technical schools, says that, on the one hand, middle school students are during their teenage period time, in which they are struggling for psychological independence. The embodiment of which is they tend to cut away the attaching emotions from parents and teachers. And thus they need to build other relationships as substitutions either with the outside world, such as social relationship, or with their teen mates, like childhood pals or classmates. Since a lot of middle school students are living on campus, it is an opportunity for them to establish new relationships with more people out of known relationships and realize their life value through their own efforts and endeavors. On the other hand, all those activities to be carried out in classes need the spirit of willingness to share and cope with others, but this is what the students nowadays are lacking. What also should be responsible for is the one child policy. Being the only child and the center at home, they have been spoiled by their families. And their self-consciousness has always made them proud of themselves, contributing to the growing blind acknowledgement of themselves. This is why they are lacking the consciousness and motivations to cope with others. She has also stated that the only child has a strong desire to attack, making them offensive and critic, more seriously, making them take no joy in making friends with people they dont like but to revenge them thus to protect themselves. All these indicate that these kids lack cooperative spirit, making them bear no understanding, compassion and respect towards others. So it is not hard to conclude that this will be obstacles for them to adjust to the society and have a self-acceptance of one self. Therefore, even there are activities and tasks set in a Task-based Class, without students willingness and openness to offer to do, nothing can be achieved. Accordingly, t he class participation rate will not be as high as expected. 3.2 On the aspect of teachers Not all the teachers are making an outline of a class elaborately, for lacking of time or thought of necessity. As we all know cramming teaching and learning has incredibly existed in history and influenced our education for decades. The emphasis of result and grades has made teachers focus more on the results, whatever the process is. Doing more exercise and bending their heads among the books are always what a diligent student should be. Whenever there is a new class, students are burdened with a mass of new knowledge, which should be gained by repeatedly reinforcement and examined through tests. Though the task-based teaching and learning method is been developing, the idea that simply repeat message and cramming knowledge are hard to get rid of. Teachers seldom do investigations on each students personality. Therefore students likes and dislikes are usually carelessly ignored, and their being asked about questions they are not interested in and not able to break the tension of a serious class, has definitely influence students zeal in participation. Because of lack of properly organized activities, which means it is the teacher who is talking and cramming, a class is hard to reach the goals, harmoniously and enjoyably. And this will definitely influence students efficiency in gaining knowledge. 3.3 On the aspect of school In the concept of traditional education, it is more focused on the individuals development and competency instead of a groups. In middle school, this has been reflected by pursuing of high grades. The quality of a school is usually judged by its rate of students acceptance to a higher education. Since all the people are struggling to their own personal success, the sharing of knowledge and the joy of being working together have been ignored. Being fretful and jealous of other peoples achievements, many students have become more self-acclaimed and self-closing, never wanting to shares knowledge with others, never wanting to exchange ideas with others. But things have changed. The new requirements of curriculum claim quality education, aiming at developing a students all-aspects abilities. And more specifically, many useful types of teaching methods are demanded, like Task-based Class Teaching. As for a school itself, the failures of working on harmonious studying teams and social prac tices have influenced the most. Because it is often the competitiveness are highlighted more than the cooperative study. Such as in a sports meeting, classes are accordingly a group for a series of competitions. Another factor is the need to make cooperative spirit as an important social value to be popularized and educated has not been fulfilled 4. Cases of applying Cooperative Spirit into class teaching To find solutions to these problems (low participation rate and low efficiency in learning), many teachers have been trying to put as many activities as they can in a class teaching, and use multimedia facilities. But consider this: if a class is full of activities which are just to warm up the atmosphere and the teacher is the leading role, can the class really inspire the students to participate? If the teachers have put all the information on a computer, voices are taped and descriptions are pictured, can they help the students develop their innovative spirit to think and to discover? And these flaws are exactly many scholars are arguing about. As à ¦Ã… ¸Ã‚ ¯Ãƒ §Ã‚ ¾Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ¥Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬  [Ke Qunfan] (2003) has written in getting out of the new cramming teaching method that to make a class vivid and live, many teachers have done too much, one-sidedly thinking that more activities will be better. However, it then becomes new cramming method, which has simply occupies much time of a cl ass. New standards for English Curriculum has claimed that the development of a student is the destination of teaching. It is essential to make students the active roles of a class. Cooperative study, asking for applying cooperative spirit, also called the team-work spirit, into study, has been approved and suggested by many scholars. Chen Jianhua (2004) has stated in thesis A Little Talk on English Cooperative Study that cooperative study is one of the teaching practices based on group work. Having the same ultimate goal and being valued by achievement of a whole group, cooperative study can stimulate teaching and learning by fully cooperation of each element. If taken into consideration, the requirements of a task-based teaching method will be fulfilled. Cooperating can bring students activeness into play, and form the competitive as well as cooperative atmosphere between groups in class. During the process, face to face interactions are established while each student will have to carry a share of responsibility. And the expectations of making conversations can be reached which is exactly what an English class is aiming at, which is to make a student talk, think positively, and make language a live tool to communicate. 4.1 Teamwork examples in high school abroad When people were interviewed why they had chosen to study abroad, they explained that it was because they could experience the free thinking or free life. Though this is kind of sarcastic about Chinas education which has been traditionally focusing on getting a good grade, letting alone the deep cultural difference, Americans free method of teaching is worthy learning, for which is full of free thinking, more importantly, asking for as much cooperation as possible in a class. Not only in finishing assignment but also interactions between teachers and students, between knowledge and students minds. What free method of American education has impressed the author most were the personal experiences of studying in Plattsburgh College in State University of New York. Though its in college class, its valid to prove the effectiveness of cooperative study. One of the cases was the FLL (Foreign Language and Literature) class. The students were required to do assignments after they finished the literary works (short story and novels). There were 2 parts included in the assignment: answering questions and blank-fillings. Every class, the teacher would form groups of 2-3 students. One of them would do the presentation, and all the group members would have to work on the assignments together. The student who did the presentation was always the one liked to talk, and could vividly explain the answer to the questions, while the answer should be the combined ideas of all the group members. The other example was also cooperative study applied in one of the General Psychology class carried out in Plattsburgh College. The professor asked the students to do preparations for new class in groups of 4-6 people. All the students in a group needed to prepare at least one session of the material, and one of them would act as the leading role to connect the whole presentation. After those classes, several personal interviews have been held of those who conducted the activities. They held positive views about that. One of the students from FLL class said that it was fun for they could easily get the detailed information of a novel when they were mentioned by their classmates. The knowledge became more impressive and they could use to display their point of view freely and creatively. I love that class. she said. This was exactly what teacher and the class wanted. The other student from GP class said he usually sat silently in some other classes, just taking notes. But in GP class, he had to prepare his own speech well and went up to the stage. Though I dont often talk, I will simply go there and tell what I have done, and then I remember all the materials concerning with our lessons. He also said this. It can be seen from these two examples that when students have experienced, they will find interests in doing things. They will study better and more efficiently. Dialectical Materialism has the theory that interaction is one of the ways human beings exist. Schools being a social group, enables interactions and social communications between teacher and students. This also provides explanations for the improvement of students acquiring knowledge in the cooperative study atmosphere, for experiences provided by classmates are easy to be understood, and the activities students have played will depict the meaning of social roles. Nevertheless, students will develop a sense of social value, task awareness, cooperation consciousness, and their social responsibilities as well as team-work spirit. Based on the acknowledgement that students should be the main role, cooperative study has created the chance to interact between students, and distinguished the roles of guiding and playing between teachers and students. Therefore, students can have the opportunities and time to exchange their ideas, pursuing improvement together. More importantly, during the process, the subjectivity of students is fully reflected, their desire for knowledge, enthusiasm will be aroused and happy and effective learning will be achieved. 4.2 Teamwork examples in high school in China (Special case in Deyang Foreign Language School) Teaching practice in Deyang Foreign Language School: Based on the cooperative learning research and practice, the author has carried out a teaching practice in 2 classes of high department in Deyang Foreign Language School, aiming to explore the effectiveness of cooperative studys increasing student classroom participation and their efficiency of student learning in the process of teaching. Method: case study Basic information of subjects: Class 7 is a science class, with 21 boys and 23 girls, middle rank in comprehensive abilities. Class 5 is an art class, with 10 boys and 29 girls, middle rank in comprehensive capabilities. The requirements of English curriculum for both classes are the same. Their English tests grades are of little difference. Content: Warming Up and Speaking in Unit 5 Textbook: Senior English for China Students Book 2A Step1: grouping For class 7: There were all together three main teams grouped according to students personalities. Group 1, active students (talkative, and very quite) Group2, less talkative, over reserved students Group3, reserved student (will take part in the class when needed) For class 5: three groups as well, assigned according to their seats. Step2: assign the tasks Part one: Questions based on the textbook, page 33. a. Give pictures that they are interested in b. Give information about each part of UK on different aspects. Part two: students get to know each other and distribute the assignments by themselves Step3: the process of the class groups discussion manage the information they have collected presentation Step4: evaluation (5 score for each) 1. Students were valued as a whole group. 2. Presentations should be displayed vividly, including every ones message, reflecting their grouping style, which consisted of balanced distribution of work, in-between trust. 3. Accuracy of knowledge is also valued. Step5: testifying the efficiency of learning. All the students are asked to finish the pre-reading tasks on the textbook. 4.2.2 Discussion and flaws 4.2.2.1 Main findings Group presentations description of Class 7: Group one, which is made of talkative persons and very quiet students, talkative students naturally had very flexible minds and they took the job of presentations, while others had shared information collected by them and supported their teammates. Group two, students were less talkative and over reserved. They tended to hold back when promoted to stand on the stage and give a presentation representing their group, which made a loss of their scores of presentation. Group 3 had the highest score. During the process of teaching, the author has found that in Class 7, students in each group made preparations elaborately. They distributed the assignments according to everyones abilities and advantages, for some of them were good at computers, which was important for information collecting, and some had better oral English, which could make the presentation clear to be understand. The reason laid much in their personality, for these properly reserved students usually stand out when they were needed, and always had a clear clue of what to do and what to say. In this group, they had given the information very accurate and presented steadily. The author had consumed that to achieve the ultimate goal that the group to get the best score, the students needed cooperate with each other well. During the process, obedience and compromise were needed but more importantly, the support towards others. What had come out as a result was after each presentation, other group members had given a f irst yet loud applause to their teammate, and they had constantly complete the partners speeches on the stages by providing more supplement. Group presentations description of Class 5: Group 1 happened to consist of several students who were better at English. Group 3 was of students with ordinary abilities, and the second group owned several backward students, whose study results were below average. And group 2 had relatively higher score in the overall column because when it was their turn to do the presentation, they seemed active. Though not much information required was provided, these students were fully participating. And the students in the other average group were just as withdrawal as what some students had seemed in class. The research result was slightest different. Starting from free grouping, which they did according to their seating arrangement, the students tended to cooperate with friends or closed seat classmates. However, this might be influenced by the students gender portion, meaning more boys preferred talking while girls were more reserved. Necessity of proper grouping: these illustrations prove that in order to facilitate cooperative learning, proper classroom grouping and organization will play a crucial role. Their groups turned out to be three groups as well. However, there are more problems necessary to be discussed. First, in class 5, due to the random assignment, students had lost a sense of mutual benefits, which is one of the basic elements, less effective assignment distributions were made, which had lead to students to merely wait for answers from others or they ended up mixing information for lack of group negotiation and full preparation. Second, they tended to escape from responsibilities, for depending on students who were relatively better at talking, while the others were just taking notes or listening. But there were some active students demanded to tell their findings as an individual. These two issues have affected the effectiveness of cooperative study. Through these two cases, the importance of grouping has been signified. The efficiency of learning: in class 7, students appeared easier to find the detailed information and have a better understanding of the context, for the descriptions given were more accurate and were based on what they had known or mentioned by their classmates. In class 5, students were less active to answer questions and appeared less interested in learning and their replies were slightest vague and less in quantity. From this, we can predict that after a self-experience of analyzing and studying materials and sharing with others, students can have a relatively better grasp of the knowledge, which is important for teaching and essential to improve their efficiency in acquiring knowledge. 4.2.2.2 Flaws of the research The author has consumed the research will throw more light on cooperative studys effectiveness on improving students participation and on their efficiency in acquiring knowledge, but because of lacking data, students personality analysis appeared rough, which might influence the grouping. However, cooperative learnings function of mobilizing students enthusiasm has been fully reflected. But, whether the cooperative learning can enable students to improve learning efficiency was not fully proved. Only by examining the students understanding of related reading contexts was not sufficient. According to the principle of memories, even though the students gained a lot of knowledge points in the classroom, they would soon be forgotten if there is no effective ways to be practiced, such as quizzes, in-depth discussions. 5. Solve problems As to improve the low class participation rate and students efficiency in acquiring knowledge, the author has advocated applying cooperative study into task-based teaching. After studying the previous studies and doing teaching practice, more suggestions should be made as well. These suggestions are more likely made for teachers. 5.1 suggestions on doing activities: a. More suitable and thoughtful activities should be arranged. Guarantee the equality of chances for each student to participate through the ways varied, as what the author has done in teaching. Vary the study forms. Take more forms like group discussions, group debate, group searching, group role play, and if allowed, online seminar, since English is a live language class. The more intriguing the topic is, the more passionate the students will be and never make it a burden for students. Scholars have proposed three methods of grouping: homogeneous grouping, heterogeneous grouping, and the free combination. In homogeneous group, students often own same features, like in grades, study ability, and study activeness. By combing them, they can find their interests in common and improve together. While in heterogeneous groups, things are opposite. It is better for students to help each other as well as learn from each other. Free grouping can stimulate students passion and initiative to study by grouping them according to their own choices and has a strong cohesion. The grouping should be depended on teaching materials, teaching conditions, and students actual situations. Teachers should design the interactive activities based on real life instead of superficial content which requires no deep thinking, contains no profound meaning and bears no communicative necessity. Try to help the students to truly participate in the activities from the perception general applications, and develop their abilities in identify problems and solving problems. After a group work, it is helpful that the teacher provide the feedback and evaluation to the study, which will confirm group members sense of equal importance to the group, give the encouragement and support. 5.2 Suggestions on interactions with students: a. To complete a variety of mission activities, help to stimulate students interest in learning. b. In the process of completing the task, teachers should combine the language knowledge and language skills together, helping to train the pupils of language proficiency. c. To help students to actively participate in language communication activities, teachers should inspire their imagination and creative thinking. Students should play the main role. d. In activities to learn knowledge, developing interpersonal communication, thinking, decision-making and adaptability, is conducive to overall development of students. e. In the task-based teaching activities, being inspired by their teachers, each student has to think independently and active participation opportunities, keep the motivation to learn, and develop good study habits. Teachers should respect the views of students to build a broad exchange of teaching background, create an innovative atmosphere, and promote the spirit of ask for develop as a whole instead of succeeding individually. It is also essential for teachers to conduct emotional communication, to develop students spirit of Humanities and Social Sciences, as well as their right sense of competition and social responsibility. 6. Conclusion The internal value of cooperative study is necessary to be signified. As Ma Lan (2004) has stated, cooperative study is not only a teaching method, but also an positive attitude of life, showing peoples appreciation and willingness of cope with others. Cooperative study is not only a method but also the content of a study, from which students learn the principles and social skills to develop. More importantly, cooperative study is not only about the interactions between teachers and students, but also the share of resources among them. And under the requirements of current curriculum, the knowledge base of a student includes knowledge from textbooks as well as from that of a teachers teaching experience and the interactions among them. Cooperative learning itself is a kind of profound spiritual essence, rich content and extensive operational theory of teaching technology strategy. U.S. cooperative learning experts Jacobs (2001) once said, the shortest distance to reach a goal is not necessarily a straight line. As for English teaching, it is not to ask student to recite the English dictionary and teach them the merely forms of language, but the practical usage of English. Combining with task-based teaching method, cooperative study is effective to help students to experience the joy of learning, cultivate a sense of responsibility by sharing different assignments and learn to dedicate to a goal by making use of mutual complement.

My First Visit to Nigeria Essay -- Personal Narrative Traveling Essays

My First Visit to Nigeria In this essay I will reconstruct my first visit to Nigeria. The journey took place when I was seventeen in early 1993, during which time Nigeria was under the military rule of General Sanni Abacha. For the most part of my trip I stayed in Lagos, former capital state and still highly recognised as the commercial capital of Nigeria, although I did visit other parts of the country including Ondo State and Jos. Between this time and the time I left, in early 1994, I experienced and learnt a lot about the Nigerian culture. My main focus will be on the particular aspects of Nigerian culture that I saw as relevant to me as a teenager at the time, and also on my views before and after the journey. Up until the point of this journey I had lived most my life in the city of London and my cultural views were very much British. I was not very familiar with Nigerian culture, and the parts I was familiar with, which came mostly through my parents and other family members, were not very appealing t o me. Thinking back now I imagine that one of the reason things like that did not appeal to me was because it went so much against the British culture which I had already related to; fully accepted as my own; and deemed as ‘normal’. For example eating certain food, not including chips, with your right hand instead of with a knife and fork. Leading up to the time I left for Nigeria, I had never really identified myself with the Nigerian culture even though both of my parents where originally from Nigeria. I was the first born of my mother followed by my two younger brothers, Steven and William. We were all also given Nigerian names along with are English ones; mine was Femi and my brother’s were Ayo and Bayo. My father was still studying along with working when I was born and my mother was working also, when I was about three years old I was sent to live with a white middle class nanny in a town called Warminster in Wiltshire. It was a common phenomena in Britain in that period to see West African being bought up by Foster parents while their parents worked or studied (Groody and Groothuues, 1977). I did my first two or so years of primary school in Warminster before my parents decided it was time for me to return to live with them in London. I was one of very few blacks in Wiltshire at the time, so apart from the occasional rare visit made by my par... ... you is to experience it first hand. I found it much easier to accept traditional aspects of Nigerian culture when there where others, who like me were also infected with western popular culture, around me who appreciated also. I do not feel that this acceptance came from any sort forced group conciseness, but more from having the ability to choose aspects of the culture which I liked in an environment where my choices were more sociably accepted. While in Nigeria I also met a reasonable amount of other Nigerians who had had similar experiences while growing up as I did. Meeting with such people was one of the significant aspects of my journey as it enabled me to talk and laugh about some of the things I went through as a child which originally made me feel socially excluded. It also helped me to discover my cultural identity as a British born Nigerian. Bibliography Bammer, A, (1994), Displacements, Volume 15, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana University Press Kureishi, H, London and Karachi, in, Patriotism: The Waking and unmaking of British National Identity, Volume 2, Minorities and Outsiders Watson, J.L,(1977), Between Two Cultures, Oxford, Basil Blackwell

Fast Fashion Essay -- Philosophy, Globalization

For the past several decades, globalization has been a hot topic and it also anticipates every aspect of the world to connect each other. Likewise, globalization also allows consumers to have more access to catch up with updated fashion. The advantages of globalization bring a new philosophy called fast fashion, which holds quick response time and enhanced design in fashion apparel industry. In this paper, I will deliver By exploring all the aspects of each system, I will conclude the reason why fast fashion becomes the mainstream of the fashion apparel industry, and use one particular brand, Zara, as an example to discover the impact on consumer behavior in detail. Finally I will make some comments on the future of fast fashion and what luxury brands will react to this circumstance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. It is necessary to identify fashion and explain the systems apparel industry uses before I start explore the essentiality of fast fashion. According to Dictionary.com, fashion is defined as the prevailing style or custom that is in a current mode and used to express oneself. It can be clothing, accessories, hair, etc. Why certain people like to frequently shop in malls and keep updating apparels in their closets every season? Form psychological perspective, people usually consider clothing as a symbol to show their values, personality and lifestyles to others. Critically, a rapid imaginative change and symbolic expression supports a sense people have about fashion. People believe that an ideal self-identity can be communicated to others through clothing, so figuring out how people make decision when they perceive clothing among different brands and understanding their needs and desires can help apparel industries expending and maintaining market s... ... 1% of the $181 billion U.S. apparel market (Tiplady, 3). The potential growth of fast fashion will expend all over the country just like a flow. H&M got its sales boosted up about 20% in the first three months in 2006. Zara is also going In addition, since more shoppers are loading up on online shopping style when they can not spent time to shop because of busy work. Asos, an online market leader in the online shopping industry, announced that its sales of maxi-dresses and festival wear helped its sales has rose by 54% during the first quarter this year (Jessup). From this point, fast fashion could consider the possibility of online business and gain a share of the market. Frequent, limited-edition products, in-season design. Consumers tend to be more demanding and more arbitrary, so use appropriate strategy will be critical to all fast fashion retailers.

Ghost Story of the Jamesport Manor Inn, Long Island, New York :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends

Jamesport Manor Inn, Long Island, New York The storyteller is a 65 year old Hispanic woman from Riverhead, New York. I collected the story over the phone on April 2, 2006. She started off by telling me that the story took place in 1988 on Long Island. Her landlord had told her about a wonderful restaurant that she just had to go to, so on a Friday night the storyteller and her husband decided to try it out. When stepping up to the Jamesport Manor Inn she had a creepy feeling just from looking at the old mansion. She claimed that it had an eerie sort of feel to it and obviously did not look like a typical restaurant. Although she had just recently moved to Jamesport, she lived most of her life on Long Island and was surprised she had never heard of the restaurant. She began asking her waiter some questions about how new the restaurant was and about the owner and such. She was told that the mansion was built in the 1800s and was obviously somewhat restored. It was recently purchased by a local townsperson and had somewhat recently opened up. The waiter began teasing that the mansion was supposedly haunted because it was so old and there were generations of families who lived and died in the house. He was new to the restaurant but the chefs and other staff at the restaurant claimed they could hear people walking around and opening and closing doors. He told her that the staff generally liked to leave at the same time of night to avoid being alone in the mansion, being that it was haunted. The waiter made a point of claiming that everyone else says it’s true as well. He had never hear d the ghosts, but he was sure they existed in the mansion. My first attempt at finding information was by typing in â€Å"Jamesport Manor Inn + ghosts† at the search engine Google. I found an article from The Suffolk Times, a local newspaper about the rebirth of the Jamesport Manor. It included a picture of the mansion with its owners, and there was a brief paragraph on the suspicion of ghosts roaming the area. â€Å"As for tales about ghosts and later use as a house of ill repute, Mr. Whines laughed and said, ‘I’m a trained historian, so I can’t tell you about that.

World History-High Middle Ages

WORLD HISTORY – UNIT 3: THE MEDIEVAL WORLD HIGH MIDDLE AGES: MONARCHIES AND THE CHURCH In the midst of this setting, medieval countries began to emerge. England and France began to develop strong monarchal systems of government. Spain and Portugal emerged as monarchies near the end of the Middle Ages. Germany and Italy never developed strong monarchies. Here are your goals for this lesson:  ·Identify key political leaders, especially of France and England, during the High Middle Ages.  ·Identify key personalities of the Christian church during the High Middle Ages. interdict[->0]|In a religious sense, to cut off church functions or privileges. | [->1][->2] [->3][->4] France. As the Carolingian Empire declined and the rulers weakened, a split occurred in the region of France between two factions. One faction supported Charles the Simple; the other supported the Count of Paris. This second faction eventually won out and a new family of Capetian kings ruled the kingdom of Fra nce. The Capetian kings ruled France for over three hundred years from 987[->5] to 1328[->6]. Hugh Capet, the Count of Paris, was elected king by the French nobles in 987[->7].Capet formed alliances with other nobles and began extending his territory through warfare. His strength was in his feudal alliances and in the support given him by the church. He insured Capet succession by crowning his eldest son associate king. The early Capetian kings ruled as lord among other lords rather than a sovereign. The anointing of each king by the church set them apart from the others. The first strong Capetian king was Louis VI (Louis the Fat). Louis VI ruled from 1108[->8]-1137[->9] and established the strong leadership needed to lay the foundation of royal power in France.He gained complete control over the lle de France, the area around Paris, and established it as the center of royal law. Philip II (Philip Augustus) grandson of Louis VI, ruled from 1180[->10]-1223[->11] and began expanding t he kingdom. He captured Normandy, Anjou, and some of the other English territories in France. Philip Augustus also founded the University of Paris, and in 1200[->12] began construction of the Louvre, the palace of the French Kings. The Capetian kings proved themselves stronger than the feudal lords. They encouraged the development of towns so that king and townspeople could be allies against the feudal nobility.Another Capetian king, Louis IX (St. Louis), ruled from 1226[->13] to 1270[->14] and was considered the ideal king of his age. He is famous for enacting judicial reforms that allowed both rich and poor to receive equal justice. He also led the Seventh and Eighth Crusades. He was considered a saint during his lifetime and was canonized by the Roman Church in 1297[->15], less than thirty years after his death. In 1328[->16], the Capetian dynasty ended because the king left no male heir. The house of Valois claimed the throne because Philip VI , of the house of Valois, was the n ephew of Philip the Fair.Ap World History Units 1-3 Study GuideHowever, Edward III of England, also claimed the throne because he was the grandson of Philip the Fair. Edward III paying homage to Philip VI This double claim to the throne led to The Hundred Years' War, which lasted from 1338[-;17]-1453[-;18]. Many long and bitter battles were fought between England and France, all on French soil. The English dominated the war until 1429[-;19], gaining large territories in France. In 1429[-;20], however, a young girl, Joan of Arc, led an army to break the English siege at Orleans and insured the coronation of Charles VII. Joan was captured by pro-English Frenchmen, led by the Duke of Burgundy.She was then turned over to the English, who returned her to the French for a trial. She was burned at the stake in 1431[-;21]. During a second trial in 1456[-;22], she was re-tried and declared innocent. The events of 1429[-;23] were the turning point of the Hundred Years' War for France. From th is point France regained territory and won the war in 1453[->24]. France had gained a true national spirit by this time. The monarchy was firmly established. Louis XI, who ruled from 1461[->25] to 1483[->26], finally achieved a united France in 1477[->27] when he defeated Charles the Bald of Burgundy.England. King Alfred's successors ruled England until 1016[-;28]. In 1013[-;29] and 1014[-;30] England was overrun by the Danes once more when the king, Ethelred the Unready, fled to Normandy. The English Witan accepted the Dane Canute (Cnut) as king of England in 1016[-;31]. Canute ruled a united Danish kingdom that included Norway, Denmark, and England. During his reign, 1016[-;32]-1035[-;33], England was peaceful. When Canute died, however, his two sons were incompetent and tyrannical. When the last son died in 1042[-;34], the English Witan chose Edward, the son of Ethelred the Unready, as King.Edward, the Confessor, ruled from 1042[-;35] to 1066[-;36]. The power, however, rested lar gely with the strongest earl, Godwin, Earl of Wessex, and later with his son, Harold Godwinson. When Edward died leaving no heir, Harold became king. Shrine of Edward, the Confessor Harold was not the only claimant to the English throne. Both William, Duke of Normandy, and King Hardrada of Norway planned to invade England. William was a distant relative of Edward, and was officially approved by the pope. William raised an army, invaded England, and defeated Harold at the battle of Hastings in 1066[-;37].William ruled from 1066[-;38] to 1087[-;39]. He brought the feudal system to England from Normandy, but he modified it so that all vassals were subject directly to him. He granted smaller parcels of land to prevent consolidation of power. William used much of the Anglo-Saxon legal and military systems. Two main factions, the Normans and the Saxons, split England for several years. After William and his successors, England was ruled by a new line of kings, the Plantagenets. Henry II w as first in the line of Plantagenet kings. The Plantagenets ruled England from 1154[-;40] to 1399[-;41].Henry II has been called one of England's greatest kings because of his extensive judicial reforms. Henry hoped that he could unify England by making the royal law the law of the land. This royal law was the foundation of English common law. English common law became the basis for most of the United States law, and legal procedures. Henry also initiated a circuit court system and developed the jury system that led gradually to the jury trial system. Henry II had difficulty with the church because he attempted to put clergy under common law and because his legal reforms interfered with the church court system.The culmination of Henry's problem with the church was his argument with his friend and advisor Thomas a' Becket over these church-state concerns. The murder of Becket by some of Henry's knights brought public anger and hurt Henry's attempt to unify England. Henry's son, Richa rd the Lionhearted, spent so many years fighting in the Crusades that he had little affect on England as king. His cruel brother, John, plotted often to overthrow Richard between 1189[-;42] and 1199[-;43], but did not succeed. John finally took the throne when Richard died. His reign from 1199[-;44] to 1216[-;45] is often called the worst in English history.His cruelty led to defeat on all fronts. His wars with Philip Augustus lost most of the English holdings in France by 1214[-;46]. His disputes with the pope, led the pope to place England under interdict in 1208[-;47] and to excommunicate John in 1209[-;48]. His ruthless ways at home caused the English nobles to revolt in 1215[-;49]. At Runnymede in the year 1215[-;50], John was forced by his nobles to sign the Magna Carta (the Great Charter). The Magna Carta was a document which protected feudal rights and limited the power of the king by stating that even the king was under the rule of law.Before this time, the king was not bou nd by any law; he was the law. John did not honor the Magna Carta for long. The principles in the Magna Carta, however, influenced later developments such as fair trials, representative government, and taxation only by consent of the people. John's refusal to abide by the Magna Carta led to further unrest. When John died in 1216[->51], he left a country torn by civil wars. The Plantagenet kings following John were largely responsible for the formation of English Parliament. Edward I, who reigned from 1272[->52] to 1307[->53], was the first to use Parliament effectively.He called together an assembly of people's representatives made up of knights, nobles, clergy, and burgesses. Initially this group was called together to make monetary decisions, especially concerning taxes. In the beginning the representatives met as separate groups, knights meeting with nobles, clergy and burgesses meeting by themselves. In later years the clergy no longer joined the group. The knights and burgesses met together forming the basis for the House of Commons, and the nobles met together in what became known as the House of Lords. Edward I tried to conquer both Wales and Scotland.He succeeded in conquering Wales in 1284[-;54], but he could not conquer Scotland. The high cost of these wars forced him to collect money through taxes. This need for tax revenue led to the calling of Parliament. Edward II (1307[-;55]-1327[-;56]), Edward III (1327[-;57]-1337[-;58]), and Richard II (1377[-;59]-1399[-;60]), were the last Plantagenet rulers. Edward II and Edward III further developed Parliament making it an integral part of English government by the end of the fourteenth century. The Hundred Years' War had taken its toll and continued beyond the Plantagenet reign.Richard II was only ten years of age when he took the throne. His uncle, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, held the real power until Richard was of age. The costs of war, the unrest among the peasants that led to the Peasants Revolt of 1381[->61], and the seizure of John of Gaunt's lands after his death made Richard unpopular. In 1399[-;62], Richard II was forced to abdicate when John of Gaunt's son Henry of Bolingbroke led a revolt of nobles against the king. Henry of Bolingbroke became Henry IV, the first king of the House of Lancaster. His son, Henry V, was a strong king who reigned between 1413[->63] and 1422[->64].Henry V fought bravely in the Hundred Years' War and won the famous Battle of Agincourt in 1415[-;65]. After Henry V's death, England again was torn by civil wars. When Henry died, his son was only nine months old, and was named Henry Vl. Before Henry VI came of age in 1437[->66], England had suffered severe losses in the Hundred Years' War, and the country was dominated by rival factions, primarily by the Houses of Lancaster and York. Henry VI's weak and disastrous reign led England into a second war that began just two years after England's loss of the Hundred Years' War.This new war lasted th irty years (1455[->67]-1485[->68]), and was called the Wars of the Roses because the red rose was the symbol of the House of Lancaster, and the white rose was the symbol of the House of York. The Wars of the Roses finally ended in 1485[->69] when Henry Tudor of the House of Lancaster defeated King Richard III in the battle of Bosworth Field. Henry Tudor became Henry VII and began the reign of the Tudor kings, a reign that lasted until 1603[->70]. Holy Roman Empire. In the kingdoms of Germany and Italy, strong monarchies did not develop as they did in England and France.Germany had the opportunity to establish a strong government but the choice to seek power and conquest prevented them from doing it. After the last Carolingian king of east Frankland died, the kingdom of Germany was split into four duchies. In 919[->71], a Saxon noble, Henry the Fowler became King Henry I. Henry I established a strong government and began to increase the territory of the kingdom of Germany. His son Ot to, called Otto the Great, became one of the strongest kings in Europe. During his reign from 936[->72] to 973[->73], Otto created a united Germany by dominating the nobles.He stopped the Magyar and Slav invasions, and united German church leaders under his power. Once he had united Germany, Otto turned to Italy. On an expedition to Italy (961[->74]-964[->75]), Otto saved the pope, deposed the Italian king, and added north and central Italy to the German kingdom. In 962[->76], the pope crowned him Roman Emperor of the West, and Otto became the first emperor of what was called the Holy Roman Empire. This title gave Otto power not only over Italy and Germany, but also over the papacy.Otto and the German emperors who followed him became ambitious and desired to live as the Roman emperors had lived before them. While they wasted their efforts trying to hold the Italian states and to live as emperors, the German nobles regained power and established their own feudal states. Some of the s trongest German kings could have reunited Germany, but the lure of Italian power kept them divided. One of the most famous kings, Frederick Barbarossa (Redbeard), first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, extended the empire to Burgundy, Bohemia, Hungary, and Poland.His reign from 1152[->77] to 1190[->78] was successful, but he spent twenty-five years trying to reconquer Italian lands. Frederick died in Asia Minor on the Third Crusade. Spain and Portugal. After 711[->79] when the Muslims invaded Spain, civil wars split the Muslim factions. The Umayyad Kingdom of Cordoba became the center of culture and power in Spain from the eighth to the eleventh century. Tenth century Cordoba was the great intellectual center of Europe. Small groups of Christians had scattered during the Muslim invasions.After 711[->80] Christians fought both Muslims and other Christians and established small kingdoms. By the tenth and eleventh centuries independent Christian kingdoms were well established. Muslim power had begun to disintegrate. The Christian reconquest, or Reconquista, as it was called, began in the eleventh century and continued for nearly four hundred years. Rodrigo Diaz of Vivar, known as El Cid, was the great hero of the early Reconquista movement. He conquered the Muslims in Valencia in 1094[->81] and became its ruler until his death in 1099[->82].In 1139[->83] Alphonso I of Portugal defeated the Muslims. Portugal was declared a free kingdom in 1143[->84]. In 1212[->85] the Spanish Christians defeated the Muslims in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. All that remained under Muslim control was Granada. The Reconquista finally ended in 1492[->86] when Ferdinand and Isabella captured Granada. THE CHURCH The Roman Catholic Church of the High Middle Ages was one of the only unifying factors in Europe. Europe was often called Christendom because the church was so much a part of life.The church controlled many legal and political functions and during this period promised protectio n as well as salvation. People depended on the church first of all for salvation. Roman Catholics believed in certain basic doctrines, the most important of which were the seven sacraments: baptism confirmation penance the Holy Eucharist (Lord's Supper) matrimony (marriage) holy orders extreme unction The sacraments covered every aspect of Roman Catholic life from birth with baptism to preparation for death with extreme unction. The sacraments were considered essential to salvation and could only be administered by clergy.The church structure was similar to earlier church structures. In the High Middle Ages, however, bishops were often upper class, equal to the nobles in wealth and power. Parish priests, especially in the villages, were often poorly educated, but were concerned with the salvation of their people. The church began to develop a more highly structured ritual, or liturgy. The liturgy was not the same all over Europe, but the essential Eucharistic ritual was central to i t. Church fathers and later poets composed elaborate hymns for church services. Observance of religious festivals and special seasons increased.The church regulated certain aspects of warfare. Knights who killed innocent people or who pillaged churches or monasteries were banned from the sacraments in accordance with a document known as the Peace of God (990[-;87]). Another document, the Truce of God, prohibited fighting during certain religious seasons and on specified days of the week. The church courts tried those who ignored these rules as well as members of the clergy who were guilty of offenses. Heretics were also tried by church courts. A fear of heresy led to the creation of a court to search out and to try heretics.This court became known as the Inquisition. The church could impose severe penalties, such as interdiction and excommunication. The Church could also depose unfit rulers. Religious orders. The medieval church was not without controversies. The increased wealth of some church leaders and of some monasteries led to reforms from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. The primary reforms were monastic. Many monasteries had become part of the feudal system, accepting lands in return for protection. The land brought further involvement with the world, along with wealth.Many monks, vowed to poverty, found this acquisition of land unacceptable and set out to find new, reformed orders with stricter rules. The monastery of Cluny, founded in 910[-;88], was such a reformed monastery. The monks of Cluny refused land grants that tied them to lay leaders. The movement spread, and Cluny eventually had 300 monasteries under the abbot at Cluny. These monks were responsible directly to the pope. Two other reform groups were the Carthusians, who lived as hermits, and the Cistercians, who were a stricter branch of the Benedictines and who were led in the early twelfth century by St.Bernard of Clairvaux (1091[-;89]-1153[-;90]). In the twelfth and thirteenth cent uries new orders, known as mendicant orders, began to appear. The members of these monastic orders took vows of poverty and were forbidden to own property. They were supported by alms (begging). Two of these orders were begun by Francis of Assisi (1182[-;91]-1216[-;92]) and Dominic (1170[-;93]-1221[-;94]). These two men organized groups of friars, or brothers, who did not live in monasteries, but went out as missionaries, earning or begging for their food and shelter as they went.These orders, the Franciscans and the Dominicans, were founded to fight the spread of heresies. In addition to a vow of poverty, the friars' rule forbade them to marry. Papacy. As papal powers and secular powers became more closely linked, problems arose between church and state in all matters. Both church and state claimed sovereign powers in cases that did not concern them, especially in legal matters. The outcome was usually determined by the stronger leader, either pope or king. From 962[->95] to 1149[- >96], Otto the Great and the other emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, had declared themselves above the pope.They deposed and named popes at will. The Clunaic Reforms under Pope Leo IX (1049[->97]-1054[->98]) gave the papacy independence. Gregory III, who was pope from 1037[->99] to 1085[->100], tried to establish church authority over state authority by standing against the German emperors. Although he was driven from Rome, he established a precedent of opposition to the Germans which spurred future popes to similar action. Pope Innocent III had greater success over secular rulers during his papacy from 1198[->101]-1216[->102].He was victorious over both Philip Augustus of France in 1198[->103], and King John of England in 1213[->104]. In the latter case, he forced John to pay tribute to the papacy and to acknowledge that England was a fief of the papacy. In the thirteenth century, Pope Gregory IX was unable to defeat Frederick II of Germany, but he created considerable opposition that led eventually to the downfall of the Hohenstaufens. In 1302[->105] Pope Boniface VIII (1294[->106]-1303[->107]) declared that all states were subject to the pope.This action resulted in controversy, especially with Philip the Fair in France, and led to the Avignon Captivity, a group of French popes who reigned in the city of Avignon from 1305[->108] to 1376[->109]. From 1378[->110] to 1417[->111], the Great Schism, an era when the church was ruled by two rival popes, dealt a severe blow to papal supremacy and severely split the church. The schism ended in 1417[->112] when the Council of Constance deposed both popes and elected a new pope, Martin V. Philosophy. One of the major intellectual developments to rise out of the church at this time was a serious study of philosophy.Medieval philosophy began to examine the relationship between faith and reason. The introduction of many of Aristotle's works into medieval Europe combined with knowledge of church teachings led to the deve lopment of a religious philosophy known as Scholasticism. Scholasticism attempted to apply Aristotle's logic to church teachings. The greatest scholastic philosopher was St. Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican who lived from about 1224[->113] to 1274[->114]. His twenty-one volume Summa Theologica carefully studies the relationship between faith and reason. Thomas spoke of reason and faith as gifts of God.He concluded that reason could understand certain truths and that faith perceived the truths of Christians, which could not be understood by reason. Scholasticism was not immediately accepted, but eventually Thomas' works were adopted officially by the church. The Crusades. In the period from 1096[-;115] to 1291[-;116], eight Catholic Crusades were launched to drive the Muslim â€Å"infidels† from the Holy Land. The Crusades were military failures. They did, however, stimulate the growth of trade in Europe, which, in turn, led to the growth of cities, trade centers, and monetary syst ems.They also led to advances in armor and weaponry. The Crusades were very costly and many nobles were forced to sell their lands to finance military campaigns. This led eventually to a decline in the feudal system because the sale of the lands lessened the power of the lords, and it released the serfs who then moved into the towns. Major Crusades:| The First Crusade (1096[-;117]-1099[-;118]) called by Pope Urban II at request of the Byzantine emperor;| The Second Crusade (1147[-;119]-1149[-;120]) called by St.Bernard of Clairvaux at the request of Pope Eugenius II;| The Third Crusade (1189[-;121]-1192[-;122]) called by European leaders after the fall of Jerusalem;| The Fourth Crusade (1202[-;123]-1204[-;124]) called by Pope Innocent III;| The Fifth Crusade (1218[-;125]-1221[-;126]) called by Pope Innocent III;| The Sixth Crusade (1228[-;127]-1229[-;128]) led by Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire;| The Seventh Crusade (1248[-;129]-1254[-;130]) called by Louis IX of France;| The Eighth Crusade (1270[-;131]-1272[-;132]) called by Louis IX of France. |The Crusades diminished the power of the church somewhat because they failed to defeat the â€Å"infidels. † The Crusades were responsible, however, for the growth of chivalric and monastic orders of knights, such as the Knights Templars, the Teutonic Knights, and the Knights Hospitalers. Three other Crusades are often mentioned. The first is the People's Crusade of 1096[->133] composed of about fifty thousand peasants and their families who set out for Asia Minor. They pillaged their way through Europe and killed many Jews. Led by a man called Peter the Hermit, about twelve thousand reached their goal, only to be slaughtered by Turks.The second was the Children's Crusade of 1212[-;134]. This Crusade led to disaster and was a tragic memory for families across the continent. Most of the idealistic children either died or were captured and sold as slaves. The third crusade was officially called by Pope Greg ory in 1274[-;135] and would have been the Ninth Crusade, but it never began. Pope Gregory died in 1276[-;136] and preparation for the Crusade ceased. 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