Market Structure Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Market Structure - Research Paper Example PERFECT COMPETITION: Firms operating under perfect competition essentially rest upon four primary assumptions, the first of which is that since there are several firms operating under this model the significance of their output from a perspective of the entire industry supply is unimportant which means that such firms do not have the capability to influence the price of the product, therefore, at the market price perfect competition firms are said to experience perfectly elastic demand. Henceforth, this phenomenon postulates that perfect competition firms are price takers (Mankiw, 2011). The second assumption of the model of perfect competition relates to the freedom of entry into the industry or whether there is existence of any barriers to entry or exit. In this scenario, new firms do not face any lack of restrictions if they wish to enter the industry, however, the concept of freedom of entry is said to be applicable in the long-run owing to the period it takes to establish an org anization (Sloman, 2006). A fundamental assumption of the model relates to product homogeneity within the industry, this concept is based upon the idea that all businesses supply products that are identical (Sloman, 2006). Lastly, it is supposed that buyers and sellers have perfect knowledge regarding the market such as price, quality and costs. The profit maximizing output of the firm occurs at the intersection of Marginal Cost and Marginal Revenue where, MC = MR (Sloman, 2006). Therefore, when P = MC firms in perfect competition are economically efficient, where allocative efficiency occurs when consumer as well as producer surplus is at its maximum and productive efficiency occurs because the firm’s equilibrium output in the long-run is established where the businesses’ average cost is the least. The quantity of firms in the short run varies as firms leave or come into the industry, if it is understood that the costs of the firms experience no change the exit of som e firms will lead to generation of abnormal profit or supernormal profit where AR>AC. In the long-run however, the attraction of abnormal profits will cause firms to enter the industry because of no barriers to entry or exit thereby, bringing the state of the market back to equilibrium at a point on the LRAC curve which is the least, causing firms to make normal or zero economic profit such that the long-run equilibrium occurs where P = AR = LRAC = LRMC = MR (Stanlake & Grant, 2000). Due to obvious factors relating to the model of perfect competition it can be concluded that most firms are not audacious in terms of taking risks. The instability of demand therefore, causes perfectly competitive firms to diversify which leads to intra-industry trade and if the condition of elastic demand is fulfilled such exchange of identical commodities on an international scale proves to be beneficial for both the countries and firms involved (Cukrowski & Aksen, 2003). Hypothetically, the economic efficiency of perfectly competitive firms would indicate that government regulation is not required in such a model but in the short-run government intervention might be needed to control prices if firms are generating supernormal profits, however, the primary premise remains that in a perfectly competi

Byzantine Art Essay Example for Free

Byzantine Art Essay Early Christian art was highly influenced by religious, political, and cultural changes. In contrast to the classical, idealistic portrayal of man, Early Christian art took a much more stylized approach to the depiction of man, with a neglected attention to human anatomy. The subject matter of much of the art turned from secular to religious; Christianity to be more specific. Constantine was the last emperor of the Roman Empire to hold undivided power. Under his rule, Constantine created the Edict of Milan, granting religious tolerance to all religions. This was of particular importance to Christians, who had been previously persecuted due to their spiritual beliefs. Because of the Edict of Milan, many Christian buildings were erected in addition to the many secular buildings that were transformed into Christian buildings. These buildings housed countless numbers of priceless religious artworks. One such example is the Transfiguration of Christ mosaic located in Saint Catherines Monastery in Sinai, Egypt. When Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople (modern day Istanbul), the Empire separated. Upon the division of the Roman Empire, Justinian, The Last Roman Emperor, held power over the Eastern Roman Empire from 527 to 565. Justinian was both a political and religious leader. Under his reign, many Christian buildings were constructed. Justinian often associated himself with Jesus Christ in the Byzantine artworks that these Christian buildings housed as a form of propaganda. The Orthodox Church now recognizes Justinian as a saint. Byzantine is a term used to describe eastern Mediterranean art from 330 to 1453, when the Turks conquered Constantinople (Strickland, 1992, p. 24). Mosaics were one of the most common forms of art during this period. They were intended to publicize the Christian creed through their religious subject matter (Strickland, 1992, p. 25). Byzantine mosaics are composed of small, colorful glass or stone squares and rectangles, called tesserae, embedded in wet cement or plaster. These tesserae were arranged in a manner through which they formed images. Typically, Byzantine mosaics are located on the walls and ceilings within a church apse and dome (Strickland, 1992, p. 25). The artists of these mosaics left the tesserae with jagged surfaces to create the sparkling, illuminated effect that distinguishes these mosaics  from those of other periods and places (Strickland, 1992, p. 25). The exteriors of Byzantine Christian structures were very plain in contrast to the elaborately decorated interiors. The awe-inspiring mosaics and icons brought the focus of the buildings to the interiors. Perhaps this was a method to spread the word of God by attracting people to come inside the buildings. Byzantine Emperor, Justinian, ordered the construction of he Monastery of the Transfiguration, more commonly known as Saint Catherines Monastery because the relics of Saint Catherine of Alexandria are said to have been inexplicably transported there, at the foot of Mount Moses (Wikipedia, 2006). The monastery houses the Chapel of the Burning Bush, which was ordered built by Constantines mother, Helena (Wikipedia, 2006). The Chapel of the Burning Bush is located at the site where Moses purportedly saw the burning bush (Wikipedia, 2006). Saint Catherines Monastery is now one of the oldest active monasteries in existence. The monastery survived Islamic dominance over the region due to a document that Mohammed supposedly signed himself, granting his protection over the monastery (Wikipedia, 2006). Saint Catherines Monastery allegedly gave Mohammed political asylum from his enemies (Wikipedia, 2006). In addition, a Fatimid mosque was built within the fortifications of Saint Catherines Monastery, thus creating further protection of the monastery from Islamic invasion (Wikipedia, 2006). Without the protection of Mohammed and the mosque, Saint Catherines Monastery would have been destroyed, and all of the irreplaceable artworks within its walls would have been lost. Byzantine mosaics contain many characteristics that distinguish them from the rest. The typical gold background of a Byzantine mosaic creates a sense of weightlessness within the figures, as if they are floating. Byzantine artists depicted sacred figures with halos, separating them from the other figures. With nude images having been forbidden, one can hardly make out the anatomy of the fully clothed figures. Though it is evident that symmetry was greatly appreciated, it is also evident that the mosaics lack perspective.  The figures depicted in the mosaics are flat and frontal facing with linear details. They are often slim with almond shaped faces and large eyes. The images depict little to no movement, creating a sense of stillness. These highly stylized Byzantine mosaics show disregard for Greco-Roman ideals. On an expedition set out by the University of Michigan in search of sites to excavate in the Near East, the staff spent five days at Saint Catherines Monastery (Forsyth, 1997). They discovered that the mosaics within the monastery had undergone little restoration since the time of Justinian (Forsyth, 1997). As a result, most of the works were in bad condition and on the verge of collapsing (Forsyth, 1997). Mosaic restorers came in to save the mosaics, which could have been lost forever (Forsyth, 1997). After they secured the mosaics, the restorers cleaned them (Forsyth, 1997). The mosaics now appear in their original state (Forsyth, 1997). One of the most known mosaics restored was the Transfiguration of Christ (Forsyth, 1997). The Transfiguration of Christ is located in the main church, Katholikon, in the apse over the high altar. The subject of this mosaic was an appropriate selection to portray in Saint Catherines Monastery because of its location at the foot of Mount Moses (Watson, 1999). In Christianity, the story claims that Jesus led three of his apostles, Peter, John, and James, to pray atop a mountain. It was here that Jesus transfigured, with his face shining like the sun and wearing bright white clothing. On both sides of Christ, Moses and Elijah appeared. Overhead, a brilliant cloud appeared, and Gods voice emerged from the cloud proclaiming, This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him. It was then that Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah about his upcoming death. The artist of this mosaic is unknown because artists went unrecognized until much later. This mosaic is in the form of a triumphal arch, bordered by medallions occupying the busts of the twelve apostles, fifteen prophets, Longinus the Abbot, John the Deacon, two angels, and a Greek cross in the top, center (Watson, 1999). Jesus Christ is depicted in the center of the mosaic with black hair and beard. He was placed in an oval mandorla with a cross and a bright yellow circle depicting his illumination behind his head.  Rays of light are shown coming from Christs body. In addition to the mandorla depicting Christs holiness, this was done to make Christ the emphasis of the mosaic as well as to distinguish him from the other figures. Elijah is shown on one side of Christ, while Moses is shown on the other. Beneath Christ, Peter, John, and James are portrayed with awe (Watson, 1999). The Transfiguration of Christ contains all the elements of Byzantine mosaics. It has a bright gold background. The figures are dematerialized and one cannot tell which figures were intended to be floating and which are not. One can hardly make out the figures beneath the clothing and the only skin shown is on the figures faces, hands, and feet. All the figures were placed symmetrically around Christ, making him the focus of the mosaic. The halo and mandorla around Christ show his holiness. Only slight movement is shown through the figures poses. The figures are very flat, despite the attempts of the artist to show shadow and overlapping. All of the figures are slender with almond shaped heads and large eyes. One can hardly see perspective when observing this mosaic. In conclusion, religion, politics, and culture had a significant influence on The Transfiguration of Christ, and all Early Christian art for that matter. With the Edict of Milan legalizing Christianity, the focus of art turned from secular to religious, changing the course of art forever. The Edict of Milan made it possible for Christians to practice their spiritual beliefs openly, leading to Early Christian art. Early Christian art can be credited with the spread of Christianity. One might wonder if Christianity would be as prominent as it is today had it not been for these artworks, or would it have died off a long time ago. Without Early Christian art, one might wonder when or how todays modern day art would have evolved.

Different Types Of Computer Memory

Different Types Of Computer Memory In earlier computers, the most common form of random-access storage for computer main memory employed an array of doughnut-shaped ferromagnetic loops referred to as cores. Hence, main memory was often referred to as core, a term that persists to this day. The advent of, and advantages of, microelectronics has long since vanquished the magnetic core memory. Today, the use of semiconductor chips for main memory is almost universal. In computing, memory refers to the state information of a computing system, as it is kept active in some physical structure. The term memory is used for the information in physical systems which are fast such as RAM, as a distinction from physical systems which are slow to access such as data storage. By design, the term memory refers to temporary state devices, whereas the term storage is reserved for permanent data. Advances in storage technology have blurred the distinction a bit -memory kept on what is conventionally a storage system is called virtual memory. Computer memory can divide into two types: volatile and non-volatile. Volatile memory is a kind of memory that power supply is needed to maintain the stored information. Semantic Random Access Memory (SRAM) and Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) are currently common known semiconductor volatile memory technology. Non-volatile memory is computer memory that can retain the stored information even the power is switched off. Examples of non-volatile memory technology are Read Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, most types of magnetic computer storage devices such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tape. Main Memory Random Access Memory (RAM) is a form of computer stored. It is responsible for stacking away data on a temporarily basis, so that it can be promptly accessed by the processor. Usually, information that stored in RAM is loaded from computers hard disk, included data related to the operating system and certain applications. The weakness of RAM is when the system switched off; RAM will lose all stored information. However, the data still remain stored and can be retained only when the system is running. Computer system is more likely to operate at a slow speed if the RAM is getting full but the data can be retrieved in any random order by computer to back to normal speed. The common examples of RAM are Static RAM (SRAM) and Dynamic RAM (DRAM). SRAM is a type of semiconductor memory where the word static indicates that, unlike DRAM, it does not need to be periodically refreshed, as SRAM uses bistable latching circuitry to store each bit. SRAM exhibits data remanence, but it still volatile in the conventional lost when the memory is not powered. A SRAM cell has three different states it can be in: standby where the circuit is idle, reading when the data has been requested and writing when updating when contents. Asynchronous SRAM is type of SRAM that available from 4Kb to 32Mb. The fast access time of SRAM make asynchronous SRAM appropriate as main memory or small cache-less embedded processors used in everything from industrial electronics and measurement systems to hard disks and networking equipment, among many other applications. SDRAM memory data access is synchronized with an external clock signal. SDRAM memory bus accepts speeds up to 100 MHz, wh ich says much for their stability and has reached speeds of 10 ns. It comes in 168-pin DIMM (64 bits). Being a 64-bit memory implies that no modules to install modules in pairs of equal size, speed and brand. DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate SDRAM or SDRAM-II). Operates at speeds of 83, 100 and 125MHz, and can double these speeds data transfer to memory. DRAM is a type of RAM that stores each bit of data in a separate capacitor within on integrated circuit. The capacitor can be either charged or discharged; these two values of a bit, conventionally called 0 and 1. Since capacitors leak charge, the information eventually fades unless the capacitor charge is refreshed periodically. Due to this refresh requirement, its a dynamic memory as opposed to SRAM and other static memory. The advantage of DRAM is its structural simplicity. It means, there are only one transistor and a capacitor are required per bit compare to six transistor in SRAM and it allows DRAM to reach a very high densities. Second storage devices Computer hard disk is these devices are imported data storage components that are installed in the CPU. Their memory ranges widely, and a user may choose the memory depending on the data needed to be stored and accessed. Memory capacity of computer hard disk are normally used is 120GB to 500GB. Computer hard disk is a non-volatile, random access device for digital data. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read or write heads that float on a film of air above the platters. With the rapidly growth of science and technology, we are having external hard disk that more portable than the computer hard disk. The popular capacity of external hard disk is between 320GB to 500 GB. Removable make this hard disk quickly spread to users and they prefer it then other. In addition, flash memory also the second storage devices that know by users in computer industry. Flash memory is a kind of non-volatile memory which is intended to contribute to portable storage and a convenient transfer of data from 1 computer to another. The data in flash memory can erase and re-programmed as per the users requirements. It only has a specific number of erase and writes cycle that it can with stand, after which it creates a tendency to lose out on the stored. Memory card and USB flash devices are some modes of flash memory. Memory card is commonly used in many electronic devices, including digital cameras, mobile phones, laptop computers, MP3 players and video game consoles. They are small, re-recordable, and they can retain data without power supply. The storage capacity of memory card can up to 4MB. The examples of memory card that we most familiar are: SM / SMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, Memory PRO Duo, and Memory Stick Micro M2. A USB flash drive consists of a flash memory data storage device integrated with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) interface. USB flash drives are typically removable and rewriteable and physically much smaller than a floppy disk. For USB flash memory, we know that it bring us a better life, without printing out the document into hard copy but still we can share to each other within it. The Kingston is the most popular brand for USB flash memory. It is portable, small and brings along to anywhere. The capacity of memory in 2010 can be as large as 256GB with the steady improvement in size and price per capabilities expected. Nothing moves mechanically in a flash drive; the term drive persists because computers read and write flash-drive data using the same system commands as for a mechanical disk drive, with the storage appearing to the computer operating system and user interface as just another drive. Flash drives are very robust mechanically.A flash drive consists of a small printed cir cuit board carrying the circuit elements and a USB connector, insulated electrically and protected inside a plastic, metal, or rubberized case which can be carried in a pocket or on a key chain, for example. The USB connector may be protected by a removable cap or by retracting into the body of the drive, although it is not likely to be damaged if unprotected. Most flash drives use a standard type-A USB connection allowing plugging into a port on a personal computer, but drives for other interfaces also exist. Computer memory closely related to computer and our daily life. To store data and information, we need it. In the future, the computer memory will be more portable and with all non-volatile memory to give us a better working environment.

Summary of Slaughter House Five :: Novels Literature Slaughter House Five Essays

Summary of Slaughter House Five Chapter One: The first chapter serves as an introduction in which Vonnegut directly addresses the reader, pointing out that the book is based on events that really occurred. He experienced first-hand the destruction of Dresden, during WWII, an event that he has never been able to put out of his mind. For twenty-three years, he has wanted to write about it. Vonnegut's attitude towards war becomes clear in this first chapter. He sees it as a totally futile occurrence, but he is resigned to the fact that war will always exist. He feels that wars have taught people insensitivity towards death. He cites the detached attitude of a woman writer as she relayed the news of a young veteran's dying. He finds such a nonchalant, uncaring attitude repulsive in any human being. Vonnegut then points out the irony in the fact that war tries to fight violence with more violence. He also questions the American government's treatment of violence as a "top secret" affair that is not to be discussed. I took this as interesting it’s just the first chapter and yet the author is pointing out and beating you with multifaceted issues that he will hopefully find solutions to towards the end of the novel. The character displayed as the author of the story tells of how he writes it and the events which lead to publication. In one instance he meets with a fellow veteran, Bernard O’Hare. When faced with his wife, Mary O'Hare's anger about war, Vonnegut assures her that his book will not glorify violence. Her main concern is the death of "babies" who will grow up and die in war. Along with his assurance to her, he also considers calling the book, "The Children's Crusade." The author has tried to pass on his knowledge of the futility of destruction to his children. He wants the younger generation to understand what the older ones have always failed to. Mary seems bizarre but I understand her purpose and that is to set out the mindset that the book wants the reader to adhere. There is a lot of precautions Vonnegut is making before he even preludes the story. Vonnegut revisits Dresden with O'Hare, and this, along with the completion of this book, is of great importance to him. With these two things he has managed to free himself of his obsession.

Frankenstein :: essays research papers fc

Frankenstein the novel and movie had a few similarities and many differences. Robert De Niro plays the Creature and he does a good job portraying the creature in the novel. Kenneth Branagh plays Victor Frankenstein and his play was good with the way he showed the consequences he faced during his life. Henena Bonham Carter is Elizabeth who has an important role in the novel.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the 1994 film, Robert De Niro is the creature. They d o an excellent job with the special effects and he looks exactly like how he is described in the book. â€Å"What kind of people is it in which I am comprised? Good people? Bad ds people?† (Shelley 56) In the beginning, it’s similar to the novel a man creates life from dead tissue. Then the creature escapes and creates havoc among the people. When the monster awakes in the movie, like the book, shows the monster is kind and gentle until he realizes he is not accepted or loved. However, in the book this period of corruption goes into much greater detail.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The human’s reactions to the monster are also very similar. â€Å"Everyone starts at the sight of him, runs from his frightening features, or tries to kill him out of fear. In the film, the monster is incapable of speech, and the audience does not have the opportunity to view any thread of humanity within him.†(Frankenstein page 3) Instead of feeling pity, the movies aim is to invoke horror or fear. Specific scenes are also changed. When the monster finds a young girl by the water, instead of saving her like the book, he throws her into the water. Next is Victor Frankenstein and he is being played by Kenneth Branagh, who is the young scientist, around whose creation the story revolves around .He is the creator of the monster. Kenneth does a good job showing the problems he had growing up and the way his family got in the way of his experiments. From the film, one can see the affection towards his family and his love for experimenting with dead people. The film does show way too much romance and not enough blood and gore.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Henena Bonham Carter is Elizabeth. Henena does a well job of portraying Elizabeth. She does show the affection she has towards Victor, the picture that she creates is exactly as it is from the novel.

Violence On Television And The V-chip :: essays research papers

Violence on Television and the V-chip Television programs that generate a great deal of concern among parent and educators are those that contain violence. The questionable violence, sex and language on television have caused the nation to find methods of censoring these problems. Due to television violence, censorship should reduce the ability for children to view violent content.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children have an easy access to violence on television from violent programs through movie channels. The public’s concern has been reflected in congressional hearings and massive studies on the effect of TV violence, especially on children. Dr. James C. Dobson from the Focus on the Family Newsletter says: If you have any doubt about the influence MTV wishes to exert on today’s adolescents, watch their popular program Beavis and Butthead†¦They use crude words, fondle themselves, do horribly cruel things to animals, and sit around watching heavy-metal videos as bright green stuff runs from their noses†¦Beavis and Butthead took a trip to a rifle range where they accidentally shot down a plane. They had difficulty opening the door of the wrecked plane, so they left women and children to die inside. This is the fare served up to preteens and adolescents by the company that seek to shape an entire generation (Hendershot 13) In 1994 a small child burned down his trailer house, killing his baby sister. His mother responded to the accident by saying that he learned to do so by watching Beavis and Butthead. Instead of legal issues, MTV responded by moving the program to a later time. (Hendershot 14)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many reasons to be concerned about violence. Television violence is more frequent then real violence. Television violence spares the views the suffering of the victim and the disorder of the killer. By the time a child is the age of 18, they will see 115,000 violent acts on television. (Hefzallah 88) An eleven-year-old child reported, â€Å"I was scared when I saw Friday the 13th. Whenever the girl went into the water and Jason stuck a knife in her and all this blood was in the water-I got real scared.† (Abelman 28) Robert Singer voiced: Working-class children, minority children, unpopular children and children doing poorly in school seem to be the ones more susceptible to imitating the aggression that they see on television. This may be partly because they watch more hours and are exposed to more television violence†¦Television may or may not contribute to their aggressive behavior, but their aggressive nature does play a major role in what they choose to watch.

Black Death Cause and Effect Essay

The Bubonic Plague or the Black Death has been in the history books since the medieval times. This deadly disease has claimed nearly 1. 5 million lives in Europe (Gottfried). The Black Death hit Europe in October of 1347 and quickly spread through most of Europe by the end of 1349 and continued on to Scandinavia and Russia in the 1350s. Not only did the plague effect the European population by killing one-third to two-thirds (Gottfried), it also hurt the social and economic structures of every European society. How it spread The Black Death actually first appeared in the Himalayan region around 1250 AD. There are several theories as to how the disease made its way to Europe. One theory is that since the plague is transmitted from a bite of a flea, that fleas that lived on marmots that were indigenous to the region were the original transporters (Clay,1). The first recorded appearance of the plague in Europe was at Messina, Sicily in October of 1347. It was believed to have arrived on trading ships that came from the Black Sea, past Constantinople and through the Mediterranean (Gottfried). This route was used to bring import items such as silks and porcelain, which were carried overland to the Black Sea from as far away as China (Gottfried). No one know the exact point of origin of the Black Death but what most scholars will agree with is that the disease reach Europe by rodents. The reason given was due to the climatic shifts in the area which caused a shortage of food. The disease ridden rodents’ migration put them in contact with human populations, thus, putting humans in contact with the disease carrying fleas. So many people were impacted because most people lived in very crammed and tight spaces. This also made waste disposal an issue, which caused people to just tip their waste out the window of their home, bringing the rats. Because everyone was so close, the fleas could easily infect hundreds of people in one day, so no one was safe (Gottfried). The people that did manage to escape death was due to the fact that their immune systems being able to withstand the plague (Gottfried). Types of Plague What killed so many wasn’t due to just one type of plague going around; The disease that devastated Europe was caused by three different types of plague: bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic. All three are bacterial infections caused by Yersinia pestis (Gottfried). The most common form was the bubonic plague. Fleas that lived on the plague-infected rats spread the bubonic plague (Gottfried). After 6 days people who were infected with this strain would develop flu-like symptoms and blood pressure drops, heartbeats faster, and a sudden fever erupts, accompanied by chills, weakness, and headache. Next, a black pus filled bump surrounded by an inflamed red ring shows up at the place that was bitten (Gottfried). The lymph node would begin to swell with pus. When the enlarged lymph nodes would burst they would also emit dark colored blood and pus. This is how the name â€Å"Black Death† came to be coined (Vunguyen). A second type of plague was that of pneumonic. This plague could spread with a sneeze and could quickly jump from person to person and though it was less common than the bubonic form, but more deadly. This form was contracted through breathing in a mutated, airborne strain of the bacteria. The infected person would experience fluid building up in the lungs. This very unfortunate circumstance would, in turn, cause suffocation of the infected individual. This particular form of the bacteria would cause death within a short time span, usually two or three days (Boeckl). The third type of plague was speticemic plague. Though it was the least common out of the three, it was the deadliest. Septicemic plague was carried in the blood and was contracted only through blood-to-blood contact. The person infected with this type would develop a high fever but they would not develop many outward symptoms that they had contracted the plague. The individuals who were infected with this final strain of the bacterium were usually dead within 24 hours. Almost all who contracted either the pneumonic or septicemic plague died from the infection (Boeckl). Causes of the Black Death The causes of the Black Death – the flea, the rat, and the bacillus Yersinia pestis– have been labeled the â€Å"unholy trinity† (Boeckl). The flea is able to live in environmental conditions of about 74 ° Fahrenheit and 60% humidity (Ibid). Before the Black Death reached Europe, they were experiencing those same types of weather conditions. The rat flea, Xenopsylla cheopis and the human flea, Pulex irritans, are both capable of transmitting plague (Boeckl). Sometimes, an infected flea cannot ingest blood because Yersinia pestis obstructs its digestive tract. The blockage causes a flea to regurgitate into a bitten host rather than ingest the host’s blood, thereby infecting the host with plague (Boeckl). Unable to eat, the famished flea will bite with more frequency, accelerating the spread of plague. A flea can be carrying Yersinia pestis without it blocking the flea’s digestive tract, in which case the flea does not transmit plague when it bites a host. Also, Yersinia pestis can only enter a victim through a bite, as the bacilli cannot pass through intact skin (Gottfried). Social Changes The disease took a major toll on the population of Europe but as it wiped out communities it also caused changes in the social structure of European society. Europe was run by a feudal system (Vunguyen). As death took its toll, people started to question the way of life. When the Black Death swept over Europe and wiped out a third of its population, it also dismantled Feudalism. The feudal system was structured like a pyramid with the King being at the top and having complete control. The King owned everything; he had the power to decide who he would lease the land to. If he did allow a citizen to lease part of his land, before doing so they had to swear to an oath of loyalty (Vunguyen). People who did rent the King’s land were called Baron/Baronesses (Vunguyen). The leased land was called a manor, and the Barons were often called the ‘Lord of the Manor’ (Vunguyen). They were allowed to establish their own system of justice, mint their own money and set their own taxes. The Barons had to serve on the royal council, pay rent and provide the King with Knights for military service when he demanded it in return for the land they had been given (Vunguyen). When the King and his court travelled around the country, the Barons also had to provide lodging and food. The Barons kept as much of their land as they desired, then divided the rest among their Knights (Vunguyen). Knights were given land by the Baron in return for military service when demanded, and to protect the manor. The Knights kept as much of the land as they wished for their own personal use, and distributed the rest of it to serfs – although they weren’t as rich as the Barons, Knights were quite wealthy (). Serfs were given land by Knights in exchange for free labor, food and services whenever it was desired. They had no rights and weren’t allowed to leave the Manor. They had to ask their Lord’s permission before they could marry, and were often mistreated and poor (). The serfs or peasants were a key group in the population so when they started to die off, everything went downhill. The serfs served everyone on the pyramid and now Barons were willing to pay higher wages and offer extra benefits (Vunguyen). All their life they had lived off the serfs’ hard work, and were willing to pay them to stay on the manor to continue slaving for them. When the serfs died, the foundation on which feudalism relied upon was broken. The pyramid of power broke, and everything was a mess. Serfs left to find high wages due to the labor shortages. The land that had usually been the primary source of wealth was now worthless (Vunguyen). Entire estates were deserted as families fell to the plague and died, or fled in a vain attempt to escape its fury, were there for the taking (Vunguyen). As Europe evolved away from relying on land as the main source of prosperity, a rising middle-class claimed more and more wealth and prestige, as the once-noble began to quickly lose both (Vunguyen). The end of Feudalism had started and progressed each day as the plague claimed more lives. As the days went on people wondered, if they needed to change the way they lived or worshipped God. Many found that if they continued to live and worship as they had for centuries, the plague was not being pacified (Clay). This caused many people to abandon the way of life that they were accustomed to and chose a life that contrasted with social norms. A large group of people, desperate to point their fingers at someone, alleged and accused many different ‘groups’ which included ‘witches,’ lepers and Jews (Clay). In central Europe, the flagellants convincingly charged the Jews. On a tragic day in Strasbourg alone, over 8,000 Jews were killed for being the target of vain suspicions (). This quote shows just how the mind of Europeans changed: â€Å"Many were uncertain about the cause of this great mortality. In some places, they believed that the Jews had poisoned the worlds, and so they killed them. In some other areas, that it was a deformity of the poor, so they chased them out; in others, that it was the nobles, and so they [the nobles] hesitated to go out into the world. Finally, it reached the point where guards were posted in cities and towns, and they permitted no one to enter, unless he was well known. And if they found anyone with powders or unguents, they made him swallow them, fearing that these might be poisons (Clay, 2-3)†. Someone who survived the plague wrote â€Å"Everyone appeared to be rich because they had survived and regained value in life. Now, no one knows how to put their life back in order†(Clay, 3). No one knew how to put their life back together after the plague hit. When all the chaos died down and order was restored, the society was much different than what it once was. The disease did not discriminate; it killed people from all different social classes. The peasants now saw that everyone was made up of the same flesh, even though who once ruled over them. This epiphany led the serfs see the inequality of the system and they saw it as unfair and unjust (Clay, 3). â€Å"Because of all the affliction and misery there was much lawbreaking and because most of the law enforcers had also been hit by the plague there was not much that was done about it (Clay, 3). † This quote shows just how their mentality was changing. Lawbreakers could not be stopped especially by the lords and so once peasants realized all ties could be broken, they gained a new level of freedom (Clay, 4). Peasants and lord relationships were not the only thing that changed; individuals in the same social circle were forced to interact with one another differently. As a result of so many deaths, women were now being served by male servants and it did not matter if they were of noble birth or not. Men serving women was something taboo and unheard of before the plague, but the disease made that change. Noble women had to a find a different lifestyle under normal circumstances, these women would have been dishonored and shunned but this was not the case. Economic Effects All the death that fell upon Europe created a major labor shortage. It was a dominos affect, if the plague hit an area or manor in the summer, there wouldn’t be enough serfs to harvest the crops in the fall. If it hit in the winter, there wasn’t enough workers to plant new crops in the spring (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). So inevitably there wasn’t any one left on farm and maintain the land. The one’s who did withstand the plague, moved else-where for better wages (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). Not only did it affect the farms, it hurt businesses or building projects. Cathedral that usually were beautiful and performed weekly services were left eerily empty with no priests to conduct services. The barons did not have enough knights and serfs to cater to them and so many manors were abandoned. When someone dies normally, there would be a service and immediately be buried, well that didn’t happen during the Black Death era. No one was left to bury the dead. Citizens, lower and middle classes were scared, they stayed in the homes believing they would be safe. The shelter did not stop the disease from entering and since they were poor they did not get the care and attention they needed and most of them died (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). Instead of suffering, many decided to take their own lives and committed suicide in the street; others died in their homes but only found because their neighbors smelled the decaying body. Dead bodies were everywhere on every corner and in every home that wasn’t abandoned (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). â€Å"Most of them were treated in the same manner by the survivors, who were more concerned to get rid of their rotting bodies than moved by charity towards the dead. With the aid of porters, if they could get them, they carried the bodies out of the houses and laid them at the door; where every morning quantities of the dead might be seen. They then were laid on biers or, as these were often lacking, on tables† (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). Bodies upon bodies were brought to the church every day and almost every hour so it was impossible to give them a proper burial especially since they wanted to bury each person in the family grave, according to the old custom (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). â€Å"Although the cemeteries were full they were forced to dig huge trenches, where they buried the bodies by hundreds. Here they stowed them away like bales in the hold of a ship and covered them with a little earth, until the whole trench was full† (â€Å"The Black Death, 1348†). Cultural Effects The plague not only affected humans it also impacted the arts. In the Medieval period, people had concentrated mainly on the Church, God, and personal salvation. The plague was evident in paintings, sculptures, and architecture, everything was centered on death. The arrival of plague â€Å"harkened in a new darker era of painting. Paintings were overflowing with tortured souls, death, dying, fire and brimstone† (â€Å"The Effect of Black Death on Art and Artists in the Medieval Period†). Thousands of painters, craftsmen, patrons of the arts died during the plague. The disease tore a hole in the heart of the cultural world. The effects of the plague were lasting, bringing a somber darkness to visual art, literature, and music (â€Å"The Effect of Black Death on Art and Artists in the Medieval Period†). Writers and painters imaginations became dark and gloomy. The unknowing survival created a atmosphere of gloom and doom influencing artist to move away from optimistic themes and turn to images of Hell, Satan and the Grim Reaper (â€Å"The Effect of Black Death on Art and Artists in the Medieval Period†). Many painters simply gave up art with the idea that it was hopeless to try and create beauty in a hellish world. The Decameron by Boccaccio, a collection of medieval tales and folklore is the most famous literary work that came from that time period (â€Å"The Black Death†). The collection is set in the Italian countryside where aristocrats, fleeing the Plague as it ravages Florence, are stranded without their usual entertainments. To pass the time, they tell each other stories, from which Boccaccio harvested a rich storehouse of traditional narrative. The Decameron eventually became the foundation for many other Renaissance works, including several of Shakespeare’s plays (â€Å"The Black Death†). Positive Consequences It’s hard to find positive in so much death but the plague actually helped in a few ways. First being manpower, because of the shortages, manpower had so much more value. Peasants weren’t readily available in large numbers so the ones still alive found themselves in high demand (â€Å"The Black Death†). The ones who had all the power, kings and dukes, now found themselves bargaining with laborers over working conditions, and also the lower class were able to demand better pay for their services (â€Å"The Black Death†). Also, serfdom was terminated, so those peasants that were slaves and tied to the land were no longer obligated to farm and serve. And one other positive result of the bubonic plague was the development of medicine as a science in the West. Islamic doctors had advocating general cleanliness and the value of studying anatomy but Western healers prior to the black death were still using practices like the theory of humors (â€Å"The Black Death†). But when Plague wiped out nearly all the doctors of Europe, because the doctors had to attend to the dying and because of this were exposed at a higher rate to the more virulent pneumonic form of Plague. With so many doctors dying, it created a change in both personnel and precept (â€Å"The Black Death†). Strangely, western medicine owes much to plague. Conclusion The Black Death started in 1347 and continued for a full five years, this devastating plague spread throughout Europe, leaving more than twenty million people dead. The consequences to Europe were profound. Besides immeasurable death, traditional medieval society broke, the economies were fractured, and art and literature took a turn from light to dark. Though it spread throughout Europe, the Black Death was world-shattering and shows how even the smallest of things, the microbial world, can at times steer the course of human civilization.