Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great Constantine the Great was one of the strongest and most important rulers in the Byzantine and Roman Empire. He made big changes and accomplishments that made the empire greater, and more powerful such as maintaining the full size of the Roman Empire, successfully defeating his enemies and competitors, and staying in charge. Constantine made huge improvements such as outlawing Pagan sacrifice, confiscating temple treasuries, and curbing Christian heresies. -(Phillip Sherrard, 1986, Pg. 10-14) Constantine was born on twenty seventh of February ca. 272 in Naissus (Serbia). Constantine was the son of Constantius and his first wife Helen, born with the Latin Roman name Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinu. Constantines mother promoted Christianity, made a pilgrimage to the holy land where she collected relics, identified sacred places and built churches. His father ruled as a Roman Emperor from 293 to 306 and was the founder of the Constantinian Dynasty. Constantine, feeling neglected after when his father divorced his mother, distinguished himself as a soldier and won the affection of the army. He excelled in military exercises, was modest, and well informed. Constantine later joined his father, who ruled in the west. Before Constantinus died he proclaimed his son his successor (306). Constantine the Great married Minervina who either died or divorced before 307 and Fausta who was Maximians daughter. He had six children, one of them from Minervana but the rest from Fausta n amed Crispus, Constantina, Helena, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Constantine the Great had many excellent qualities. He was brave, active, untiring, and ruled with firmness and fairness. As Constantine got older, he adopted the luxury and pomp which was introduced from the East. He wore false hair of different colors perfectly arranged, a diadem of costly gems, and a robe of silk that contained flowers made out of gold and more precious stones. He reigned thirty years, the longest period since Augustus. Since he was converted into Christianity later in his life, he was not baptized until a little time before his death. He died on May twenty second, A.D. 337 on the way to campaign against the Persians. Constantine was buried in Constantinople. -(James Carroll, 2001, Pg. 346-372) Constantines most important achievement and greatest project was his new Rome (Constantinople, present day Istanbul). Constantine moved the capital from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium. He enlarged and enriched the city at enormous expense. Massive walls and stately buildings were built, and a large chain was placed in the water to protect their new capital. Constantine the Great provided the city with a forum, a hippodrome, a circus of great size, baths, and pleasure-grounds, to make it somewhat similar to Rome. Schools and theatres, aqueducts, fourteen churches, fourteen palaces, and a great number of magnificent private houses were added later on. Constantine issued special commemorative coins in 330 to honor his new city that he created. After creating this city, he began to form a new constitution for his empire. He established complete despotism, all the power being in his hands. ÂÂ  He outstandingly improved this beautiful city, and made it equal to Rome in power and influence. Not only did Constantine make his capital, Constantinople beautiful with art and architecture but he also filled Trier with imperial buildings and Rome with baths, and the great arch of Constantine near the Colosseum. -(Phillip Sherrard, 1986, Pg. 34-41) Constantines second biggest and most important achievement was being the first Christian Roman Emperor. After winning many battles, it was said that during the campaign against Maxentius, Constantine saw the miraculous cross in the heavens. Short after becoming a Christian he made Christianity the established religion of the state. Constantine began the process of making Christianity the religious foundation of Europe.ÂÂ  -(James Carroll, 2001, Pg. 58-67) Thirdly, Constantine not only earned his honorific the great title from Christian historians but also because of his military achievements and victories. Besides getting the empire together under one emperor, Constantine also won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni in 306-8 and Franks again in 313-14. Constantine the Great always believed in changing plans last minute and he would rearrange things at the battle field. Constantine had a magnificent and trained army and was trained well with strategies since he was an officer in the Roman army in 272. His army stayed loyal to him at all times during a battle or when there were problems with ruling. -(J. Lowden, 1998, Pg. 12-19) In conclusion Constantine the Great had a huge impact on both the Roman and the Byzantine Empire and was a great leader during his rule. He left behind many great architecture and art. In my opinion he was probably the most important historical figure in my civilization because he brought Christianity to Byzantines and Christianity was a big part of this empire since the art and architecture was based upon it. He never gave up or showed any types of weakness during battle or other times. He was a strong leader with a strong mind who greatly changed my civilization and many around it in good ways.t Reference Page Carroll, J. (2001).Constantines sword: the church and the Jews: a history. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Constantine. (n.d.).ÂÂ  Roman Colosseum. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from http://www.roman-colosseum.info/roman-emperors/constantine.htm Norwich, J. J. (19891996).ByzantiumÂÂ  . New York: Knopf :. Lowden, J. (19971998).ÂÂ  Early Christian Byzantine artÂÂ  . London: Phaidon. Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Main Page. (n.d.).FORDHAM.EDU. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/

Corporate Culture and the Enterprise Architect

All companies have their own unique corporate culture which is evident in their work environment. Also known as company culture, corporate culture stands for the company’s values, beliefs and behaviors (Kotelnikov, 2009). Usually expressed in companies’ vision and mission statements, it also gives the company and its employees a united identity. Company cultures are distinctive – they are unique to each company’s history.Similar to a person’s personality, corporate culture is the result of the assimilation of all the values, habits, ethics, and goals that the company has developed over the years (Heathfield, 2009).The growth experience has enabled companies to identify their strengths, weaknesses, and company goals. From these, they build their vision statements for the company. Thus, whether they describe the kind of customer service their company offers or the integrity and progressive-thinking their company has, vision statements essentially make up companies desired corporate culture. Corporate culture drives the company’s working environment and organizational structure. It is represented in each employee’s language, priorities, work practice and business decisions (Heathfield, 2009).Every single employee has a hand in shaping the company’s environment and corporate culture. Though company founders and executives draft the desired and beneficial culture, all employees contribute to its actualization. Still, there is not any underestimating work leaders’ capacity for influencing and instructing lower-level employees regarding the proper interpretation and practice of their company’s corporate culture. Even more so if the leader’s opinions and actions are witnessed and followed by many employees. One such work leader with the opportunity to influence fellow employees is the Enterprise Architect (EA).On paper, the EA works for the company’s Information Technology (IT) side. Ho wever, the dynamic roles and responsibilities requires the EA to constantly cross boundaries and priorities between the business and technology processes thereby allowing him or her to have influence on both aspects. Adams described the EA as the technology strategy manager and implementer (cited in Walker, 2007). The EA acts as a project manager responsible for handling a wide span of IT domains such security, infrastructure and information architecture (Walker, 2007).He or she is also in charge of creating and developing the company’s IT strategy. The EA directs the current state of IT architecture, and plans the needed improvements. The EA defines the future of their company’s technology and also build the transition technology (Walker, 2007). At the same time, he or she should prioritize the business side of the company and consider business cost savings, advance vendor relations and empower his or her staff (Walker, 2007). The EA is also accountable to following t he company’s corporate culture and standards.He or she must be able to successfully and effectively merge the interests and priorities of IT strategies and organizational policies and standards. Being the EA allows one much responsibility and influence over many employees, even crossing the boundaries of the technology and business aspects of the company. It is vital then that the EA believes and is directed by his or her company’s corporate culture. By doing so, he or she identifies with the company visions and goals, and shares its business practices.Heathfield (2009) writes that company cultures envision and work towards the creation of a productive and enriching environment. Therefore by aligning one’s own values with that of the company, the EA increases his or her motivation for working making him or her more productive and effective. Also, an EA who believes in the corporate culture believes that he or she is working under desirable work environment. Apar t from increasing his or her motivation, the EA also has an improved loyalty and therefore longevity with the company.According to Walker (2007), an EA needs not only to be technology proficient but also business savvy. Knowing the industry and the company culture helps the EA understand how the much and what kind of technology will affect and advance the entire company (Walker, 2007). An EA who is aware and agrees with the corporate culture, the personality of the company, is better suited in building IT processes and executing IT strategies that complement business functions. The knowledge of the corporate culture definitely results into competence and confidence for the EA.Walker (2007) believes that this consequently adds to his or her credibility and leadership skills. If the EA him or her self believes and behaves according to the tenets of their company culture and goals, then he or she is seen as a credible and trustworthy leader. The EA is able to effectively pass on the vi sion of the company to the lower-level employees thereby helping them identify with the company and encouraging them to perform remarkable work. As a leader, the EA holds responsibility in training and making sure that all IT staff is performing at top level.He or she should also be able to foster productive collaborations and intimacies amongst teams and between employees and the company (Kouzes & Posner, 2003). Since value alignment between employees and culture increases efficiency and passion to work, the EA must also inspire all workers to believe and participate in their culture (Walker). Heathfield (2009) asserts that corporate culture is learned and is shared through interaction. Thus the EA must be an effective and reliable model for the team. He or she must inspire others by becoming an example of the virtues and behavior he or she asks of others.The value of the EA being directed by his or her company’s culture is beneficial for the company, the EA him or her self, and the other employees under the influence of the EA. Their behavior and beliefs shape and actualize the corporate culture. It also improves their motivation for their work thereby increasing their productivity and chances of successfully reaching the goals of their organization. References Heathfield, S. M. (2009). Culture: Your environment for people at work. About. com Retrieved February 27, 2009 from http://humanresources.about. com/od/organizationalculture/a/culture. htm Kouzes J. M. & Posner, B. Z. (2003) The Leadership Challenge Workbook. San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass Kotelnikov, V. (2009). What is corporate culture?. Business E-coach. Retrieved February 27, 2009 from http://www. 1000ventures. com/business_guide/crosscuttings/culture_corporate. html Walker, M. (2007 Jul). A day in the life of an enterprise architect. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved February 27, 2009 from http://msdn. microsoft. com/en-us/architecture/bb945098. aspx

Writing News Peculiarities of Stephen Kings Writing Style

It is hard to find a person who doesn’t know who Stephen King is – even if one hasn’t read a single book written by him, he still knows that King is one of the most well-known – and probably the most well-known – horror and thriller author of all time, probably rivaled only by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, whom King often mentions as the writer who influenced him the most. But what makes King unique among scores of other authors writing in the same genre? Most commonly horror/thriller is considered to be a rather lowly literature genre, which is usually not treated very seriously, with few exceptions, one of which is Stephen King. So what is special about him? It wouldn’t be news for anybody who has more than a passing acquaintance with stylistics that it is style, language and imagery which are the most important factors in fiction – not even the most fascinating plot can live by itself. If a writer doesn’t have a decent style, his works will be unreadable, even if their plot is brilliant. Stephen King’s style is to a very much degree characterized by his usual choice of characters: he likes three-dimensional, human, flawed characters, people with traumatic past and subdued memories, with psychological problems. Another approach is showed in his first published novel, Carrie. It tells the story of a high school girl who is bullied and ostracized from the society of her peers because she is different from them in many ways – it is something most if not all people can sympathize with. And although there is strong supernatural undercurrent in the novel, its characters still stay human, understandable and realistic. King is in general very partial to children as protagonists. Probably it is so because of the way children view the world – as something only half-understood and full of unknown, unknowable, mysterious and terrifying entities. Just like the world of It, another King’s bestselling novel, in which a horrible extradimensional being terrorizes and kills children simply because they find it so easy to believe in it. Yet another theme that is often found in King’s books is the image of a small American town as a background for the most horrific and unbelievable events – it has since became a usual trope in many other works of fiction. All in all, it can be said that due to his approach to style Stephen King has managed to raise horror genre higher than anyone before him.