Doctorow and Angelou Are to Be Honored by the National Book Foundation

A well-known novelist Edgar Lawrence Doctorow and Maya Angelou, an American writer and poet, are the next to be awarded by the National Book Foundation. The former is to receive the 2013 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters and the latter – the 2013 Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, two of the highest honors a writer can get in the United States. According to National Book Foundation Executive Director, Harold Augenbraum, his organization is happy to recognize the exploits of two such impressive figures. He characterized Doctorow as an extraordinary master of historical fiction and social commentary, one of the few people capable of showing historical events in such a vivid and passionate fashion. Moreover, he said it would be a great opportunity to honor a native New Yorker in his own hometown for once. As for Angelou, he referred to her as a forefront fighter for social rights and one of the most powerful symbols of redemptive power of literature. Doctorow’s fate as a famous writer was, in a way, preceded by his given name – his parents named him after Edgar Allan Poe, one of the most important writers for the American literature. For years he worked as an editor before embracing the life of a man who writes his own books – throughout his life he published more than ten novels and a number of essays, short stories and plays, creating a literary name well-known throughout the world – his works have been translated into more than thirty languages. Dr. Maya Angelou, also known as Marguerite Johnson, has led a long and turbulent life, rising to literary distinction after the publication of her autobiographical work I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1969. She still remains one of the most notable African American writers of our time, and one of the first to be recognized for her literary contributions – in 1992, when participating in Bill Clinton’s inauguration, she became the second poet and the first African American woman to perform her poem in the course of this procedure. Now she possesses more than thirty different honorary degrees and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest honor available for civilians in the United States of America. These two awards will be handed to them during the 64th National Book Awards Ceremony that will take place in New York on November 20 this year.

How Technology Has Changed Our Lives - 973 Words

Technology has become a part of our lives and culture, because of it convenience and easy to use factor that it able to make many things in our lives a little bit easier. Many services that derive from technologies that includes paying our bills and/or taxes, way to interact with people from many social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc.. and finally how we able to gain our day to day information through media. Technology can also help us in many ways, such as acquiring information from the internet or book for education purposes, or watching clips from the movie that you enjoy on a train. But, there are also many aspects of technology that can be used against innocent people with things such as copyright laws that can restrict a person access to the information. In many instances, people that control these type rights prevents access to use the information are influential corporate institute, who act as a gatekeeper on the public trying to access information or restricting m ovement from the public’s point of view due to the ownership’s right of the content of information. The problem of public’s access and the restriction of information is not something that happens in our lifetime. But in fact, the problem with copyright and the issue of access occurs throughout many time in history. Two of the prime example that was able to capture these issues are Siva Vaidhyanathan’s book â€Å"Copyrights And Copywrongs: The Rise of Intellectual Property and How It ThreatensShow MoreRelatedHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives910 Words   |  4 PagesIt is amazing how everyone’s life is changing by using technology. Technology by definition means, the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment, drawing upon such subjects as industrial arts, engineering, applied science, and pure science.(web). Now a days people use different kinds of technology that brings it to our life like cellphone, iPod, laptop, mp3, and all of the devices create a convenientRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1481 Words   |  6 PagesTechnology, as we know, has completely changed the way every American goes about their daily activities. Today we are able to communicate globally with anyone from any part of the world within seconds, making business and our social lives a million times easier. Look to your left and you will find your cell phone buzzing with missed calls, texts, and social notifications. Look to your right and you will see your emails filling up with the newest offers on fashion or your boss giving you this weeksRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1698 Words   |  7 PagesTechnology Technology is defined as machinery and equipment developed from the application of scientific knowledge. Its original use was meant solely for the service of humans, however overtime it has evolved into something much different. What was originally meant to be an assisting piece of machinery has changed almost every aspect of our culture. The way we think, communicate, lie, and even love has been impacted by the use of technology, and all of this is has made for interesting pieces ofRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1559 Words   |  7 PagesThe friendship with technology today can be called a â€Å"Time Hog† Technology is our friend. That is a statement that could be addressed with many questions. How we used technology today has really affected our lives. People are connected every moment of the day. Everywhere we look there are people talking on their cell phones; at every stop light you see people texting on their device. The same people can be seen checking their phone or browsing the web at every chance they get. People are wastingRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1593 Words   |  7 Pagesfor their food. It used to be that only the rich and noble could read and write. Times have changed, the world has changed, humans have changed. Humans have come a long way since the days of sticks and stone. Today, many people utilize technology as a way to live their life. Almost everyone carries around a smartphone and they rely on it. It is believed that smartphones give more control over their lives. The phone can be used call whoever they want, can be used to listen to whatever they want,Read MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1657 Words   |  7 Pagesevery day seek to make their lives simpler, live more efficiently, and in turn get more out of the day. Such emerging technologies have helped us make things easier on us in everyday life. When is the last time you saw an infomercial and thought hey I could use that? Consequently, communication has changed and is constantly changing, accelerating the world around us. Just think about how far we have come, and has ever-changed our pace of life. Technology is fueling our way of life, making everydayRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1667 Words   |  7 Pa gesLeon Zhu Professor Harwood English 1101 8 December 2014 Research Paper One item that has flourished through the decades, and has come to substantially impact our lives is the phone. The first telephone was created in 1876, and as decades passed by, it was replaced by the cellphone, which incorporated the addition of many useful new features. Additional features such as text messaging, a built-in camera, and internet access transformed the people’s perceptions because the add-ons presented more purposeRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1625 Words   |  7 PagesThe Role of Technology in Healthcare â€Å"Without a doubt, technology is amazing and what will we do without it†. These are the exact words of my husband while changing and playing the lights of our swimming pool through his cell phone. It is a fact that technology has changed our lives in many ways and it is constantly changing. A computer is a great illustration of how technology keeps evolving. About two weeks ago, I was looking for a laptop because my desktop is about to give up on me. The salesRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives1606 Words   |  7 PagesA few centuries ago, before technology was underdeveloped due to limited resources and knowledge, communication between countries on the opposite end of the world was extremely slow or not possible. Most people did not know much about other lands, people, and cultures. What people thought they knew about the world was often wrong or inaccurate. However, within the past hundred years, the pace of our technology has accelerated rapidly. Nowadays tr aveling across the globe in less than 24 hours is notRead MoreHow Technology Has Changed Our Lives900 Words   |  4 PagesTechnology has adapted a lot within our daily lives making it essential to our daily lives! There isn’t a time will technology will end, because there are always ways to adjust old things and keep improving from there, nothing is perfect. Toilets has increased water pressure for a better flush, but before there wasn’t a toilet, toilet paper even! Communication has also changed from verbal to written communication. Vintage phones that connects to a wire, transitioned to wireless with an antenna, and

Increased Occurrence of Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer

Question: Describe the etiology of skin cancer in context the immunological perspectives? Answer: The most prevalent forms of skin (or integumentary) cancers including basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) reported in developed countries predominantly affect the white population (Dummer, Pittelkow, Iwatsuki, Green, Elwan, 2011, p.3). The research studies conducted by the National Cancer Institute reveal the increased occurrence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) among the younger individuals, as compared to the patients of higher age groups (Acton, 2012, p.2). The findings of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describe integumentary cancers as the most frequently reported forms of life threatening cancers across the United States (Story, Riegelman, Kirkwood, Williams, Sargent, 2014, p.424). The epidemiological data documented by Schottenfeld Fraumeni (2006, p. 1235) supports the contention of higher morbidity rates from squamous cell carcinoma across United Sates, as compared to the reported cases of basal cell cancers in the same geogr aphical region. However, these death rates among the cancer population fluctuate in accordance with the geographical variations and age ranges of the affected population. Kwabi-Addo Lindstrom (2011, p.107) describe the etiology of skin cancer in context the immunological perspectives. The clinical literature reveals the defects in the tumour suppression and immunomodulatory genes including BRAF, Pten and CDKN2A as the principal factors attributing to the development of integumentary malignancies across the globe. However, these genetic abnormalities result from the sustained exposure to ultraviolet radiation, infra red light, toxic elements and cosmetics among the predisposed population. The patients undergoing organ transplant and subsequent immune suppressant therapy highly predisposed to developing cancerous skin lesions resulting from the defects in their immune mechanisms. The simultaneous existence of other life threatening morbidities including HIV and autoimmune disorders considerably increases the risk of the patients population in developing keratinocyte malignancies. The prevention approaches in context to controlling skin cancer warrant the formulation and subsequent execution of evidence based strategies in challenging the predisposing factors associated with the frequency of integumentary malignancies among the target population. The clinical literature recommends devising primary prevention approaches warranting the use of protective clothes as potential barriers in challenging the intense sunlight exposure in warm climates (Alberts Hess, 2008, p.246-247). However, the secondary prevention strategies include the application of sunscreen topical lotions and detoxifiers in reducing the growth and progression of precancerous skin lesions among the predisposed patients. The therapeutic treatment modalities in treating keratinocyte cancers include the chemical ablation of cancerous skin lesions by liquid nitrogen (Jemec, Kemeny Miech, 2010, p.81). The National Cancer Institute elaborates the treatment options including laser intervention, surgical resection of the skin lesions, radiation modality, photodynamic treatment, chemotherapy, and electrodessication and interferon therapy as some of the clinically proven and evidence based options in controlling the complications of non-melanoma skin malignancies. Therefore, the increased prevalence of skin cancers across the globe warrant serious considerations in configuring proactive approaches to prevent and cure the progression of these fatal clinical morbidities resulting in frequently reported mortalities across the developed and developing nations of the world. The analysis of immune system fluctuations in context to the etiology of skin cancers is highly warranted to investigate and device effective treatment modalities to reduce the burden of these fatal outcomes among the predisposed population. References Acton, A. (2012). Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer: New Insights for the Healthcare Professional. Georgia: SchlarlyEditionsTM Alberts, D., Hess, L. (2008). Fundamentals of Cancer Prevention. Berling: Springer Dummer, R., Pittelkow, M., Iwatsuki, K., Green, A., Elwan, N. (2011). Skin Cancer - A World-Wide Perspective: A World-wide Perspective. New York: Springer Jemec, G., Kemeny, L., Miech, D. (2010). Non-Surgical Treatment of Keratinocyte Skin Cancer, New York: Springer Kwabi-Addo, B., Lindstrom, T. (2011). Cancer Causes and Controversies: Understanding Risk Reduction and Prevention, California: ABC-CLIO Schottenfeld, D., Fraumeni, J. (2006). Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention. New York: Oxford Story, L., Riegelman, R., Kirkwood, B., Williams, N., Sargent, J. (2014).Pathophysiology: A Practical Approach. USA: Jones Bartlett

Psychoanalysis is it for me Essays - Psychology, Psychoanalysis

Psychoanalysis: is it for me? center850008549640 Ashlie King 1000000 Ashlie King Psychology is an interdisciplinary field with many branches. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary gives 2 very interesting definitions of psychology. The first definition is "the science of mind and behavior" (Merriam-Webster, 2017). The second definition is "the study of the mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity" (Merriam-Webster, 2017). The first definition stood out to me because of the word "science". I recently wrote a discussion board post on psychology as a science. There is a lot of debate on this issue, and I find it amazing that the dictionary defines psychology as a science. The second definition also resonates with me because this is the definition of psychology that I know very well. I remember taking Introduction to Psychology as a 17-year-old and learning about the different psychologists and schools of thought. I also remember learning about various mental disorders and thinking about psychologists and therapists working to tr eat them by going into the mind of the patient. For this reason, I have always described psychology as "the how and why" of life. I took a quiz titled "What is Your Theoretical Orientation in Psychology?" and I w as very intrigued by the result, which read, " You see the conscious mind as being largely controlled by unconscious forces. When something is wrong with a person's behavior, you see the mental illness as resulting from something negative being repressed in the unconscious, such as a traumatic memory or feelings of shame or guilt. To you, the job of the psychoanalyst is to uncover these unconscious problems and bring them into conscious awareness for the patient, forci ng them to confront the problem". My orientation is psychoanalytic , which is very accurate. I have always enjoyed reading about Sigmund Freud and his theory of psychoanalysis. Also, clinical psychology is the field that I want to go into. I have a soft spot for people with mental illnesses and who suffer as a result of trauma. I also have an idea of what I want to research for my thesis/dissertation. I want to focus on adult victims of trauma and adults who suffer from mental illness. I've noticed that a lot of my friends who want to go into clinical psychology want to focus on children and adolescents. I feel like the reason for that is so that they can address the issues early and hopefully cure the children into adulthood. I want to help the people who never got the treatment they needed, or limited treatment . I want to help the people who others may have given up on, or are deemed "lost causes". One of my inspirations is the movie Sybil (based on the book), which was a true account of a psychiatrist (Dr. Cornelia Wilbur) who treated a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder (called multiple per sonalities at the time, as the event took place in the 50s) . The patient, named Sybil to protect her identity, had suffered severe trauma in her childhood. She endured physical, mental, and sexual abuse at the hands of her mother (who had been diagnosed with post-partum depression and schizophrenia). Sybil had 16 different personalitiesthere were 16 different people in her subconscious, from a baby to an old woman, and even 2 boys. The different personalities were Sybil's way of coping with her trauma. Dr. Wilbur spoke with her mentor about Sybil, only to be dismissed and told that the woman's condition was just a case of hysteria. Using hypnosis, Dr. Wilbur brought all 16 "selves" to Sybil's conscious, and helped her realize that all her pent-up anger was supposed to be geared toward her mother. Once Sybil correctly directed her anger, her road to healing could begin. My orientation relates to quite a few divisions in the APA, including Clinical, Psychoanalysis, Psychotherapy, Social, Testing, Therapy, Trauma, Women, Counseling. The divisions that I find the most interesting are Psychoanalysis and Clinical. I have an interest in the clinical aspect of psychology, and I feel like the other divisions are related, like a domino effect. The social division also plays a huge role in my field when it

10 Chemicals You Can Use to Turn Fire Green

10 Chemicals You Can Use to Turn Fire Green Green is possibly the coolest color to turn flames. Its not a color you get from the fuel, so you have to add a chemical to get the effect. The color comes from the ion emission spectra, so you can use any of the chemicals that produce green in the analytical method known as the flame test. The most readily available compounds  are: boric acid (boron compounds), sold as a disinfectant and roach killerborax (boron compounds), sold as a laundry booster and home cleanercopper sulfate (copper(II) compounds), sold as a root killer and algicide However, other chemicals will make green flames: thallium compoundsantimony compoundsbarium compoundsmanganese (II) compoundsmolybdenum compoundsammonium compoundsphosphates moistened with sulfuric acid How to Get Green Fire If you add any of these chemicals to a fire, youll get green flames. The trouble is, there might be other chemicals in your fuel that can overpower the green, making it impossible to see. You can add copper compounds to wood fire and get a range of colors, including green. Most of the other colorants wont work with a campfire or fireplace fire because sodium in the fuel emits a bright yellow light that overpowers the green color. The best way to get green fire is to heat the chemicals in a blue gas flame or to add them to an alcohol-based fuel. In addition to gel fuels, you can use methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol. Safety Information None of these chemicals is edible and a few are toxic, so dont roast marshmallows, hot dogs, or other food over a green fire. Having said that, the boron and copper compounds are relatively safe in that they arent consumed by the fire, so they dont really add to the toxicity of any smoke, plus they are household chemicals that  can be washed down the drain. If you are using colorants on a camping trip or outdoors, be aware of the effects of the chemicals on the environment. High levels of boron compounds can be toxic to some plants. High levels of copper compounds can be harmful to invertebrates. These are properties that help make these chemicals useful in the home, but not so great for wild habitats. Use care with methanol (wood alcohol) and isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), since these fuels are absorbed through the skin and are toxic.

5 Lessons Writers Should Learn From Cormac McCarthy

5 Lessons Writers Should Learn From Cormac McCarthy Arguably one of the most important American writers of our time, Cormac McCarthy has written ten award-winning novels spanning the Southern Gothic, Western, and Post-Apocalyptic genres. His 1985 epic Western masterpiece, Blood Meridian: Or The Evening Redness in the West, made it to Time Magazines list of the 100 best English-language books published since 1923. Literary critic Harold Bloom called it the greatest single book since Faulkners As I Lay Dying.McCarthys 1992 romantic Contemporary Western, All the Pretty Horses, was adapted into a screenplay starring Matt Damon, and won the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award. As a New York Times bestseller, it sold 190,000 hardcover copies within the first six months it was available on shelves. His 2005 crime thriller, No Country for Old Men, another novel, except one that was originally written as a screenplay, took home four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.Perhaps his most well-k nown book, the 2006 Post-Apocalyptic novel, The Road, won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, and was ranked by the Times as one of the 100 best fiction and non-fiction books of the past 10 years. It was later adapted into a film starring Viggo Mortensen.As a Tennessee-native writer maintaining the stereotypical description of a recluse, McCarthy has granted few interviews. This interview with Oprah Winfrey shows McCarthys shy, humble nature, and reveals much of how he feels about writing and the writing process. Other interviews with Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, The New York Times offer glimpses of McCarthys suggestions (however humble) for achieving the same level of fame he has achieved with his writing.Lesson #1: Brilliant characterization can be more powerful than plotMcCarthys works are best known for their exceptional and unforgettable characters. Even the bad guys are fascinating, with actions and words that make their characte rization run deep (for example, Anton Chigurh meticulously cleaning his boots after brutally slaying someone in No Country for Old Men). Much of this is due to his refusal to plot out his stories, but rather, to write them as they develop in his subconscious.Screenshot from the film adaptation of No Country for Old MenIn that elusive interview with Oprah Winfrey, he states: You cant plot things out. You just have to trust in, you know, wherever it comes from. Oprah seems surprised when he states this, as she mentions other writers she has interviewed who held vastly different views on the importance of plotting a novel before writing it. It is obvious from both the interview and McCarthys works that he is not the kind of writer who enjoys interviews or marketing ploys to advertise his books. He is as shy and awkward as he is talented, and its a breath of fresh air in a world where writers go on press binges for lesser works.In his interview with David Kushner of Rolling Stone McCart hy states, I just sit down and write whatever is interesting. If youre writing mystery stories or something, you might want to have an outline, because it all has to have a logic and fall into place and have a beginning, a middle and an end. But if youre writing a novel, the best things just sort of come out of the blue. Its a subconscious process. You dont really know what youre doing most of the time.Here, its important to understand that McCarthy recognizes a need for intricate plots in certain genres- and therefore, intricate outlines before beginning the writing process- but points out it isnt needed for all fiction writing. This is especially true if you want characterization to be the focus of your novel. In many cases, particularly when your subconscious is as finely tuned as McCarthys, allowing your instincts as a writer to take over is all that is needed to create unforgettable characters readers love (or love to hate).Lesson #2: Optimism and luck go a long way in the life of a writerIts easy to see, especially during Oprah Winfreys interview with McCarthy, that the novelist is both humble and an optimist- despite the grim settings and scenarios he so beautifully depicts with his words. Throughout his interviews, he consistently mentions those who are more brilliant than him gracing him with their presence and thoughts.In the Wall Street Journal interview, he states, There was never a person born since Adam whos been luckier than me. Nothing has happened to me that hasnt been perfect. And Im not being facetious. Theres never been a time when I was penniless and down, when something wouldnt arrive. Over and over and over again. Enough to make you superstitious.Lesson #3: Creative work is often driven by pain and is catharticIn his interview with Wall Street Journal, McCarthy states, Creative work is often driven by pain. It may be that if you dont have something in the back of your head driving you nuts, you may not do anything. Its not a good arrange ment. If I were God, I wouldnt have done it that way.McCarthy also mentions how after he has written something and psychologically processed his pain through those words, the context and content are no longer of interest to him. He explains it as the interests being flattened and used up, and mentions this as one of the reasons he doesnt read his own books after he has written them. Essentially, his cathartic process is over when the last word is written, and thus of no more use to him.This could be especially useful for writers who agonize over their baby after the work is completed: The pain has been written, its time to move on.This way of processing his internal struggle into and through his writing is part of what makes McCarthys writing so intense- and so viscerally human. His characters experience great interior conflict and suffer through horrifying situations, and McCarthy doesnt shy away from dealing with these struggles. He even focuses in on them with intense description - minimalistic and brutal- such as when he wrote the following passage in The Road:He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.From Cormac McCarthys The RoadScreenshot from the film adaptation of The Road, a novel that offers a bleak description of the human condition.Lesson #4: Stay interested in life and deathIn his few interviews, McCarthy details his interest in the physical world and science- even from the time he was young. In fact, in his undergraduate studies, he focused on physics and engineering. In his interview for Rolling Stone, McCarthy says, Its interesting to know how the world works. People ask me, Why are you interested in physics? But why would you not be? To me, the most curious thing of all is incuriosity. I just dont get it.Part of his fascination with science is its focus on the life cycle. If it doesnt concern life and death, its not interesting, says McCarthy. In fact, much of this fascination affected the crowds he chose to be around throughout his life, least of which were fellow writers. The artsy crowd was all dressed and drugged and ready to party, he recalls. I just started hanging out with scientists because they were more interesting.It is this fascination with death that both hindered McCarthys early success and later propelled it, making him the unforgettable writer he is. When you read a death scene in a McCarthy novel, or even a near-death scene, you understand his unique gift for describing the horrors of humanitys fear of it.For example, in his book Outer Dark, published in 1968 while McCarthy lived on the island of Ibiza, he writes about a girls search f or her baby, who was born because of incest. The brother of the girl later witnesses the death of his child at a campfire in the rural South and McCarthys brutal narrative style packs a dark punch:Holme saw the blade wink in the light like a long cats eye slant and malevolent and a dark smile erupted on the childs throat and went all broken down the front of it. The child made no sound. It hung there with its one eye glazing over like a wet stone and the black blood pumping down its naked belly.From Cormac McCarthys Outer DarkThere is no over-description or Faulknerian detail. The childs death is as short as its life, and equally as appalling. Its this refusal to look away from death that brings so much life (and depth) to McCarthys writing.Lesson #5: Understand that good writing requires rewritingIn the Rolling Stone interview, McCarthy stresses that much of the rigor of the writing process is in rewriting after a first draft. Writing is rewriting, he says. Someone said easy writin g makes for hard reading. McCarthy is notorious for leaving out unnecessary words and even skipping over punctuation that doesnt suit the flow of dialogue. And names! We never know the name of the man and the boy in The Road. Mainly thats because- we dont need to!Names are not necessary in The Road, since characterization runs so deep.In fact, McCarthy enjoys the process of editing work that has already been written, particularly editing scientific manuscripts written by other writers. McCarthy frequently proofreads scientific papers and books by Santa Fe Institutes focused studies on an emerging science called complexity. According to Kushners article, its the study of the complex systems behind our lives- from climate patterns to human societies- and how they evolve and adapt. Specifically, McCarthy copyedited a manuscript written by Harvard physicist Lisa Randall exploring the hidden dimensions of the universe. She mentions that he removed many semicolons, which he apparently doe snt like at all.Final takeawayCormac McCarthy has much to offer writers who seek to learn how to write bestselling novels. However, due to his humble and reclusive nature as an author, writers need to dig a little deeper into his words to learn those lessons. Ive offered you the shovel- the depth to which you dig is entirely up to you.

Japan's 21 Demands of the Chinese government in 1914 Essay

Japan's 21 Demands of the Chinese government in 1914 - Essay Example Japanese ambitions in China were impeded by the presence of these European powers, but an internationally recognized foothold had been secured by 1905. The start of the First World War in 1914 provided Japan with an opportunity to extend its influence over more areas of mainland China. The â€Å"21 Demands† of Japan were a manifestation of its ambitions in mainland China and a reflection of its growing strength as an international power. Korea had for long had been a bone of contention between China and Japan. For Japan, Korea was both a threat and a challenge. Positioned as it was, Korea in the hands of China was a dagger poised at the heart of Japan and that was the strategic threat. Korea was also a challenge in that it paved the way to any ambitions on mainland China. In the Sino-Japanese War between 1894 and 1895, Japan emerged the victor. China was not only forced to concede the neutrality of Korea, but also give Taiwan and the Liaodong peninsula (Port Arthur) to the Japanese. The intervention of three European powers in the form of France, Germany and Russia forced Japan to return the Liaodong peninsula to China. In 1898 Russia leased the Liaodong peninsula from China and building a railroad began to expand its influence into Korea, and by the beginning of the twentieth century the growing Russian influence in the area was a matter of concern to Japan and eventuality war broke out between the two in 1904. Jap an emerged victorious and the Portsmouth Treaty of 1905 an American effort at bringing about peace in the area established the withdrawal of Russia from Korea and the internationally recognized presence of Japan in Korea. In addition the Liaodong peninsula returned to the Japanese sphere of control, giving Japan a foothold on mainland China (1). In 1898 Germany had managed to secure several concessions from China in the Shandong province including the port of Tsingtao and the railway rights in the province. To Britain these