Margaret Atwood Essay Example For Students

Margaret Atwood Essay Context is all (Margaret Atwood). Does this mean that there is no such thing as truth? What is truth and what is true? Is there such a thing as a truth or just what we perceive to be true at any given time? There are some circumstances where truth is certain. I am sitting in my study and I am writing my essay. This statement is true and hardly refutable unless we try and argue that all we see and feel is what our senses perceive. What the question is asking is whether there is such a thing as universal truth, a statement which cannot be refuted regardless of the situation, and which holds true across time and place. The definition of truth is that something is true always, everywhere and is independent of belief. There are three tests for truth, the first of which is proof by inductive logic, the second by actually testing a truth and the third being pragmatic. In George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984’ a character states 2+2=5. We know this not true and can say immediately that two and two make four because this is what is mathematically accepted when we add up the definitions of two and two. Therefore this is a-priori truth and a deductive syllogism. No matter what context we put this statement in, it will 15 always be true, be it in the addition of two items (such as a sock and a piece of gum) or in a mathematical formulae as shown above. In other words, this statement is always true. However this kind of truth is only relevant in certain mathematical contexts. In other contexts, there is no such thing as absolute truth. 10 1 ________________ GodeFs1 Incompleteness theory shows us that even in a mathematical context, absolute 20 truth is not possible. He claims that in any rational formulaic sentence there is point of improvability. ‘This statement is improvable’2 if one was to prove this statement then it would reiterate its meaning whereas not proving it simply proves that it is improvable. What we can deduce from Godel’s findings is that even in a mathematical context, a formula of rational a-priori numbers can be formulated in such a way that they are 25 untrue. Perception is important when deciding a truth, particularly in the arts, including literature, poetry, music and visual arts. Perceptions have changed over time, and what was once thought beautiful may no longer be considered so. Similarly, some kinds of truth can be contextual depending on time, point of view and place. For example, 30 Indonesia is famous for its Gamalan musicians. The instruments are tuned to different scales from western instruments which makes the sounds unappealing to western ears who are accustomed to western scales. The same would be true for Indonesian musicians listening to western music. A historian prides himself on the ability to state the truth about certain historical events 35 or situations by giving an unbiased account of an event. However, lack of bias is nearly impossible, as a historian will always be affected by his environment and social surroundings. There are certain historical events about which we are certain because we have proof. For example, we know that the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were hit by nuclear bombs during World War H, and no matter what context we look at, 40 this is true. However, there are other situations that we cannot be so sure about. A prime example is the Armenian genocide. In May 1915 the Ottoman empire (now Turkey) is 1 Kurt Godel, Austrian mathematician. 2 This is a method of demonstrating Godel’s theorems in word form. 2 ________________ believed to have carried out genocide upon the people of bordering Armenia. .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 , .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .postImageUrl , .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 , .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:hover , .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:visited , .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:active { border:0!important; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:active , .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000 .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubd666a2a60fc8cbb834593d7930f5000:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Poetic Analysis of Song Lyrics EssayThe official position of the Turkish government until this day is complete denial that a massacre occurred. However, in Armenia historians tell us that thousands of innocent 45 Armenians were slaughtered by Ottoman soldiers. This demonstrates how the context changes our understanding of the truth of historical events. ‘Thou shalt not kill’ is a tenet that a religion with billions of followers states in its first teachings and is generally accepted not just as a piece of guidance on how to behave but as a moral absolute, and as a statement of true fact.

Selma Reflection Essay Example

Selma Reflection Paper This film impacted everyone in the audience. It made everyone fell angry, frustrated, hurt, sad, and inspired. Was hooked in this movie from the very beginning. The seen with the black woman tying to register to vote only to be met with a racist man behind the counter denying her of her rights and her disappointment as she has once again been denied was heartbreaking to watch and made me upset and annoyed all at the same time. The movie ally went deep into what life really was like for black people before the Voting Rights Act and the struggles that they had to endure in order to achieve the rights already bestowed upon them. This movie isnt just about DRP. Martin Luther King, but also about the evolution of change through political manipulation. The audience and had no trouble relating with DRP. Martin Luther King. We clearly saw how he was a man no different from any of us and if he can advocate and endorse change through non-violence, then e can as well. Then we have no reason, no excuse, and no justification not to promote change. This epic movie empowers and motivates us to make a difference in the world, to do something that will help make this country a better place for everyone. Overall, this movie simply amazed me. To think that so much can be done through non-violent acts such as protesting and marching. I began to wonder why so many other political figures chose violence over everything else in order to get what they wanted instead of hosing to do what DRP. Martin Luther King did. We see the conflict between choosing violent methods over non-violent methods in the movie during the scene with DRP. Kings wife, Correct, and Malcolm X. In this scene, the two mention how Malcolm X chose violent methods, which was the complete opposite of what DRP. King was doing and how Correct did not want him to ruin what DRP. Martin Luther had already established. I loved this movie and think that everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy it as well. We will write a custom essay sample on Selma Reflection specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Selma Reflection specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Selma Reflection specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

All About the Ancient Roman Family

All About the Ancient Roman Family The Roman family was called familia, from which the Latin word family is derived. The familia could include the triad with which we are familiar, two parents and children (biological or adopted), as well as slaves and grandparents. The head of the family (referred to as the pater familias) was in charge of even adult males in the familia. See Jane F. Gardners Family and Familia in Roman Law and Life reviewed by Richard Saller in The American Historical Review, Vol. 105, No. 1. (Feb. 2000), pp. 260-261. Purposes of the Roman Family The Roman family was the basic institution of the Roman people. The Roman family transmitted morality and social status across generations. The family educated its own young. The family tended its own hearth, while the hearth goddess, Vesta, was tended by state priestess called Vestal Virgins. The family needed to continue so that dead ancestors could be honored by their descendants and connections made for political purposes. When this failed to be motive enough, Augustus Caesar offered financial incentives to families to breed. Marriage The wife of the pater familias (the mater familias) might have been considered part of her husbands family or part of her natal family, depending on the conventions of the marriage. Marriages in Ancient Rome could be in manu in the hand or sine manu without the hand. In the former case, the wife became part of her husbands family; in the latter, she remained tied to her family of origin. Divorce and Emancipation When we think of divorce, emancipation, and adoption, we usually think in terms of ending relationships between families. Rome was different. Inter-familial alliances were essential for garnering the support needed for political ends. Divorces could be granted so that partners could remarry into other families to establish new connections, but the family connections established via first marriages need not be broken. Emancipated sons were still entitled to shares of paternal estates. Adoption Adoption also brought families together and allowed continuity to families that would otherwise have no one to carry on the family name. In the unusual case of Claudius Pulcher, adoption into a plebeian family, led by a man younger than himself, allowed Claudius (now using the plebeian name Clodius) to run for election as tribune of the plebs. For information on the adoption of freedmen, see The Adoption of Roman Freedmen, by Jane F. Gardner. Phoenix, Vol. 43, No. 3. (Autumn, 1989), pp. 236-257. Familia vs. Domus In legal terms, familia included all those under the power of the pater familias; sometimes it meant only the slaves. The pater familias was usually the oldest male. His heirs were under his power, as were the slaves, but not necessarily his wife. A boy without a mother or children could be a pater familias. In non-legal terms, the mother/wife could be included in the familia, although the term usually used for this unit was domus, which we translate as home. See Familia, Domus, and the Roman Conception of the Family, by Richard P. Saller. Phoenix, Vol. 38, No. 4. (Winter, 1984), pp. 336-355. Household and Family Religion in Antiquity, edited by John Bodel and Saul M. Olyan Meaning of Domus Domus referred to the physical house, the household, including the wife, ancestors, and descendants. The domus referred to the places where the pater familias exerted his authority or acted as dominus. Domus was also used for the dynasty of the Roman emperor. Domus and familia were often interchangeable. Pater Familias vs. Pater or Parent While pater familias is usually understood as head of the family, it had the primary legal meaning of estate owner. The word itself was usually used in legal contexts and required only that the person be able to possess property. The terms usually used to denote parenting were parens parent, pater father, and mater mother. See Pater Familias, Mater Familias, and the Gendered Semantics of the Roman Household, by Richard P. Saller. Classical Philology, Vol. 94, No. 2. (Apr. 1999), pp. 182-197.

African Americans and Dementia Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

African Americans and Dementia - Research Paper Example African Americans may have less knowledge about health care institutions that care for dementia patients. Awareness about the availability of health institutions and health services present in the society is crucial in providing care for dementia patients. Knowledge about assessment center is crucial in proving care for the African American elders, who suffer from the disease more than any other age group in society (Ethnic Elders Care Network, 2012). The availability of finances also affects the treatment of dementia. Lack of adequate financial resources has been attributed to poor dementia care in the African American community. In particular, African American elders are often uninsured or economically disadvantaged. They cannot afford to pay for the medical care needed to manage dementia symptoms (Ethnic Elders Care Network, 2012). Mistrust between the caregiver and the patient has also been reported as a major barrier to treatment. African Americans have avoided seeking medical h elp due to the lack of cultural diversity in medical teams. In addition, African Americans are dissatisfied with the formal health care available for them in their communities (Ethnic Elders Care Network, 2012). Consequently, racial discrimination has been attributed to a lack of treatment for patients suffering from dementia. In particular, bias against African Americans has been reported in medical institutions. Discriminatory admission practices; have led to few African American seeking medical help to counter the symptoms of dementia (Ethnic Elders Care Network, 2012). Effective treatment of dementia; demands establishment of a rapport within members of caregiver networks. Family members are advised to identify certain caregivers they can consult regularly to help the patient overcome the effects of dementia. In addition, proper communication with the caregivers is also crucial. Family members should ensure that they communicate all details to the caregiver. There are instances whereby family members may or may not want clearly labeled medication. They should communicate with the caregiver if they feel uneasy about the label of the medication.

Critical Thinking Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Critical Thinking - Article Example Since they are humans, they have the constitutional right to express themselves sexually (Higgins, 2008). Unfortunately, their disabled state puts them in great dangers as they often fall victim of sexual abuse and exploitation. Efforts by caregivers to protect them from such abuses could easily be misinterpreted as denying the disabled the right to sexual lives. This is in fact the conflicting part of their caregivers’ responsibility to the disabled. However, Bernert (2011) submit that care giving may be conducted in search a manner that guarantees maximum protection of the person with disability. For instance, such a person should be educated on matters pertaining to sex depending on their state. They should further be provided with equipment such as wheelchairs and allowed access to contraceptives. In addition, they can be helped foster good relationships that not only take note of their state, but that which is informed with the needs of such a person. It is only through this that the right of the persona with the disability can be guaranteed without the caregiver feeling like they are in a

Management Fayol Organization

Management Fayol Organization PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT Henri Fayol was born in 1841 in Istanbul. He was one of Europes leading thinkers on management theories and was one of the most influential contributors to modern concepts of management. Fayol was a key figure in the ‘turn-of-the-century Classical School of management theory. He suggested that management is a universal human activity that applies to family as well as to the organization. His Frenchmen has been described as the father of modern operational management theory. His ideas have become the very foundation of modern management concepts. Henri Fayol was a French engineer and director of mines, was little known outside France until the late 40s when Constance Storrs published her translation of Fayols 1916 Administration Industrielle et Generale . Fayols career began as a mining engineer. He then moved into research geology and in 1888 joined, Comambault as Director. Comambault was in difficulty but Fayol turned the operation round. On retirement he published his work a comprehensive theory of administration described and classified administrative management roles and processes then became recognised and referenced by others in the growing discourse about management. He is frequently seen as a key, early contributor to a classical or administrative management school of thought (even though he himself would never have recognised such a school). Henri Fayol theorising about administration was built on personal observation and experience of what worked well in terms of organisation. His aspiration for an administrative science sought a consistent set of principles that all organizations must apply in order to run properly. F. W. Taylor published The Principles of Scientific Management in the USA in 1911, and Fayol in 1916 examined the nature of management and administration on the basis of his French mining organisation experiences.. With two exceptions, Henri Fayols theories of administration are going directly into the bureaucratic superstructure described by Weber. Henri Fayol focuses on the personal duties of management at a much more granular level than Weber did. While Weber laid out principles for an ideal bureaucratic organization Fayols work is more directed at the management layer Fayol was the famous theorist who proposed that there are five primary functions of manager. He believed that management had five principle roles which he saw as (1) Planning: To forecast and plan the future by drawing up plans of actions and how they will be implemented by identifying the strategies (2) Organizing: To build up the structure, material and who give the delegated authority to carry out the specific tasks (3) Commanding: Maintaining activity among the personnel and giving orders in the specific period of time telling the employees what exactly to do and how. (4) Co-ordinating: Binding together the whole of the team so that they can harmonize their activities and efforts to one unified goal or achievement. (5) Controlling: To see that everything occurs in conformity with policy and practise. Controlling is described in the sense that a manager must receive feedback on a process that is being carried out in an organization so that he can make the relevant adjustments if necessary. Most of these activities are very task oriented, rather than people oriented, very similar to Taylor and Scientific Management. While both have a task focus, their approaches are quite different. Fayol was particularly interested in authority and its implementation while Taylor concentrated on work organisation (e.g. efficiency). In many ways their views illustrating some of the differences between the USA and Europe. The views and attitudes towards organisations and management are not always led by American theorists. He advocated a consistent set of principles that all organisations need to run properly. Although many of todays management text including Daft (2005) have reduced the five functions to four, co-ordinating was congregated into the rest of the main functions. However all modern day management texts are based and organized around Fayols four functions. Henri Fayol also fused the 14 principles for organizational design and effective administration. The 14 principles of management were discussed in detail in his book published in 1917 Administration industrielle et gà ©nà ©rale. He compared the conclusions made by Peter, Kanter and Handy. Fayol developed fourteen principles of administration to go along with managements five primary roles. He laid down the following principles of organization which he later called the principles of management: Specialization of labour: A principle of work allocation and specialisation in order to concentrate activities to enable specialisation of skills and understandings, more work focus and efficiency. Specializing encourages continuous improvement in skills and the development of improvements in methods. Authority: The right to give orders and the power to exact obedience. If responsibilities are allocated, then the post holder needs the requisite authority to carry these out including the right to require others in the area of responsibility to undertake duties. Authority stems from: that ascribed from the delegation process (the job holder is assigned to act as the agent of the high authority to whom they report hierarchy) Allocation and permission to use the necessary resources needed (budgets, assets, and staff) to carry out the responsibilities. selection the person has the expertise to carry out the responsibilities and the personal qualities to win the support and confidence of others. Discipline: No slacking, bending of rules. The generalisation about discipline is that discipline is essential for the smooth running of a business and without it standards, consistency of action, adherence to rules and values no enterprise could prosper. in an essence obedience, application, energy, behavior and outward marks of respect observed in accordance with standing agreements between firms and its employees 1916 Unity of command: A concept that suggests there should be only one supervisor for each person in an organization. Each employee has one and only one boss. The idea is that an employee should receive instructions from just a single superior . This generalisation still holds even where we are involved with team and matrix structures which involve reporting to more than one boss or being accountable to several clients. The basic concern is that tensions and dilemmas arise where we report to two or more bosses. One boss may want X, the other Y and the subordinate is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. Unity of direction: A single mind generates a single plan and all play their part in that plan. The unity of command idea of having one head (chief executive, cabinet consensus) with agree purposes and objectives and one plan for a group of activities) is clear. Subordination of individual interest to the general interest : When at work, only work things should be pursued or thought about. Fayols line was that one employees interests or those of one group should not prevail over the organisation as a whole. This would spark a lively debate about who decides that the interests of the organisation as a whole are. Ethical dilemmas and matters of corporate risk and the behaviour of individual chancers are involved here. Fayols work assumes a shared set of values by people in the organisation a unitarism where the reasons for organisational activities and decisions are in some way neutral and reasonable. 7. Remuneration of staff: Employees receive fair payment for services, not what the company can get away with. â€Å"The price of services rendered.† 1916 The general principle is that levels of compensation should be fair and as far as possible afford satisfaction both to the staff and the firm (in terms of its cost structures and desire for profitability/surplus). 8. Centralisation: Consolidation of management functions. Decisions are made from the top. Centralisation for HF is essential to the organisation and a natural consequence of organising. This issue does not go away even where flatter, devolved organisations occur. Decentralisation is frequently centralisaed-decentralisation !!! The modes of control over the actions and results of devolved organisations are still matters requiring considerable attention. 9. Scalar chain/line of authority: Formal chain of command running from top to bottom of the organization, like military. The scalar chain of command of reporting relationships from top executive to the ordinary shop operative or driver needs to be sensible, clear and understood. 10. Order: All materials and personnel have a prescribed place, and they must remain there. The level of generalisation becomes difficult with this principle. Basically an organisation should provide an orderly place for each individual member who needs to see how their role fits into the organisation and be confident, able to predict the organisations behaviour towards them. Thus policies, rules, instructions and actions should be understandable and understood. Orderliness implies steady evolutionary movement rather than wild, anxiety provoking, unpredictable movement. 11. Equity: Equality of treatment (but not necessarily identical treatment) . Equity, fairness and a sense of justice shouldpervade the organisation in principle and practice. 12. Stability of tenure or Personnel Tenure: Limited turnover of personnel. Lifetime employment for good workers. Time is needed for the employee to adapt to his/her work and perform it effectively. Stability of tenure promotes loyalty to the organisation, its purposes and values. 13. Initiative: Thinking out a plan and do what it takes to make it happen. At all levels of the organisational structure, zeal, enthusiasm and energy are enabled by people having the scope for personal initiative, in respect with Tom Peters. 14. Esprit de corps: Harmony, cohesion among personnel. Here Fayol emphasises the need for building and maintaining of harmony among the work force, team work and sound interpersonal relationships. Its a great source of strength in the organisation. Fayol stated that for promoting esprit de corps, the principle of unity of command should be observed and the dangers of divide and rule and the abuse of written communication should be avoided The final two principles, initiative and esprit de corps, show a difference between Fayols concept of an ideal organization and Webers. Weber predicted a completely impersonal organization with little human level interaction between its members. Fayol clearly believed personal effort and team dynamics were part of a ideal organization Out of the 14, the most important elements are specialization, unity of command, scalar chain, and, coordination by managers (an amalgam of authority and unity of direction). Advantages of Fayols theories and contributions Fayol was the first person to actually give a definition of management which is generally familiar today namely ‘forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to co-ordinate and to control. Fayol also gave much of the basic terminology and concepts, which would be elaborated upon by future researchers, such as division of labour, scalar chain, unity of command and centralization. Disadvantages Fayol was describing the structure of formal organizations. Absence of attention to issues such as individual versus general interest, remuneration and equity suggest that Fayol saw the employer as paternalistic and by definition working in the employees interest. Fayol does mention the issues relating to the sensitivity of a patients needs, such as initiative and ‘esprit de corps, he saw them as issues in the context of rational organisational structure and not in terms of adapting structures and changing peoples behaviour to achieve the best fit between the organisation and its customers. Many of these principles have been absorbed into modern day organisations, but they were not designed to cope with conditions of rapid change and issues of employee participation in the decision making process of organisations, such as are current today in the early 21st century. Successes Fayols five principle roles of management are still actively practiced today. The author has found Plan, Organize, Command, Co-ordinate and Control written on one than one managers whiteboard during his career. The concept of giving appropriate authority with responsibility is also widely commented on (if not well practiced.) Unfortunately his principles of unity of command and unity of direction are consistently violated in matrix management the structure of choice for many of todays companies. Conclusion Henri Fayol was important for two reasons: first, because he placed management centre stage; second, because he pondered the question of how best a company could be organised. He was also one of the earliest people to write and lecture on management issues, and indeed is sometimes referred to as the first management thinker. It is clear that modern organizations are strongly influenced by the theories of Taylor, Mayo, Weber and Fayol. Their precepts have become such a strong part of modern management that it is difficult to believe that these concepts were original and new at some point in history. The modern idea that these concepts are common sense is strong tribute to these founders. References Accessed on: 30 December 2007 www.healthknowledge.org.uk Accessed on: 30 December 2007 www.wikipeida.com Accessed on: 01 January 2007 www.onepine.com Accessed on: 02 January 2007 www.analytictech.com Accessed on: 02 January 2007 www.bola.biz Accessed on: 05 January 2007 www.learningmatters.com Accessed on: 06 January 2007 www.12manage.com Accessed on: 07 January 2007 www.answers.com Accessed on: 07 January 2007 www.intute.ac.uk The History of Management Thought by Daniel A. Wren Business: The Ultimate Resource by Daniel P. Goleman Project Management by David L. Cleland Fifty Key Figures in Management (Routledge Key Guides) by Morgen Witzel Daft, R. (2005). Management, (7th ed.). Mason, OH: Thomson South-Western. Fayol, H. (1949). General and industrial management. London. Pitman Publishing company. Fayol Fayol, H. (1987). General and industrial management: Henri Fayols classic revised by Irwin Gray. Belmont, CA: David S. Lake Publishers.

Failure of the Schlieffen Plan Essay -- Papers

Failure of the Schlieffen Plan In just over a month of fighting, two deeply disturbing features of the war were evident even to the generals who had unleashed the first campaigns: a quick victory was impossible, and the human and material losses incurred as a result of the industrialization of war preparation were on a scale never before seen. The Schlieffen plan had at first seemed to go according to schedule. Although the Belgians had declared war rather than allow the Germans passage across their borders, their great fortresses had not proved a big obstacle. The right wing had swung along the Channel coast to enter France on August 27, and at one time were within forty miles of Paris. But the British had supplied an unexpectedly large expeditionary force, which helped strengthen the French center; the Russians penetrated into East Prussia and thus compelled the Germans to detach part of their forces from the western to the eastern front; and the poor leadership of Von Moltke had allowed his two armies on the Belgian front to lose contact. The French commander Joffre seized his opportunity to counterattack, and threw in his reserve against the dangerously extended German line to the east of Paris. In the first Battle of the Marne, the Germans were forced to retreat to the line of the river Aisne, where they were able to establish a strong defense line. By November, when the winter rains began and operations literally bogged down, the war of rapid movement originally planned by the generals had turned into a slogging match between entrenched armies, disposed in double lines of ditches behind barbed wire barriers along a front that ... ...ternate fire-bays and traverses. Duck-boards were also placed at the bottom of the trenches to protect soldiers from problems such as trench foot. Soldiers also made dugouts and funk holes in the side of the trenches to give them some protection from the weather and enemy fire. The front-line trenches were also protected by barbed-wire entanglements and machine-gun posts. Short trenches called saps were dug from the front-trench into No-Man's Land. The sap-head, usually about 30 yards forward of the front-line, were then used as listening posts. Behind the front-line trenches were support and reserve trenches. The three rows of trenches covered between 200 and 500 yards of ground. Communication trenches, were dug at an angle to the frontline trench and was used to transport men, equipment and food supplies.