Cuban Missile Crisis (Paper) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cuban Missile Crisis (Paper) - Essay Example Cuba and the Soviet settled at an agreement when they had an undisclosed meeting and the development of several nuclear sites earnestly began. The United States discovered the presence of ballistic missile facilities and instigated a blockade that prevented more missiles from entering Cuba. It made the announcement that they would prohibit weapons that were offensive to be delivered to Cuba and wanted the weapons that were in Cuba to be destroyed or returned to where they had come from. After a number of agreements with the Soviet Union as well as Cuba the blockade was ended and the consultations between the US and the Soviet identified a straight communication channel between the two capitals. This paper seeks to analyse the events that surrounded the missile crisis before and after it took place. In the summer of 1962, CIA analysts received several potentially alarming reports concerning Russians being spotted in Cuba but the reports were part of a stream of similar tales that involved African troops and other troops in the Island. Majority of the intelligences were eventually dismissed by specialists who were accustomed to bogus report of Soviet Union gear hidden away in caves. This demonstrates that the United States was a victim of determined efforts by the Soviet of denial and trickery that camouflaged the placement of Soviet forces as well as weapons missiles in Cuba. The trickery in some instances included information that was accurate concerning the deployment so that it could be able to mask the operation through thousands of reports in Cuba in the time leading up to the missiles being actually being brought into Cuba. In the confusion, the Soviets managed to deploy more than the offensive nuclear missiles that was the main focus of the consequent crisis with the United States. Even though analysts from the United States as well as policymakers had knowledge of the conventional weapons,

Case Attrition Essay Example for Free

Case Attrition Essay Case attrition is the failure of arrests to come to trial; less than half of all felony arrests result in conviction (Meyer, J Grant, D. 2003). Basically, case attrition is when an arrest does not end in a trial conviction, which happens quite often in the court justice system. The effect case attrition has on the criminal justice system effects all levels of the criminal justice process, because an arrest or no arrest affects all aspects of the criminal justice process. Law enforcement officers can develop negative feelings about the justice system and feel that their work is not getting noticed. The high levels of case attrition in modern systems shows that the criminal law has very substantial limitations as a direct crime control such as, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation. Criminal convictions and penalties deserved punishment and reinforce important societal denunciation, but if these penal consequences are imposed according to procedure that are widely perceived as fair and just. Attrition can get rid of individuals in the over-worked justice system that were arrested that either had a problem with the legality of the arrest or it was the result of an overworked, or bad officer in a situation where an arrest was not necessary (Meyer, J Grant, D. 2003). When these cases are removed from the justice system, it is possible for attorneys and judges to be able to focus on more serious crimes. Reference Meyer, J Grant, D. (2003) The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System

Purpose Of The External Audit Report Accounting Essay

Purpose Of The External Audit Report Accounting Essay This assignment is going to include a discussion on the perception of the external audit report, an explanation how and why wording in the external audit report has evolved, as well as an explanation and discussion on the IAASBs proposals and a comment on possible future developments. Purpose of the external audit report When dealing with the purpose of the external audit report it comes down to who is being asked the question as there are many perceptions as to what exactly the purpose actually is. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia believe The objective of the financial statement audit is to add credibility to managements financial statements. (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia 2008). They also go on to say how an audit allows different user groups to feel more confident in an entitys financial statements because there is reasonable assurance that a true and fair view is present. (The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia 2008) However some users of accounts see things differently Others felt that the auditor should not only provide an audit opinion, but also interpret the financial statements in such a manner that the user could evaluate whether to invest in the entity (McEnroe Martens, 2001: 347). Looking at things from yet another angle the law also has an opinion on the purpose of auditors and audit reports, in the famous case of Kingston Cotton Mills Co. (1896) Lord Justice Lopez stated An auditor is not bound to be a detective, or, as was said to approach his work with suspicion, or with a foregone conclusion that there is something wrong. He is a watchdog, not a bloodhound. (Court of Appeal 1896) Basically meaning the audit report can never be guaranteed to have zero errors. To summarise things a just definition that probably would be accepted by a majority of parties is that the purpose of an external audit report is to express an opinion as to whether or not the information presented in the financial statements reflects the financial position of an organisation at a particular date, thereby providing reasonable assurance of a true and fair view. However different users will most likely always perceive the purpose slightly differently to each other, removing the expectations gap is easier said than done. Public accounting professions will have to react and evolve fast enough to keep up to pace with the changing business and social environment to completely eliminate the gap. (Sherer Turley, 1997) How and why the wording in the external audit report has evolved One reason as to why the wording of external audit reports evolved was the fact that terminology in the reports was not always interpreted the same way, existing audit reports are misunderstood by many readers (Bailey, Bylinski Shields, 1983: 355) (McEnroe Martens, 2001: 348) The table above shows how the phrase present fairly was perceived in different ways not only by investors but also by auditors themselves. Although there were proposals to have this phrase removed from the audit report strong resistance from the financial community meant it was never enacted. Terminology being interpreted differently led to an information gap and to counter this as well as enhance overall communication between auditors and financial statement users, the Cohen commission and Treadway commission made many recommendations. One proposal which was successful and lead to a change was the addition of a paragraph explaining the scope of the audit (PCAOB 2011). Another reason for change is the planned global harmonisation of standards. With the ASB and IAASB planning on converging U.S GAAS and the International Standards on auditing there became a need to provide more consistency across international borders. (Morris Thomas, 2011) One way to ensure the wording is clearer and easier to understand is the new definitions section, The Definitions section defines any terms or expressions that are being introduced in a standard for the first time. (Morris Thomas, 2011: 2) The wording of the external audit report has evolved because what is being demanded has changed. Users want greater clarity along with more transparency because more than ever individuals want a deeper insight in to an audited firms financial statements, which is probably a result of the recent financial crisis which hit the global business world with no clear warnings. (Bussiere Fratzscher 2006) However the difficulty lies in finding cost effective solutions which still enable some form of commonality to maintain consistency internationally. IAASBs proposals The IAASB has proposed the inclusion of an Auditor Commentary section. This would help users of the statements understand more what exactly the auditor is doing and the processes he carries out to develop an opinion, meaning there may be a reduction in the expectations gap. However the commentary relies on the auditors judgement on what is most likely to be important, meaning different auditors may reach different conclusions, which could in turn lead to differences of opinion; this may affect the harmonisation of audit reports and comparability. Also the commentary would be provided at the discretion of the auditor, meaning more time and effort would have to go in to each audit but with no extra fee, one may question the cost effectiveness. However other entities such as investors may benefit because increased understanding may lead to greater usefulness when it comes to decision making. An alternative could be a universal section explaining audited financial statements or the audit ; even though no two audits are exactly alike this approach could still help develop basic understanding and would also ease the auditors tasks. One may expect investors and shareholders would be in favour of the proposal whilst auditors may not be as pleased unless fees also increase proportionally. Another proposal is to assess managements assumptions in a conclusion. A conclusion including the appropriateness of the going concern assumption and whether material uncertainties have been identified may help point out early issues that need to be dealt with, this could in fact prevent future unexpected financial crisis from occurring and may also increase financial statement transparency. However the report should be neither overly optimistic or pessimistic. One may also expect a reduction in the information gap. Its fair to say most stakeholders would be in favour of this proposal, apart from managers of course. Also proposed was a statement as to whether any material inconsistencies between the audited financial statements and other information have been indentified, this may enhance the report providing a clearer and maybe even a more complete picture of a firm and operations. An issue is that not all future events can be predicted accurately and so a statement about the absence of material uncertainties is not a guarantee, users may misinterpret this which would widen the expectations gap. Prominent placement of the auditors opinion and other entity- specific information along with further suggestions to provide transparency were also proposed. This may help assist when it comes to navigating through complex financial statements and will also help point out specific areas were the auditors effort was focused. A narrowing of the information and expectation gap may be the outcome however one could argue changes to the audit report alone may not be enough and that information outside of statements also has to improve to provide a more meaningful change. A possible alternative could therefore be to provide authoritative educational material maintained by the IAASB, in a sense helping users navigate through reports more freely although the problem which arises here is a general guide may not be specific enough. Possible future developments Users of financial statements seem to be in agreement that audit reports need to improve and welcome the fact that the IAASB has sought improvement I am fully supportive of your current initiative (Robert Mednick, 2012), however not all users believe the suggestions made are appropriate we do not agree with the proposals (Roger Harrington, 2012). To summarise some stakeholders believe the proposals given would just lead to a duplication of information provided by managers and that the report would become prone to boilerplate commentary. (WESTWORTH KEMP, 2012) Although they may provide more information to underpin the pass or fail opinion there may be potential for increased audit costs. It may be appropriate to not make some aspects of the improvements mandatory and instead include a voluntary element. Also any going concern commentary should be clear and evident to users so that comments are not taken out of context. However a lot of users agreed with the proposed changes and with a few minor adjustments believed they would be affective, in general, the suggested improvements are appropriate( ACCA, 2012), so in the near future one may see the suggestions made put in to effect. Conclusion To conclude my research suggests that audit reports need to evolve and improve to keep up with the changing business and social environment and the IAASBs proposals are a step in the right direction. Although the suggestions made could have an inverse impact the potential for benefit vastly outweighs this. The proposals target a number of issues such as transparency and usefulness and have the capability to be operated internationally. However one may be concerned by users misunderstanding comments which would then widen the expectations gap. Word count: 1541 References Journal Article McEnroe Martens, JEM SCM, 2001. Auditors and Investors Perceptions of the Expectation Gap. American Accounting Association Accounting Horizons, Vol 15 No. 4 , 345-358. Journal Article with two authors Bussiere Fratzscher, MB MF, 2006. Towards a new early warning system of  ¬Ã‚ nancial crises.  Journal of International Money and Finance, vol 25 issue 6, 953-973. Journal Article with three or more authors Bailey, Bylinski Shields, KEB, JHB MDS, 1983. Effects of Audit Report Wording Changes on the Perceived Message.  Journal of Accounting Research, vol 21 No. 2, 355-370. Electronic Journal Article Morris Thomas, JTM CWT, 2011. Clarified Auditing Standards: The Quiet Revolution Redrafting brings both significant and subtle changes.  Journal of accountancy, [Online]. vol 212 no. 6, 1-5. Available at: http://www.journalofaccountancy.com/Issues/2011/Jun/20113792.htm?action=print  [Accessed 21 December 2012]. Book with two authors Sherer Turley, MS ST, 1997.  Current Issues in Auditing  . 3rd ed. SAGE. Website ACCA. 2012.  IFAC. [ONLINE] Available at:  http://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/exposure-drafts/comments/TECH-CDR-1134.pdf. [Accessed 24 December 12]. Court of Appeal. 1896.  in Re Kingston Cotton Mill Company. [ONLINE] Available at:https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:es7g__ZhMQcJ:oxcheps.new.ox.ac.uk/new/casebook/cases/Cases%2520Chapter%25203/In%2520Re%2520Kingston%2520Cotton%2520Mill%2520Company.doc+hl=engl=ukpid=blsrcid=ADGEESi-yvPPgWKz2uXlc1x-nczMt8_8SwD5LS3GUKqD91xzDPjpel3Wb3jz5wuRbcvvLuSbU0n-hrVB219b2nbSDucvGe6M1_zbbPDznPNgySGRthAbob0hPvSfUxDOxNyqw7joD4sig=AHIEtbSArCbzy46PFrwiGFwW9sR4r4_q_Q. [Accessed 20 December 12]. WESTWORTH KEMP. 2012.  IFAC. [ONLINE] Available at:  http://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/exposure-drafts/comments/%20Response%20to%20IASB%20cover%20letter.pdf. [Accessed 24 December 12]. PCAOB. 2011.  Auditors Reporting Model. [ONLINE] Available at:  https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:zgMg6vjULngJ:pcaobus.org/Rules/Rulemaking/Docket034/Concept_Release.pdf+hl=engl=ukpid=blsrcid=ADGEEShbtsssuJKbqau2HByCha6ceGn0TerZkO2rSZIgCwab7oP3VrEKByouZvO5KNp9GelZwSr4yKTLA0ifzzYvyCaUZqC5io_C4hw_kIFbqFRqW0B0-VZD-BRfFPv4BXPWyp30WLq4sig=AHIEtbSRPJv8F4PlAwjESC9_dYMb5zV2hA. [Accessed 21 December 12]. Robert Mednick. 2012.  IFAC. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/exposure-drafts/comments/Bob%20Mendick.pdf. [Accessed 24 December 12]. Roger Harrington. 2012.  IFAC. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.ifac.org/sites/default/files/publications/exposure-drafts/comments/IAASB%20auditor%20reporting_BP%20final%20letter.pdf. [Accessed 24 December 12]. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. 2008.  The role and function of external auditors  . [ONLINE] Available at:  https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=vq=cache:-a3oYjL5QZMJ:www.charteredaccountants.com.au/~/media/Files/Students/Educators/The%2520role%2520and%2520function%2520of%2520external%2520auditors.ashx+purpose+of+external+audit+reporthl=enpid=blsrcid=ADGEESjNR071rP0bdpjegrZugcckMQf624dKlOBe-5k2KXxKGtEIrcAzex4Tu9z9SCvvTW940KbpqVjrb5AEk6dCGHv1y5yirgdDrDKbnnP2OSuT3p89CjCFN7TPDlCQuIxIam7VQjCxsig=AHIEtbT1FCvNCrztdhXarps3bxYVpP3b2w. [Accessed 19 December 12].

Bladerunner: Humanity Of Deckard & Roy Batty Essays -- essays research

Roy Batty and Deckard are both able to show us what it means to be human. To what extent do you agree? Through Blade Runner, we see an epic quest filled with meaning and symbolism applicable to the human condition. Replicants are basically human beings, except for the fact that they lack a history. As a consequence of this, perhaps, they also lack proper emotional faculties especially empathy. Empathy is the ability to place oneself in the position of another living being and understand that person’s feelings. Blade runner promotes that empathy is the defining characteristics for humanity. The replicants, designed not to show any emotion, develop spiritually and emotionally throughout the film. The characters in the movie, even the ones that were not human, had many humanistic and believable qualities. Many of them were able to feel love as well as hate. Although Deckard is supposedly human he at times shows less emotion than Roy. He seems heartless and uncompassionate making himself look very unhuman. We see that Deckard is possibly not "human" as well, but a replicant. He shows no compassion when he tells Rachel of her being a replicant with implants. In tears, Rachel sneaks out of Deckard’s apartment and into the streets. The only time in which Deckard really shows emotion is accomplished when Roy, forging Deckard through the fires of a harrowing battle, looks terrified knowing that he is going to die. Through this, Roy tries to communicate his life experi...

“Panopticism” and “Our Secret” Essay

In Michael Foucault’s reading on â€Å"Panopticism† he breaks down the social/economical systems and explains that society’s mentality on the law system. He answers the â€Å"why question† in a way certain individuals act and think as they do. Many times his explanation is much branched off into a different level of thinking. In one paragraph in â€Å"Panopticism†, a disciplinary mechanism is described, which is considered the best way for one person to be punished, in the new knowledge and learning is gained by every individual. But in â€Å"Our Secret† by Susan Griffins she carefully constructs and describes history, particularly WWII through the lives of several different people. Such as David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky who had a difficult time grasping her concepts that says, â€Å"Griffin writes about the past on how we can know it, what its relation to the present, why we should care. In the way she writes, she is also making an argument about how we can know and understand the past.† Griffin strikes all of these aspects in her essay. What is most compelling about the essay is how she incorporated personal, family, and world history into a good story of narrative, without ever losing the factual evidence the story provides. In the paragraph on page 182 in Ways of Reading, Foucault explains how he feels a person should be disciplined and he looks at it from different angle to really understand. â€Å"This enclosed, segmented space, observed at every point, in which the person inserted a fixed place, in which the slightest movements are supervised, which all events are recorded in an uninterrupted work of writing links the center and periphery, in which the power is exercised without the division, according to a continuous hierarchical figure, that a person is constantly located, examined, and distributed among the living beings, sick, and the dead that constitutes a compact model of the disciplinary mechanism.† In the first sentence of the paragraph a description of how closely watched and evaluated the individuals are. All movement, all actions, everything would be analyzed. This is how he feels a disciplinary mechanism should be and is a key model to follow. Disciplining that way would make the individual a better person, which I believe; â€Å"exercising power without division† is an example. In her essay, Griffin incorporates stories of people from totally different backgrounds,  upbringings, including herself, all to describe the accounts of one time period. Each person history is somehow connected with the next, and each story contributes equally to the bigger picture of history. Griffin puts three types of histories in her text; personal, family, and world history. In her personal history, she describes her life, and childhood, which is intertwine with her family history. However, she not only talks about her histories, she talks about the histories of the other characters in the essay to bring across the world. One of the technique’s that Griffin uses to help the audience understand her concepts, is explaining two other story lines while telling her main story. The first on is description of a cell. Throughout the essay italicized sentences explaining the complex of a cell being placed randomly between passages. The description beings with a nucleus, and as the story progresses, so does the nucleus. She tells what happens to the nucleus, and how the inner cells work on developing a nucleus, which gave rise to many of other cells, that will eventually become an embryo. The other story line, were also italicize sentences, goes through the making and beginning of missiles. â€Å"The plague is met by order; its function is to sort out every possible confusion that is of the disease, which is transmitted when bodies are mixed together, that the evil is increased when fear and death overcome prohibitions.† Disease definitely confuses the society when two or more people come together and embrace there disease. Evil becomes very overwhelming when it cannot be controlled or prevented; with the help of the plague everything becomes more controlled. â€Å"It lays down for each individual his place, his body, his disease, and his death, his wellbeing, by means of an omnipresent and omniscient power that subdivides itself in a regular, uninterrupted way even to the ultimo determination of the individual, of what characterize him, of what belongs to him, of what happen to him.† The plague served as some sort of god to most of the people. It breaks everything down and describes â€Å"omnipresent and omniscient power.† Act as keeping an eye on the person that sort the test, show how an individual would react knowing that they are being watched regardless if they believe it or not. Just how they would adapt to their own surroundings. What are the most compelling aspects about Griffin essay is  the way she combine personal, family, and world, and etc. The reading is a novel, which helps the audience to understand the concepts with a clear and complete overall view of her world. Two other authors, Richard Rodriguez, and Ralph Ellison, who wrote about their life experience that’s better understood as an historical text that is view through the eyes of Griffin. Rodriguez explores his own educational history that called â€Å"The Achievement of Desire† and Ellison depicts his own journey and personal growth which is called â€Å"An Extravagance of Laughter†. Both their writing are seen through G riffin’s perspective, can be opened and examined from a different view, helping the people understand with more of a lucid view of history and what it is really about. â€Å"The mixture of the plague brings into play its power, which is on the analysis.† In this sentence it describes the strength that is considered power. Learning can only make you more intelligent and the more you know the broader you understand would be which in your mental state would make you stronger. â€Å"A whole literary fiction of the festival grew up around the plague: suspended laws, lifted prospect, individuals unmarked, abandoning their statutory identity and the figure which they had recognized, allowing some different truth to appear†. When the individuals were changing their personalities to fit into the containment, as I said earlier in the essay, their trying to adapt to their environment. But their also political dream of the plague, that got reverse. Not the collective festival, but strict divisions; not laws transgressed, but the penetration of regulation into even the smallest details of everyday life through the thoughts of complete hierarchy that assured the function of power; the masks were put on and off, but the assignment for each person was their â€Å"true† name, â€Å"true† place, â€Å"true† body, and â€Å"true disease†. This sentence talks about a different side of the plague, the â€Å"political side†. Instead of analyzing the people was forcing out the power to handle certain individual. This was the dream of many that instead of interaction and strict regulation of everything done. The separated story lines are placed in the story to explain the background and the past of everyone. The background and past are factors in developing the present and future, and the characters in the story and tendency to try  and forget their past, but not realizing that there are no escapes. Griffin illustrates the technique with Heinrich Himmler, a prominent Nazi figure during WWII. In every detail, she describes Himmler’s childhood, and the harsh ways of his father. She also trace his life, and evident there’s always a maker; base from his childhood that affect the decision made later on in his life. Griffins merely do this to help provide understanding on such behavior develops. The art of this technique being effective, however, that Griffin interconnects all three stories so the audience to understand other authors and texts. Richard Rodrigues is one author that already go through history, from an educational standpoint. He discusses his childhood, and how co ming from a working class family improved his learning process. He examines a bit about his family history and personal history as well. Rodriguez traces his family back to Mexico, their move to America, and the struggle of keep up with the America living lifestyle. He examine what was it like growing up in a Mexican American household. As he gets older he began to not like his background and roots at an early age. He was working on many ways to discard the Mexican persona and develop a stronger American one. Rodriguez hides himself behind an image of what he thinks he should be, but not who he really is. The aspect of his family and personal history into his world history. Both family and personal history with his family’s migrating to America. While the war was not in America, they had to endure racism and hardships in the comings to the United States. Another author that was looked at in the eyes of Griffin was Ralph Ellison’s â€Å"Extravagance of Laughter’s†. What was interesting about these two essays were not only that the histories, but a lot of the major themes were implied in the essays. Ellison has a vast personal history that surrounds by world history; however there is not too much evidence of his family history. His personal history begins in the south to the north in the early nineteenth century. He talks about accounts of racism that occur in both places, which fall into a larger picture in world history. He remembers racism happening throughout the country at the time. Ellison combines so much personal history and world that became so difficult to distinguish that his personal history effected world history. One of the themes that stayed incorporated throughout both essay was constant effort to hide the truth. Ellison had difficult time admitting and realizing his true place in society. He wore  Ã¢â‚¬Å"marks† to cover how he felt in certain situation that he was in. When Griffins talks about her family, she also speaks of a mask as well. She says, â€Å"I think of it now as a mask, not an animated mask that expresses the essence of the inner truth, but a mask that falls like dead weight over the human face, make face, making flesh a stationary object†. Both Ellison and Grif fin felt trapped in there mark, and it took there self-dignity in freeing themselves of the mask. It hit Ellison during a play and it hit Griffin after learning about her family history. All three authors are in a sense of historians. They write events that are in the past, which make it about history. The work they do are very good work, others use their writings as guideline of writing events in an historian context. The themes about finding the truth within one’s self are throughout working, and different types of histories are explored, making these text much more than just history. Ralph Ellison once said, â€Å"The way a person expresses both the agony of life and the possibility of conquering it through is the sheer toughness of the spirit. They fall short of tragedy only in that they provide no solution; offer no scapegoat but the self†. â€Å"The plague as a form at once real and imaginary, of disorder had as its medical correlative disciple. Behind the disciplinary mechanisms can be read the haunting memory of â€Å"contagious† of the plague can be used as effective way disorder†. The plague can be used as an effective way to discipline; it is how they would use it to effect even if it would be possible. Each author demonstrates the toughness of theirs spirit, and it is up to the person to decide whether history will repeat itself or not. They all did the part in providing solutions for history. Work Cited Foucault, Michel. Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison Ways of Reading/(New York: Vintage Books 1995) Tenth edition. pp. 195-228 Griffin, Susan. â€Å"Our Secret†. Way of Reading Eds: David Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. Tenth edition. Boston. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s 2002.

Work and Adolescence in the Middle Ages

Work and Adolescence in the Middle Ages Few medieval teenagers enjoyed a formal education as it was rare in the Middle Ages. As a result, not all adolescents went to school, and even those who did were not wholly consumed by learning. Many teens worked, and just about all of them played.   Working at Home Teens in peasant families were most likely to work instead of attending school. Offspring could be an integral part of a peasant familys income as productive workers contributing to the farming operation. As a paid servant in another household, frequently in another town, an adolescent could either contribute to the total income or simply cease using the family resources, thereby increasing the overall economic standing of those he left behind. In the peasant household, children provided valuable assistance to the family as early as age five or six. This assistance took the form of simple chores and did not take up a great deal of the childs time. Such chores included fetching water, herding geese, sheep or goats, gathering fruit, nuts, or firewood, walking and watering horses, and fishing. Older children were often enlisted to care for or at least watch over their younger siblings. At the house, girls would help their mothers with tending a vegetable or herb garden, making or mending clothes, churning butter, brewing beer and performing simple tasks to help with the cooking. In the fields, a boy no younger than 9-years-old and usually 12 years or older, might assist his father by goading the ox while his father handled the plow. As children reached their teens, they might continue to perform these chores unless younger siblings were there to do them, and they would most definitely increase their workloads with more demanding tasks. Yet the most difficult of tasks were reserved for those with the most experience; handling a scythe, for example, was something that took great skill and care, and it was unlikely for an adolescent to be given the responsibility of using it during the most pressing times of harvest. Work for teenagers was not limited to within the family; rather, it was fairly common for a teen to find work as a servant in another household. Service Work In all but the poorest medieval households, it would not be surprising to find a servant of one variety or another. Service could mean part-time work, day labor, or working and living under the roof of an employer. The type of work that occupied a servants time was no less variable: there were shop servants, craft assistants, laborers in agriculture and manufacturing, and, of course, household servants of every stripe. Although some individuals took on the role of servant for life, service was frequently a temporary stage in the life of an adolescent. These years of  labor- often spent in another familys home- gave teenagers the chance to save up some money, acquire skills, make social and business connections, and absorb a general understanding of the way society conducted itself, all in preparation for entry into that society as an adult. A child might possibly enter service as young as age seven,  but most employers sought older children to hire for their advanced skills and responsibility. It was far more common for children to take up positions as servants at age ten or twelve. The amount of work carried out by younger servants was necessarily limited; pre-adolescents are rarely if ever suited to heavy lifting or to tasks that require fine manual dexterity. An employer who took on a seven-year-old servant would expect the child to take some time learning his tasks, and he would probably start with very simple chores. Common Occupations Employed in a household, boys might become grooms, valets, or porters, girls could be housemaids, nurses, or scullery maids, and children of either gender could work in the kitchens. With a little training young men and women might assist at skilled trades, including  silk making, weaving, metalworking, brewing, or winemaking. In  villages,  they could acquire skills involving clothmaking, milling,  baking, and blacksmithing as well as help in the fields or household. By far, the majority of servants in town and countryside came from poorer families. The same network of friends, family and business associates that provided apprentices also yielded workers. And, much like apprentices, servants sometimes had to post bonds so that prospective employers might take them on, assuring their new bosses they would not leave before the agreed-upon term of service was up. Hierarchies and Relationships There were also servants of nobler origins, particularly those who served as valets, ladies maids, and other confidential assistants in illustrious households. Such individuals might be temporary adolescent employees from the same class as their employers or long-term servants from the gentry or urban middle class. They might even have been educated at a University before taking up their posts. By the 15th century, several advice manuals for such esteemed servants were in circulation in London and other large towns,  and not only noblemen but high city officials and wealthy merchants would seek to hire individuals who could perform delicate duties with tact and finesse. It was not unusual for a servants brothers and sisters to find work in the same household. When an older sibling moved on from service, his younger sibling might take his place, or perhaps theyd be employed simultaneously at different jobs. It was also not uncommon for servants to work for family members: for example, a childless man of prosperity in a town or city might employ his country-dwelling brothers or cousins children. This might seem exploitative or high-handed, but it was also a way for a man to give his relatives economic assistance and a good start in life while still allowing them to keep their dignity and pride in accomplishment. Terms of Employment It was  common  procedure to draw up a service contract that would outline the terms of service, including payment,  length  of service, and living arrangements. Some servants saw little legal recourse if they encountered difficulty with their masters, and it was more common for them to suffer their lot or run away rather than turn to the courts for redress. Yet court records show this was not always the case: masters and servants both brought their conflicts to legal authorities for resolution on a regular basis. Household servants almost always lived with their employers, and to deny housing after having promised it was considered a disgrace. Living together in such close quarters could result in terrible abuse or close bonds of loyalty. In fact, masters and servants of close rank and age were known to form lifelong bonds of friendship during the term of service. On the other hand, it was not unknown for masters to take advantage of their servants, particularly teenage girls in their employ. The relationship of most teenage servants to their masters fell somewhere in between fear and adulation. They did the work that was asked of them, were fed, clothed, sheltered and paid, and during their free time sought out ways to relax and have fun. Recreation A common misconception about the Middle Ages is that life was dreary and dull, and none but the nobility ever enjoyed any leisure or recreational activities. And, of course, life was indeed hard compared to our comfortable modern existence. But all was not darkness and drudgery. From peasants to  townsfolk  to gentry, people of the Middle Ages knew how to have fun, and teens were certainly no exception. A teenager might spend a large part of each day working or studying but, in most cases, he would still have a little time for recreation in the evenings. Hed have still more free time on holidays such as Saints Days, which were fairly frequent. Such liberty might be spent alone, but it was more likely to be an opportunity for him to socialize with coworkers, fellow students, fellow apprentices, family or friends. For some teenagers, childhood games that occupied the younger years such as marbles and shuttlecocks evolved into more sophisticated or strenuous pastimes like bowls and tennis. Adolescents engaged in more dangerous wrestling matches than the playful contests theyd attempted as children, and they played some very rough sports like football- variations that were precursors to todays rugby and soccer. Horseracing was fairly popular on the outskirts of London, and younger teens and pre-teens were frequently jockeys due to their lighter weight. Mock battles among the lower classes were frowned upon by authorities, for fighting rightfully belonged to the nobility, and violence and misconduct could ensue if youths learned how to use swords.  However,  archery  was encouraged in England due to its significant role in what has come to be called the  Hundred Years War. Recreation such as falconry and hunting were usually limited to the upper classes, primarily due to the cost of such pastimes. Furthermore,  forests, where sporting game might be found, were almost exclusively the province of the nobility, and peasants found hunting there- which they usually did for food rather than sport- would be fined. Games of Strategy and Gambling Archaeologists have discovered among castle remains intricately carved sets of chess and tables (a precursor to backgammon),  hinting at some popularity of board games among the noble classes. There is no doubt that peasants would be unlikely at best to acquire such costly trifles. While it is possible that less expensive or home-made versions could have been enjoyed by the middle and lower classes, none have yet been found to support such a theory; and the leisure time required to master such skills would have been prohibited by the lifestyles of all but the wealthiest folk. However, other games such as  merrills, which required only three pieces per player and a rough three-by-three board, could easily have been enjoyed by anyone willing to spend a few moments collecting stones and roughing out a crude gaming area. One pastime that was definitely enjoyed by city teens was dicing. Long before the Middle Ages, carved cube dice had evolved to replace the original game of rolling bones, but bones were occasionally still used. Rules varied from era to era, region to region and even from game to game, but as a game of pure chance (when honestly played), dicing was a popular basis for gambling. This prompted some cities and towns to pass legislation against the activity. Teens who engaged in gambling were likely to indulge in other unsavory activities that could result in violence, and riots were far from unknown. In hopes of heading off such incidents, city fathers, recognizing the need of adolescents to find release for their youthful exuberance, declared certain saints  days  occasions for great festivals. The celebrations that ensued were opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy public spectacles ranging from morality plays to bear-baiting as well as contests of skill,  feasting, and processions. Sources: Hanawalt, Barbara,  Growing Up in Medieval London  (Oxford University Press, 1993).Reeves, Compton,  Pleasures  Ã‚  (Oxford University Press, 1995).and Pastimes in Medieval England