Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing Much Ado About Nothing has a very similar style to our contemporary romantic comedy. And while the romance and obstacles to the union of Claudio and Hero form the main plot, the action in Much Ado About Nothing is mainly about Benedick and Beatrice, and their relationship. That sub-plot is about the merry war of the sexes between Beatrice and Benedick who are not teenagers, but possibly in their late twenties or older (Lukacs 92). This merry war (Much Ado About Nothing I.i.56) between the two is given through their witty word play: Benedick. What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living? Beatrice. Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence. Benedick. Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted: and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart; for, truly, I love none. Beatrice. A dear happiness to women: they would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor. (Much Ado About Nothing I. i. 111-120) The play suggests that Beatrice was in love with Benedick before the play but he had deceived her and their relationship ended. Benedick now claims that he will never get married. Beatrice is an intelligent girl. Meader asserts that Most of Shakespeares lovers appear to fall in love at the first meeting and that Beatrice who has apparently been in love with Benedick before the action of Much Ado About Nothing, may have had formal courtship earlier (Meader 82): Pedro. Come, lady, come; you have lost the heart of Signior Benedick. Beatrice. Indeed, my lord, he lent it me a while; and I gave him use for it, a double heart for his single one: marry, once before he won it of me with false dice, therefore your grace may well say I have lost it. (Much Ado About Nothing II.i.266-272) Whenever Beatrice and Benedick come together, they seem to have a fight through their witty insults. They are as if competing in intelligence. Beatrice, like Benedick, does not want to marry which is because she has not yet found the right man and because she does not want to give up her freedom with marriage. According to Benedick, a man who gets married will wear his cap with suspicion (I.i.184), and will have doubts that his wife has once had other lovers. He says, if the Count marries, the Count will thrust [his] neck into a yoke, wear the print of it and sigh away Sundays (I.i.186-87) (Friedman 78). Benedick speaks ill of marriage in the following lines: The savage bull may; but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the bulls horns and set them in my forehead; and let me be vilely painted; and in such great letters as they write, Here is good horse to hire let them signify under my sign, Here you may see Benedick, the married man. (Much Ado About Nothing I.i.246-252) He imagines himself with horns on his head. Cuckoldry was very typical in the Renaissance He is worried that he will be cheated by women if he gets married. Friedman explains it as: Benedicks fears of cuckoldry and emasculation through marriage tend to be confirmed by Beatrice, whom Don Pedro has picked out as an excellent wife for Benedick (2.1.329) Beatrice speaks openly and sharply of her preferences in a spouse, which draws the disapproval of her uncles Leonato and Antonio, who complain that she is shrewd of [her] tongue and too curst (2.1.17-18). Beatrice implies that, were she to marry, she would make her partner a cuckold, for she claims that she will have no horns only if God sends her no husband (2.1.23-24). (Friedman 81) As for Beatrice, her irreluctancy for marriage is stated as follows What should I do with him? dress him in my apparel, and make him my waiting-gentlewoman? He that hath a beard is more than a youth; and he that hath no beard is less than a man: and he that is more than a youth is not for me; and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.(Much Ado About Nothing II.i.33-38) Through these lines, Beatrice explains why she should not marry. The reason for this is that there is no equal man for her. Beatrice states that she could not endure a masculine husband with a beard on his face (2.1.26-27), but a husband that hath no beard, who is therefore less than a man, is only fit to be dressed in womens apparel and employed as her waiting-gentlewoman (2.1.29-33) (Friedman 81). Both Benedick and Beatrice seem to avoid marriage. As Benedick says it is certain / I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted: and I could find it in my heart that I had not a hard heart; for, truly, I love none (Much Ado About Nothing I.i.116-119), Beatrice mocks him saying I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow / than a man swear he loves me (Much Ado About Nothing I.i.123-124). While Claudio and Don Pedro play a trick on Benedick in Act II scene iii, Ursula and Hero do the same on Beatrice in Act III scene i. Those tricks are intentioned to make the two fall in love with each other. The audience knows that neither Beatrice nor Benedick wants to get married. Their friends trick is useful at the end. They are both deceived to believe that one is in love with the other. In that case, Cahn states that the plays title word Nothing may be taken as a pun on noting, or overhearing, {since] much of the action involves eavesdropping and the partial discernment of truth (Cahn 629). Moreover, one must note that the overheard conversations are enough for both. According to Cahn, in many comedies of Shakespeare, love is influenced by perception and in Much Ado About Nothingin Act II scene iii, when Beatrice calls Benedick to dinner, Benedick manages in his own mind to twist her words so that they mean what he wants to hear (Cahn 636). At this time, it is apparent that wh ile she is not in love with him, Benedick [harbours] a secret love for Beatrice (Friedman 83). They are not actually deluded to think they are in love with each other; otherwise their friends tricks would not work since both of them are clever enough not to be deluded. They are actually trying to let them discover their present love to each other. Therefore, it is a kind of realization for both of them. Each decides to pity the other at first, however it is interesting they do it willingly. Benedick has made his decision to perform what the audience has long felt he has always wanted to do: pursue Beatrice (Cahn 636). He has now changed his mind and wants to marry Beatrice. Beatrice, on the other hand, has also decided to change her mind, as clear in her own words: Stand I condemned for pride and scorn so much? Contempt, farewell! and maiden pride, adieu! No glory lives behind the back of such. (Much Ado About Nothing III.i.109-112) In Act IV scene i when Benedick and Beatrice are left alone in the church together, they confess their love to each other. According to Lukacs By [Act IV scene i], Benedick and Beatrice are the mature responsible adults who must bring this play to a resolution (Lukacs 92). The tone changes, however, when Benedick says that he will do anything for Beatrice: Beatrices asking him to Kill Claudio (Much Ado About Nothing IV. i. 289) shocks Benedick. Benedicks refusal makes Beatrice angry since she believes that Claudio has insulted Hero. Benedick soon changes his mind and agrees to challenge his friend Claudio both for Heros and for Beatrices sake. What Beatrice has wanted Benedick marks Beatrice as a lady imposing a love test as Maisan states. Benedick has to choose between love and friendship (Maisan 165). Meader asserts that Benedick, urged on by his beloved Beatrice, challenges his best friend Claudio to a duel and that Courage was conspicuously an outward-looking virtue, as the Renai ssance valued it (Meader 76). Benedick is in fact known with his loyalty as a friend but his love for Beatrice becomes strong enough to challenge his friend to a fight and he soon challenges him to a duel. When Benedick accuses Claudio and Don Pedro for Heros death she has not really died but it is what they think, they think he is joking. Thus in Act V scene i, not only Heros innocence but also Benedicks loyalty to Benedick is proven. In Act V scene ii, Benedick tries to write poetry for Beatrice. However, he is not good at writing. What he can do best is simply his gentle insults which is also appealing to Beatrice. So they go on flirting and mocking each other. With the last scene of the play, Shakespeare brings a happy conclusion; both of the couples in the play will married (Claudio and Hero, and Benedick and Beatrice). Now Beatrice and Benedick are happy to get married. Their hatred of the institution of marriage is finally brought to an end. Although the trick is not the main reason for their uniting, it has really been effective. Lukacs summarizes the relationship between Beatrice and Benedick as: In the end, Beatrice and Benedick grow up and mature. The world in Much Ado About Nothing that was out of balance is reined in and balance is achieved. Maturity brings self-knowledge and Beatrice and Benedick shine in the end they are [now] husband and wife. Beatrice duels with her wits in order to assert herself. The eye contact, the hint of a smile, the fleeting glance, or hand gesture sustain their encounters as these two function as one witty unit. Beatrice exclaims O God, that I were a man! (4.1), but it is only when she reaches out to a man, Benedick, that she can defend her sisters honor and relinquish her alternate personae of a John Wayne-like character who strides about the stage in manly fashion, or of an immature schoolgirl. In the end, Much Ado About Nothing becomes much ado about everything that matters in life. (Lukacs 92) As a conclusion, Beatrice and Benedick have changed both in their attitudes towards the idea of marriage and towards each other since the beginning of the play. One can clearly notice the alikeness of their personalities which not only causes the merry war between them but also brings them together. The reason why Beatrice and Benedick could not go along with each other has been because each is too witty and intelligent. However, one must note that they will never get bored of each other while they are having their war so they are definetely a good match. Primary Source(s) Shakespeare, William. Much Ado About Nothing The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Hertfordshire: 1996. Secondary Sources Cahn, Victor L. Shakespeare the Playwright: A Companion to the Complete Tragedies, Histories, Comedies, and Romances. Praeger: Westport, 1996. Friedman, Michael. The World Must Be Peopled: Shakespeares Comedies of Forgiveness. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press: Madison, NJ., 2002. Lukacs, Ann. Much Ado About Nothing Shakespeare Bulletin. Volume: 22. Issue: 1: University of West Georgia, 2004. Maisan, Thomas. Deforming Sources: Literary Antecedents and Their Traces in Much Ado about Nothing Shakespeare Studies. Volume: 31, Associated University Presses, 2003. Meader, William G. Courtship in Shakespeare: Its Relation to the Tradition of Courtly Love. Kings Crown Press: New York, 1954.

Aggression as a Negative

Aggression is viewed by many as a negative response in sport, but theories of why aggression occurs contradict each other. Evaluate critically theories of aggression that seek to explain why negative responses often occur in sporting situations Use practical examples for the theories you evaluate. Aggression is any behaviour outside the rules of the game that aims to harm an individual that is motivated to avoid such harm. Some skills appear aggressive for example, a slide tackle in football, however they are perfectly legal in the games rules so it is not seen as aggressive behaviour.Possible negative responses relating to aggression are caused by; actual/perceived unfairness, frustration at performance, displaced aggression from other sources, pressure to win, retaliation, copying others, nature of the game, reaction to a hostile crowd, being on the losing team and previous ill-feeling (derby game). There are 4 theories of aggression; Instinct Theory, Social Learning Theory, Frustr ation Aggression Hypothesis and Aggression Cue Hypothesis.Instinct Theory (Freud) suggests that behaviour is predictable, genetically inherited and it is the Trait view of behaviour. According to this theory, we can tell which players and when they will perform aggressive acts. This says that everyone has aggression within them, it is just a continual build-up of energy that needs to be released through catharsis, for example, small lashes out at an opposition to release pressure (Lorenz). However this theory completely disregards an environmental stimulus that we know exists.Social Learning Theory (Bandura) suggests that behaviour is learned from our environment, for example we observe behaviours through a role model, we perform the behaviour (copy) then this mode of behaviour becomes accepted through reinforcement. For example, young footballer copies Wayne Rooney and kicks out at an opposition player, then gets praise from team-mates, this behaviour is reinforced, then the young player will do it more to create this sort of response again.This theory does the opposite of Instinct Theory and accepts the environmental stimuli however disregards the genetic influence, that we also know exists. These next two are Interactionist Theories that aim to combine environmental and genetic influences. Frustration Aggression Hypothesis suggests that frustration occurs when our goal-directed behaviour is blocked, and there is more frustration if the behaviour is outcome orientated. This hypothesis suggests that environmental build ups create a biological reaction as a cathartic release, if this release fails then we become more aggressive.For example, Jordan Mutch of Cardiff blocked Wayne Rooney from getting past so Wayne Rooney (goal blocked), Wayne Rooney got frustrated, Kicked out at Mutch and received a yellow card as punishment, this cathartic release failed. Aggression Cue Hypothesis suggests that frustration is equal to arousal; it creates a readiness for aggressi on. This aggression will only occur upon environmental cue. For example in football, being on the receiving end of a bad tackle provides the environmental cue which will increase arousal. If there is the presence of aggression, chances of aggression are increased dramatically.

Entrepreneurship Reflection Essay Essay

1. INTRODUCTION From this reflection, I am glad that I came to this talk because this kind of discussion taught me a lot on how to be a good and excellent entrepreneur. Maybe before I came, the first think we will think after being an entrepreneur is of course the profit that we gained. We never think about the responsibilities as a Muslim to do the job properly and wisely. Sometimes the entrepreneur itself forget to donate the money, to give zakat and others. We only think that the profit that the business can give us. But we forget that everything come from Allah and everything is his’. We do not absolutely own every single money that we earn. But of course if we earn it by ourselves the money is ours, but if we do not give zakat, the money is nothing to us as a Muslim. 2. REFLECTIONS ON KEY LEARNING POINT 2.1 Islamic entrepreneurship There are secrets to be a successful businessman which is following the way from the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).There are 10 qualities of Prophet Muhammad in being a successful person in business. First is honesty. Undoubtedly, no one can be more truthful and honest than the Messengers of God. Of course we must be honest on doing works to get barakah from Allah on what are we doing.. Second is trustworthy. Trustworthiness further enhances the integrity and sound moral conduct that is inherent in the notion of honesty. Being trustworthy implies being honest, fair in dealings and punctual as well as honoring trusts and keeping promises and commitments. The third one is flexibility. He always observed justice and equity while he was trading  and avoided telling lies and fraud, which was the practiced by many tradesmen. Prophet Muhammad was never strict in his business dealings with others. Sa’ib ibn al-Sa’ib relates: During the age of ignorance, I was his [the Prophetâ€⠄¢s] trade partner, and I found him the best of the partners in every respect. He neither argued with anyone nor was he obstinate and nor did he blame anything on his partner. Fourth is his consciousness of responsibility. In a hadith reported by Abdullah b. Omar Prophet Muhammad said: â€Å"We are all shepherds and we are all responsible for those who are under our hands (i.e. in our flocks). Fifth is good manner with his companions. The prophet was very close to his companions, and this is well known when one reads the detailed reports about the prophet’s biography. The sixth one is prophet Muhammad always seek his companions to consult with them. The Prophet (pbuh) would consult his companions, and take their opinions and points of view into consideration in issues and matters for which no textual proofs were revealed. The prophet (SAW) was concerned about his companions and would make sure that they were well. If he was told about a companion who was sick, he would rush to visit him with the companions that were present with him. Seventh is Prophet Muhammad would serve himself such as washed his own clothes and milked his sheep. The Prophet’s excellent manners, not only made him serve himself; rather, he would serve others as well. Next is he recognizes his companions’ skills. A good leader is one who sees the positive traits of his team members and invests in them. This is exactly what the Prophet (pbuh) did with his companions. There are many examples that show how the Prophet (pbuh) discovered where his companions excelled and how he utilized their potentials and wisely invested in them. The second last is correcting his companions’ mistakes. Correcting people’s mistakes is a Quranic guidance. The Quran has many references to situations in which a certain conduct is blamed and corrected. These situations apply to Muslims in general and to the Prophet (pbuh) himself. Last but not least is the gentleness of Prophet Muhammad. Gentleness is a key quality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). When he wanted to teach his companions, he used a very wise method which involved both respect for the recipient of such knowledge without embarrassing him. 2.2 Personality Type That Suit to Your New Venture There are 4 types of person after lots of researches has been done. First is sanguine. Sanguine is a sociable person. They laugh for the hard days, wise words when squeezed by the burden, creative, enthusiasm, and always have the energy to start. Sanguine love to be popular. They have a lot of friends. They love to talk, to perform, and help each other and they always curious. Sanguine love to be children forever. Second is choleric. Choleric is a strong person. They have a strong leadership. They are faithful, brave, and have the freedom to be on one’s own. They all forced and always want to make a change. Strong-willed and assertive, goal oriented, well organized, and they don’t really need friends. They always be the superior one in the emergency time. Next is melancholic. Melancholies is a sensitive person. Depth to see the heart and soul of life. Artistic to appreciate the art. They are thoughtfully, analytical, serious, and have a talent. They are perfectionist, so they love details. Last but not least is phlegmatic. Phlegmatic is a peaceful person. They always stable, patient, and have a compassion for the other. They always keep calm, when the other was in confusion. They are humble, silent, controlled, good listener, and always happy with their life. They always be the mediator, and easy to get along with. 2.3 SALES AND MARKETING For sales and marketing, there are 4 marketing techniques that can boost up our business. First is product. In the case of services, the â€Å"product† is intangible, heterogeneous and perishable. Moreover, its production and consumption are inseparable. Hence, there is scope for customizing the offering as per customer requirements, and the actual customer encounter therefore assumes particular significance. Second is price. Of all the aspects of the marketing mix, price is the one, which creates sales revenue – all the others are costs. The price of an item is clearly an important determinant of the value of sales made. In theory, price is really determined by the discovery of what customers perceive is the value of the item on sale. Next is place. Place is concerned with various methods of transporting and storing goods, and then making them available for the  customer. Getting the right product to the right place at the right time involves the distribution system. The choice of distribution method will depend on a variety of circumstances. The last one is promotion. Promotion is the business of communicating with customers. It will provide information that will assist them in making a decision to purchase a product or service. The successful promotion increases sales so that advertising and other costs are spread over a larger output. Though increased promotional activity is often a sign of a response to a problem such as competitive activity, it enables an organization to develop and build up a succession of messages and can be extremely cost-effective. CRITICAL FINDINGS 3.1 Islamic Entrepreneurship Islam is a complete way of life. There is no separation between business and religion. Islam has its own entrepreneurship culture and guiding principles based on the Al-Quran and Al-Hadith to guide business operation. The aim of the group is to highlight the guiding principles of entrepreneurship in Islam, especially in the Arab heritage, by Al-Quran, Al-Hadith and the entrepreneurial ethics based on example of conducts from Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). In business, entrepreneurs has to have objectives and targets but these are subservient to the ultimate objective of acquiring the blessing of Allah s.w.t. In Islam, to indulge in business is to perform an obligatory duty (fardhu kifayah). Profits gained from the business by entrepreneurs are merely incidental in the fulfillment of the fardhu kifayah. In business we must have a role model so that their actions can guide us in our development stages of life and more so, they help us make meaningful decisions. Many children grow up imitating their role model’s behavior, for example, if they see their role model smoking, then they are likely to smoke. We as Muslims have our own role model that can’t be changed even in another life none other than Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). There is no community has been without its righteous guides and teachers to help its people towards the truth and to lead them from the depths of darkness to the light of Islam. Aristotle believes that we learn to be moral (virtuous) by modeling the behavior of moral people. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has maintained the best characteristics in his roles as father, husband, friend, ruler, governor,  teacher, statesman, protector of the weak, widows, and poor, a guide to the rich, a guardian of the orphans, and a servant of Allah. No one could ever equal the Prophet (pbuh) in the whole history of mankind and no one ever will, insha Allah. 3.2 Personality Type That Suit to Your New Venture As for me, I would like meet new people, having works with bunch of friends so that we would not feel the works is burdensome for us and we also find that doing work in group is fun. As we know the more the merrier. Meeting new people will teach me to handle every kind or every type of people. I think the type of personality suits me best is sanguine. This is because I am a person who is very talkative an also extrovert. I am not good for keeping things inside. In the future I have planned to work not only in the office but have opportunities to meet new people so that I can increase the number of friends. I also like to socialize instead of having works in front of the computer for the whole day. I also tend to enjoy social gatherings. From the research, they state that sanguine personality is affected by chemical called dopamine, which makes these people intensely curious and creative. Their curiosity can be expressed in their love for reading and different kinds of knowledge and t hey usually possess high amounts of energy, so they may seem restless and spontaneous. Some findings also stated that if you have a sanguine business personality, your strengths lie in your interpersonal relationships. You’ve got people skills that are out of this world. People warm to you quickly and you understand how to make a good first impression. Your business relationships are solid and effective; social media and networking come easily to you. You’re probably very popular in your workplace amongst your co-workers as well as your clients. Even though like that, everyone must have their own negative sides in their own way. For sanguine we need a little help in the non-social aspects of owning a business. ‘On Your Own’ we may have trouble focusing when you’re working alone or you may find solo work boring and tedious. Timeliness Sanguine tend to be chronically late. You may have trouble getting in on time or keeping up with your appointments. Like any other bad habits, the first step is admitting that you’ve got a problem t ime management. Sanguine also often  struggle with leadership positions if they’re too concerned with how their employees see them. Of course it would be some good sides of a person and some bad sides. But, with such an extroverted business personality, we should not be afraid to focus on networking and building strong customer relationships. Just make sure that we’re not losing sight on the other aspects of your business; though your social interactions may have built your business, it’s the legwork that keeps it running. Your personality type might affects everything in your life. It is how we interact with others, how we spend our free time, how we build relationships. It even affects how we do business. This is why we need Islam in our life so that we do not go astray from what we should do. And this is one of the reason why we must have to make Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as a role model so that we know why we do all of this on this earth. 3.3 SALES AND MARKETING For IIC marketing and sales, they also follow the rules of marketing which are 4Ps. 1. Product This year (2013)2 certificates, 10 diploma programs and 2 degree programs are offered. For December 2013, online executive diploma program will be opened. Next year additional 2 certificate, 1 foundation, 7 diploma programs and 3 degree programs are offered for registered students. IIC also is IIUM branding which is apply Islamic values and also Intensive English classes. 2. Place IIC is placed at Taman Batu Muda, Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur. Batu Caves is a center of Malaysia. This is because Batu caves is one of the most popular temple in the world. So people might be easy to know the place of IIC by searching it in the internet. This place also easy access by public transportation. 3. Promotion There are some promotions has been held by IIC which are advertisements in newspapers and radio stations, participating in educational exhibitions locally and internationally and road Tour while conduct briefing and interview session nationwide. IIC also promotes using telemarketing and Facebook. They also held some programs with school counselors to persuade  the students to join IIC. Registered agents also has been practiced in IIC promoting actions. 4. Price Certificate – RM5,580 Diploma – RM14,260-RM18,400 Degree – RM42,000 (3 years), RM28,000 (2 Years) Registration fee of RM440/RM975- Cert/Diploma Registration fee of RM1,000/RM1,500- Degree Hostel Fee of RM250 per month From the talk we can see that the sales and marketing part for IIC has been given as listed above. It follows everything from the 4Ps. 4. ACTION PLAN After the speech given by the speakers, we can tell that IIC is a good high education institute because it is near to residential area and lots of facilities around the campus. This will ease the student of the institute to get the essential needs. As for me I will promote the institute to others as it offers the course that widely needed in this global industries. This campus also offers a very conducive environment of studies to help the students to develop their critical and logical thinking as well as develop their creativity and good personal traits. I also thinking about joining the road tour with IIC so that I can get some experience about marketing and promoting. From the road tour, IIC will distribute goody bags to provide all the information needed for the customers. I also will help to promote IIC using social network as we can see internet is the fastest to spread the information all over the cyber community. 5. CONCLUSION From the talk we can see that everything that has been discussed is important. First is they let us know that the qualities to be the best business man is we must have our role model which is Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) so that we will not go astray from what we should do and from we should be. They also taught us about the personality types exist so that we well prepared for anything happen in the future on how to overcome our emotion and our greediness and so on. Next is the 4Ps which are the most important  things in marketing and entrepreneurship. 4Ps stands for product, price, promotion and place. Every aspect must be clear before we run any business so that we know what exactly going on to our business.

Ban Chiang - Bronze Age Village and Cemetery in Thailand

Ban Chiang is an important Bronze Age village and cemetery site, located at the confluence of three small tributary streams in Udon Thani province, northeastern Thailand.  The site is one of the largest prehistoric Bronze Age sites in this part of Thailand, measuring at least 8 hectares (20 acres) in size. Excavated in the 1970s, Ban Chiang was one of the first extensive excavations in southeast Asia and among the earliest multi-disciplinary efforts in archaeology, with experts in many fields cooperating to produce a fully realized picture of the site.  As a result, Ban Chiangs complexity, with a fully-developed Bronze Age metallurgy but lacking the weaponry so often associated with it in Europe and the rest of the world, was a revelation. Living in Ban Chiang Like many long-occupied cities of the world, the present day town of Ban Chiang is a tell: it was built on top of the cemetery and older village remains; cultural remains have been found in some places as deep at 13 feet (4 meters) below the modern day surface. Because of the relatively continuous occupation of the site for perhaps as long as 4,000 years, the evolution of the premetal to Bronze to Iron Age can be traced. Artifacts include distinctive highly varied ceramics known as the Ban Chiang Ceramic Tradition. Decorative techniques found on pottery at Ban Chiang include black incised and red painted on buff colorations; cord-wrapped paddle, S-shaped curves and swirling incisions motifs; and pedestaled, globular, and carinated vessels, to name just a few of the variations. Also included among the artifact assemblages are iron and bronze jewelry and implements, and glass, shell, and stone objects. With some of the childrens burials were found some intricately carved baked clay rollers, which purpose nobody at the moment knows. Debating the Chronology The central debate at the core of Ban Chiang research concerns the dates of occupation  and their implications about the onset and cause of the Bronze Age in southeast Asia. Two main competing theories about the timing of the southeast Asian Bronze Age are called the Short Chronology Model (abbreviated SCM and based originally on excavations at Ban Non Wat) and the Long Chronology Model (LCM, based on excavations at Ban Chiang), a reference to the length of period noted by the original excavators compared to that of elsewhere in southeast Asia. Periods / Layers Age LCM SCM Late Period (LP) X, IX Iron 300 BC-AD 200 Middle Period (MP) VI-VIII Iron 900-300 BC 3rd-4th c BC Early Period Upper (EP) V Bronze 1700-900 BC 8th-7th c BC Early Period Lower (EP) I-IV Neolithic 2100-1700 BC 13th-11th c BC Initial Period ca 2100 BC Sources: White 2008 (LCM); Higham, Douka and Higham 2015 (SCM) The main differences between the short and long chronologies stem from a result of different sources for radiocarbon dates. LCM is based on organic temper (rice particles) in clay vessels; SCM dates are based on human bone collagen and shell: all are to a degree problematic. The main theoretical difference, however, is the route by which northeastern Thailand received copper and bronze metallurgy. Short proponents argue that northern Thailand was populated by a migration of southern Chinese Neolithic populations into mainland southeast Asia; Long proponents argue that the southeast Asian metallurgy was stimulated by trade and exchange with mainland China. These theories are bolstered with discussion of the timing for specific bronze casting in the region, established in the Shang Dynasty perhaps as early as the Erlitou period. Also part of the discussion is how the Neolithic/Bronze age societies were organized: were the advances seen in Ban Chiang driven by elites migrating in from China, or were they propelled by a native, non-hierarchical system (heterarchy)? The most recent discussion on these and related issues was published in the journal Antiquity in Autumn 2015.   Archaeology at Ban Chiang Legend has it that Ban Chiang was discovered by a clumsy American college student, who fell in the road of the present town of Ban Chiang, and found ceramics eroding out of the road bed. The first excavations at the site were conducted in 1967 by archaeologist Vidya Intakosai, and subsequent excavations were conducted in the mid-1970s by the Fine Arts Department in Bangkok and the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Chester F. Gorman and Pisit Charoenwongsa. Sources For information on on-going investigations at Ban Chiang, see the Ban Chiang Project webpage at the Institute for Southeast Asian Archaeology at Pennsylvania State. Bellwood P. 2015. Ban Non Wat: crucial research, but is it too soon for certainty? Antiquity 89(347):1224-1226. Higham C, Higham T, Ciarla R, Douka K, Kijngam A, and Rispoli F. 2011. The Origins of the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia. Journal of World Prehistory 24(4):227-274. Higham C, Higham T, and Kijngam A. 2011. Cutting a Gordian Knot: the Bronze Age of Southeast Asia: origins, timing and impact. Antiquity 85(328):583-598. Higham CFW. 2015. Debating a great site: Ban Non Wat and the wider prehistory of Southeast Asia. Antiquity 89(347):1211-1220. Higham CFW, Douka K, and Higham TFG. 2015. A New Chronology for the Bronze Age of Northeastern Thailand and Its Implications for Southeast Asian Prehistory. PLoS ONE 10(9):e0137542. King CL, Bentley RA, Tayles N, Vià °arsdà ³ttir US, Nowell G, and Macpherson CG. 2013. Moving peoples, changing diets: isotopic differences highlight migration and subsistence changes in the Upper Mun River Valley, Thailand. Journal of Archaeological Science 40(4):1681-1688. Oxenham MF. 2015. Mainland Southeast Asia: towards a new theoretical approach. Antiquity 89(347):1221-1223. Pietrusewsky M, and Douglas MT. 2001. Intensification of Agriculture at Ban Chiang: Is There Evidence from the Skeletons? Asian Perspectives 40(2):157-178. Pryce TO. 2015. Ban Non Wat: mainland Southeast Asian chronological anchor and waypoint for future prehistoric research. Antiquity 89(347):1227-1229. White J. 2015. Comment on ‘Debating a great site: Ban Non Wat and the wider prehistory of Southeast Asia’. Antiquity 89(347):1230-1232. White JC. 2008. Dating early Bronze at Ban Chiang, Thailand. EurASEAA 2006. White JC, and Eyre CO. 2010. Residential Burial and the Metal Age of Thailand. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 20(1):59-78. White JC, and Hamilton EG. 2014. The Transmission of Early Bronze Technology to Thailand: New Perspectives. In: Roberts BW, and Thornton CP, editors. Archaeometallurgy in Global Perspective: Springer New York. p 805-852.