Housing and the Inclusive Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Housing and the Inclusive Society - Essay Example In addition, private rented sector has actively participated in creating opportunities for provision of adequate homes that are accessible and convenient for in terms of prices and affordability to socially excluded groups. According to the EU, social inclusion involves a process of including people in societal activities who risk exclusion through poverty, unemployment, or homelessness; this includes exclusion from participation in decision-making processes (Spandler, 2007; European Commission, 2010). In this paper, there will be a discussion on the contribution of the private rented sector in promoting social inclusion or social exclusion, followed by an evaluation of the lesson learnt by social housing about social inclusion. Effect of Private Rented Sector on Social exclusion Private rented sector is usually a commercially operated environment such that those providing social housing must look forward to making profits. In this case, the State does not have a direct role in dicta ting housing provision, but can only provide guidelines on housing standards that landlords should meet. Therefore, it is a common phenomenon to see housing providers excluding some people based on various reasons (Hayes, Gray and Edwards, 2008; Le Grand, 2003). First, in relation to rental fees (price), allocation of housing may exclude some people based on their incomes. For instance, rental charges may be prohibitive for low-income earners, as well as those people who do not get housing benefits from their employment (Hulse and Burke, 2000). Another factor of housing allocation that promotes social exclusion is facilities allocation in housing such that the landlords usually fix heating and fuel systems within houses, which make accommodation expensive. In this case, tenants may be rebuffed from accessing housing due to extra cost of heating and fuel, or they may have to dedicate much of their resources to such costs in expense of other basic needs (Hulse and Burke, 2000). Thirdl y, social housing may discriminate disabled population from accessing housing due to the architectural design of houses. It is evident that majority of houses are constructed without consideration the accessibility of wheelchair users to the buildings; the same can be said for blind people. Fourthly, there are instances when landlord put conditions on who should be rented accommodation. For instance, landlords, driven by desire to make money and avoid the stress of demanding delayed or unpaid rent, may decide that only people from a certain level of income, certain employment sectors, race, religion or sexual orientation should be provided with housing, thus discriminating against those who do not qualify (Kleinman, 1998), despite this being unlawful. Fifthly, it is possible that some people will not have sufficient information on where to secure housing of their class and in such cases, they may be excluded from housing. For instance, potential tenants may find it difficult locatin g affordable housing especially in new and unfamiliar locations, thus finding themselves occupying houses that are beyond their reach (Hulse and Burke, 2000). Finally, private rented houses may not be equitably allocated in terms of location, with such houses being concentrated or exclusively located in certain areas. In this case, although it may be motivated by issues such as security, people who have to make

The origin of the third world plight Essay Example for Free

The origin of the third world plight Essay Thesis The Third world countries have continued to witness some of the most challenging times in their quest for real development that would catapult their economies to march those ones of the first worlds. However these countries have been bedeviled by major obstacles of bad governance, corruption, and exploitation by the first world countries. Of great concern has been the contribution of major world bodies that have continued to impoverish these economies in the name of supporting them. The World Bank stands out as one of the culprits. Introduction Many times is when some people do not understand what is meant by the term ‘third world plight’. This in terms means, they are those countries that still are developing. The third world countries are greatly in substantial indebt ness according to statistics. More than 50% of the people living in third world countries are living below the poverty line: this is below a dollar a day. It is reckoning, how this is happening, but the World Bank has attributed all this. In 1986 –1987, the World Bank’s president Barber Conable said that the World Bank had been a great success, yet it only oppresses the governments in the third world countries. In 1962, Robert McNamara who was the bank’s president led it to achieve higher loans levels and by the time he was resigning in 1981, the levels had increased from $883 million to over $12 billion. (James Bovard) McNamara and the World Bank supported Nyerere’s dictatorial regime and the bank gave more aid to Tanzania hence the cause of the current misery of the Tanzanian people. This kind of act by the World Bank was wanting, as it only devastated the third world countries. In late 1970’s, the World Bank also financed the Vietnamese’s government thus encouraging their brutal policies that brought about a lot of deaths of the boat people in the south sea. The bank was to finance an irrigation project that was risky, as it would be subjected to rebellion among the farmers. Farmers who resisted the project ended up being drowned in the sea. (James Bovard) The World Bank lent $600million to the Indonesian government to forcibly remove people from Java Island and resettle them in the barren islands. It was due to this transmigration, that violence erupted in Indonesia, leading to the deaths of thousands of people. Despite this fact, the bank termed this as the â€Å"largest voluntary migration.† This was clarion of the banks hypocrisy as it violated human’s rights. The bank provided capital to the Ethiopian Marxist regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam. (James Bovard)   In 1984 – 1985, Ethiopia was struck by famine and this forced the government to forcibly deport people in northern Ethiopia to the south. It is believed that more deaths occurred as would have been caused by the famine. The government introduced the villagilization program but many people still rebelled against it and were killed. Despite of all this happenings, the bank still continued to lend money, as it was not concerned with the citizens but seemed to provide more help to the bureaucrats and politicians. (James Bovard) The World bank is highly to blame on the poverty in the third world countries as it uses to pressure to this countries to lend more money than which is borrowed. The audit of Madagascar Morondava Irrigation and Rural Development Project is a good example, where by the new government was pressured by the bank to accept the project so as to be submitted to the executive directors. It is evident that the World Bank gave wrong advice to the third world countries and it’s clearly brought in Western Africa in the project of promoting cocoa and coffee. This simply failed because the bank had encouraged the farmers to grow cash crops in unsuitable soils. (Barbara G 18) The world bank in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s aim, was to lend money in order to boost food production in Africa and other developing countries but this did not happen as almost 20% of the food production had fallen because much of the bank’s investments went to big irrigation schemes and state farms thus wastage of money. It is due to the bank’s poor investments that dragged down the entire economies of the third world countries. (Peter T. Bauer 21) In 1980, the world began Structural Adjustment Loans programs that encouraged policy reforms. Most of these loans were mainly going to the governments of the third world countries in repaying their debts to the bank or the international momentary fund. In 1984, a statement from a world bank’s official was bizarre, as he said, â€Å"if china is to maintain a reasonable growth rate and manageable debt service payments, it will need to obtain the necessary additional foreigner capital at an average interest rate below the market rate.† This implied that even investments in the third world countries would not be greater than the banks interest hence putting third world countries into deeper poverty’(Peter T. Bauer 23)    Problems faced by the third world countries Malnutrition- a good example is in Kenya whereby a bank report found severe malnutrition widespread among the beneficiaries. Barbara Gunnell concluded ‘the real loser is the Kenyan government, or future generations of Kenyans who will go on paying the World Bank interest on the loan.’ This was due to the fact that the bank had invested $20 million in Bura irrigation but when the then president Daniel Moi toured Bura he found ‘eroded irrigation canals, abandoned plots, poor crops, tumbledown and unsanitary housing, zebra grazing on irrigated land and on air of decay’(Peter T. Bauer 23) Diseases -a lot of diseases have become wide spread in these third world countries and they include; The AIDS pandemic, malaria, cholera among others. Poor infrastructure- poor insfrastructure has become a major threat to these countries as many accidents occur though roads that are constructed well but the cost of maintenance is quite high hence they become dilapidated. (Peter T. Bauer 24) Desertification- an example is in Botswana whereby two livestock projects that were to promote cattle rising resulted to overgrazing. The bank further introduced a third livestock project despite the fact that it led to overgrazing. (Peter T. Bauer 26) Displacement- the bank is spending about half a billion dollars in the largest westwards-flowing river in India to dam it. This was proved that it would end up displacing thousands of people and destroying a lot of land but the World Bank went ahead with its plan. Insecurity- the third world countries have been faced with high rate of insecurity as foreign direct investments have been directed to other regions hence of no benefits to these countries as high crime rates still continues. (Peter T. Bauer 33) Poverty – many people in the third world countries are living below the poverty line due to the indebt ness that they have to their donors, international momentary fund and the World Bank. (Peter T. Bauer 34) Conclusion It is evident that though the World Bank has helped these countries, it is majorly to blame for dragging their economies. For all countries in the world to be at par, it only would be best to cancel of, the debt of the so-called third world countries. The bank ought to encourage reductions in lending capital to enable these countries economies to grow. It could also not lend capital that will be of bad use, as this only benefits politicians of these countries and continues to deteriorate their economies. Works Cited Barbara Gunnell, The Great Bura Irrigation Scheme Disaster, African Business (April  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1986): 18. James Bovard: The World Bank vs. the World Poor: Policy Analysis: Retrieved on 13th May 2008 from http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa092.html Peter T. Bauer: Equality. The Third World. And Economic Delusion: Cambridge, Harvard  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   University Press, 1981 p. 21.

Feminism In The Handmaids Tale Essay -- Feminism Feminist Women Criti

Feminism In The Handmaid's Tale      Ã‚  Ã‚   Feminism as we know it began in the mid 1960's as the Women's Liberation Movement. Among its chief tenants is the idea of women's empowerment, the idea that women are capable of doing and should be allowed to do anything men can do. Feminists believe that neither sex is naturally superior. They stand behind the idea that women are inherently just as strong and intelligent as the so-called stronger sex. Many writers have taken up the cause of feminism in their work. One of the most well known writers to deal with feminist themes is Margaret Atwood. Her work is clearly influenced by the movement and many literary critics, as well as Atwood herself, have identified her as a feminist writer. However, one of Atwood's most successful books, The Handmaid's Tale, stands in stark contrast to the ideas of feminism. In fact, the female characters in the novel are portrayed in such a way that they directly conflict with the idea of women's empowerment.    On the surface, The Handmaid's Tale appears to be feminist in nature. The point-of-view character and narrator is a woman and thus we see the world through a woman's eyes. There's much more to the story than that, though. Atwood doesn't show us our world. She shows us a newly created world in which women lack the freedoms that they currently take for granted. This dystopian society is completely controlled by men. Of course, the men have help from the Aunts, a crack team of brainwashers that run the reeducation centers and teach the handmaids how to be slaves. These characters really don't speak well for womankind for two reasons. First of all, it's difficult to tell who their real life counterpart is, assuming that this... ...st writers. It's obvious that Atwood intentionally set herself apart from these writers with The Handmaid's Tale. At times, she seems to disagree with them completely, such as when she shows pornography in a favorable manner. At other times, she portrays feminists themselves as the powerful women they would like to be seen as, but it's always with full disclosure of their human frailty. Atwood never bashes feminism. Instead, she shows both sides of it. Like everything else in the novel, feminism is shown to have good and bad elements. Even in Atwood's brave new world, there is no black and white.    Sources Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Fawcett Crest, 1985. Moore, Pamela, Atwood, Margaret: The Handmaid's Tale. Boston, MS: Houghton Mifflin, 1986. Internet www.wsu.edu:8000/~brains/science_fiction/handmaid.html   

Organic Nomenclature and Functional Groups Essay

Learning how to name and draw the structure of the various compounds is the first step in learning to speak the language of organic chemistry. Chapter 1 presented organic chemistry as the chemistry of the carbon atom. However, many organic compounds contain other atoms besides carbon that contribute significantly to the physical and chemical properties of the compound. Chemists call these atoms heteroatoms, and the groups they form, functional groups. This chapter provides an overview of the rules for naming organic www. ochem4free. com 5 July 2005 Organic Chemistry – Ch 2 73 Daley & Daley compounds. It also introduces the major functional groups that you will encounter as you study organic chemistry along with the rules of how to name them and draw their structures. The presence of heteroatoms radically changes the physical and chemical properties of the compounds to which they are bonded. In fact, the carbon— heteroatom bonds and the carbon—carbon multiple bonds are the main sites where chemical reactions take place. Organic compounds are arranged into classes according to the particular functional groups that they contain. Members of each class of compounds share common chemical and physical characteristics. The names of organic compounds are assigned according to the class of the compound as determined by the functional groups. This chapter also shows how to draw the structural representations of these compounds. 2. 1 Drawing Organic Structures A two-dimensional structural formula of a hydrocarbon shows all of the atoms with all of their bonds in the plane of the page. Molecules are actual, three-dimensional entities. Their structure is a major factor that determines their physical properties and the way one molecule interacts with another molecule. These bonds are combinations of single bonds with hydrogen atoms and single or multiple bonds with other carbon atoms. For molecules that contain a large number of atoms or complex structures, drawing every bond and every atom is time and space consuming. A common notation developed to abbreviate the drawing without sacrificing the clarity of the structure is the condensed structural formula shown below for heptane: CH3 CH2 CH2 CH2 CH2 CH2 CH3 Heptane www. ochem4free. com 5 July 2005 Organic Chemistry – Ch 2 74 Daley & Daley Taking out the lines representing the carbon—carbon bonds condenses this formula still more: CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 Heptane Heptane has five repeating —CH2— groups, called methylene groups. Because many organic molecules have such repetitive groups, an even more condensed notation shows these repeating units. Using this notation, the formula for heptane is as follows: CH3(CH2)5CH3 Heptane Bond-line formulas represent the carbon atoms as the intersection of lines and as line ends. You assume all the hydrogens needed to complete carbon’s valences. The bond-line structural formula is the notation that most organic chemists prefer to use. Bond-line formulas are easy to draw and quickly convey the essential structure of a molecule. Both the ends and the angles of the structure represent the carbon atoms. C—H bonds are not shown, but you should assume that the appropriate number of hydrogen atoms is present to complete the four bonds required by carbon to have its octet of electrons. The bond-line formula for heptane looks like this: Heptane Not all hydrocarbons are straight chains; many are rings. Chemists use the same structural formulas for them. Because the illustration of the two-dimensional structural formula of methylcyclopentane is so cluttered, it does not clearly show the ring. H H H C C H C C C H H CH HH H HH Methylcyclopentane The condensed structural formula is clearer. www. ochem4free. com 5 July 2005 Organic Chemistry – Ch 2 75 Daley & Daley CH2 CH2 CH CH2 CH3 CH2 Methylcyclopentane The bond-line structural formula is even clearer. Thus, chemists use it most frequently. Methylcyclopentane Often, chemists combine the bond-line and condensed notations to clarify a structure or emphasize specific features. This formula also represents methylcyclopentane. CH3 Methylcyclopentane Exercise 2. 1 Redraw each of the following condensed structural formulas using the bond-line notation.

Nintendo market analysis

1.   Who is the market?Nintendo is a gaming company. The company’s gaming is almost entirely concentrated on electronic games and interactive entertainment. Its main products are video games, handheld games and console games (Nintendo Corporate)2. Who is the target market?The target market of gaming companies are people in the age group of 5-34 years. However, the growth in this industry is occurring in the demographic of 18-34 years (Rye)3.   Who is the served market?The primary target market which Nintendo serves is to the 5-17 year old gamers. However, choice for buying such games lie with their parents, Nintendo also has an indirect target in them (Rye)4. What is the size of the target market?Currently the Video game market is $19 billion dollars, with about $8.4 billion dollar market in US, and $9.8 billion dollar market in the Asia Pacific region (Kolodny 2006)5. How fast is the market growing (%/yr)?PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that by 2010 the video game market should grow to $46.5 billion. This means an average compount annual growth rate of 11.4%. The US market is likely to grow at the rate of 8.8%, to hit $13 billion in 2010, and the Asia Pacific market is likely to grow at the rate of 12.3% to hit $17.4 billion by 2010 (Kolodny 2006)6.   How far the market is penetrated (%)?Nintendo of America has achieved remarkable market penetration. It's estimated that 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system (Brown 2007). Worldwide Nintendo’s market share is 21.2% (Shim 2005)7. What are customers` current needs?Currently the video game customers need games which are aimed at adults rather than kids. The game market for kids, has reached its saturation, and the need of the hour is building games aimed for older people (Borow 2003)8.   What are customers` future needs?In future, with the wider spread in online and wireless games, customers need to have video games which will be less expensive and portable. They would a lso need to have these systems easily run in a network, which is the prime reason for the rage of PC games (Jackson)9.   What are current distribution channels?Nintendo’s products can be either brought off the shelf from various game shops; currently there are many games which could be played online too. In addition, Nintendo also plans to go in for digital distribution with the Wii and Virtual console distribution channels (Nintendo Corporate)10. How price-sensitive are customers?Nintendo was earlier known for price fixing, when the customers were more interested in the product than the price. The advents of wireless and online games have reversed the trend, where the customer goes for buying the least expensive of the products, if the quality is good (Molnar 2007)11.   What is the current pricing strategy?The current pricing strategy of Nintendo is by continuing their investment with the GameCube. This has allowed them to keep hardware development and manufacturing cost s down. This has made theme only current generation console that has profited from the hardware at the time of launch (Molnar 2007)12. What are some market/customer trends?Despite the great figures of growth etc, the market share for the console markets will be decrease with respect to the entire gaming market. This is due to the shifting of customer interests from console games to online and wireless games, which are seeing an explosive growth rate (Kolodny 2006).ReferencesBorow J, â€Å"Why Nintendo won’t grow up†, January 2003,https://www.wired.com/2003/01/nintendo-4/Brown R, â€Å"Achieving a fast Return on investment†, 2007http://www.hytrol.com/web/casestudy.cfm?id=35Jackson, â€Å"Where you should compete†,http://www.lek.com/UserFiles/File/Jackson_ch01.pdfKolodny L, â€Å"Global Video game market set to explode†, 23rd June 2006, Nintendo Market Analysis Who is the market? Nintendo is a gaming company. The company’s gaming is almost entirely concentrated on electronic games and interactive entertainment. Its main products are video games, handheld games and console games (Nintendo Corporate)Who is the target market? The target market of gaming companies are people in the age group of 5-34 years. However, the growth in this industry is occurring in the demographic of 18-34 years (Rye)Who is the served market? The primary target market which Nintendo serves is to the 5-17 year old gamers. However, choice for buying such games lie with their parents, Nintendo also has an indirect target in them (Rye)What is the size of the target market? Currently the Video game market is $19 billion dollars, with about $8.4 billion dollar market in US, and $9.8 billion dollar market in the Asia Pacific region (Kolodny 2006)How fast is the market growing (%/yr)? PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that by 2010 the video game market should grow to $46 .5 billion. This means an average compount annual growth rate of 11.4%. The US market is likely to grow at the rate of 8.8%, to hit $13 billion in 2010, and the Asia Pacific market is likely to grow at the rate of 12.3% to hit $17.4 billion by 2010 (Kolodny 2006)How far the market is penetrated (%)? Nintendo of America has achieved remarkable market penetration. It's estimated that 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system (Brown 2007). Worldwide Nintendo’s market share is 21.2% (Shim 2005)What are customers` current needs? Currently the video game customers need games which are aimed at adults rather than kids. The game market for kids, has reached its saturation, and the need of the hour is building games aimed for older people (Borow 2003)What are customers` future needs? In future, with the wider spread in online and wireless games, customers need to have video games which will be less expensive and portable. They would also need to have these systems e asily run in a network, which is the prime reason for the rage of PC games (Jackson)What are current distribution channels? Nintendo’s products can be either brought off the shelf from various game shops; currently there are many games which could be played online too. In addition, Nintendo also plans to go in for digital distribution with the Wii and Virtual console distribution channels (Nintendo Corporate)How price-sensitive are customers? Nintendo was earlier known for price fixing, when the customers were more interested in the product than the price. The advents of wireless and online games have reversed the trend, where the customer goes for buying the least expensive of the products, if the quality is good (Molnar 2007)What is the current pricing strategy? The current pricing strategy of Nintendo is by continuing their investment with the GameCube. This has allowed them to keep hardware development and manufacturing costs down. This has made theme only current generat ion console that has profited from the hardware at the time of launch (Molnar 2007)What are some market/customer trends? Despite the great figures of growth etc, the market share for the console markets will be decrease with respect to the entire gaming market. This is due to the shifting of customer interests from console games to online and wireless games, which are seeing an explosive growth rate (Kolodny 2006).ReferencesBorow J, â€Å"Why Nintendo won’t grow up†, January 2003,http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.01/nintendo.htmlBrown R, â€Å"Achieving a fast Return on investment†, 2007http://www.hytrol.com/casestudy.cfm?id=35Jackson, â€Å"Where you should compete†,http://www.lek.com/UserFiles/File/Jackson_ch01.pdfKolodny L, â€Å"Global Video game market set to explode†, 23rd June 2006,http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/jun2006/id20060623_163211.htmMolnar J, â€Å"The Wii Played an impressive opening†, 22nd March 2007,http:/ /blogs.spouting-tech.com/thepensivegamer/2007/03/the_nintendo_wi.htmlâ€Å"Nintendo Corporate†, http://www.nintendo.com/corp/Rye C, â€Å"Market Research: Nintendo DS – Marketing strategy†http://court.ryefamily.net/files/Nintendo-DS-Marketing.docShim R, â€Å"Next-gen Consoles take front stage†, 12th May 2005,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/features/stories/121828.html

American Farmers in the West essays

American Farmers in the West essays In Americas history, farmers have always played an important role. In the later part of the 19th century, farmers moved to the west. The farmers of the West were economically vulnerable due to factors beyond their control. Environmental conditions greatly affected the farmers economy. The lack of government protection of farmers put the farmers in a difficult economic position. The mortgage companies, which controlled the farmers land, caused the farmers to go further into debt. Mother Natures wrath severely harmed the farmers. First, floods caused the erosion of the land and destroyed the scarce fertile topsoil. Farmers, who were suffering from a loss due to the weather damaging the crops, now had to buy overly expensive fertilizer to repair the land before next seasons crops had to be planted. Second, droughts plagued the trans-Mississippi west. Due to the lack of production due to the lack of water like Powell had warned people, farmers left the farms. One poet describes the conditions of the drought as fifty miles to water. New farming methods called dry-farming had to be used to make use of the land that got little water. The new farming methods ultimately made to soil useless and created the Dust-Bowl. Last, extreme heat caused farmers to abandon their farms. The heat led to a poor production of crops and crops not suited to be sold. Because of the hot temperatures, fires could occur in the dry wheat and rye fields and on the sods twig-thatc hed and sun-baked houses. The dangers of fire, dehydration, and flooding mixed with the insufficient production of crops caused the farmers to leave their farms or stay and live off of virtually a nonproductive piece of property. The lack of government aid and protection of the farmers resulted in the farmers economic sufferings. First, the Homestead Act was supposed to be a g...

Battle of Fishers Hill in the American Civil War

Battle of Fishers Hill in the American Civil War Battle of Fishers Hill - Conflict Date: The Battle of Fishers Hill was fought September 21-22, 1864, during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Armies Commanders: Union Major General Philip H. Sheridan29,444 men Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early9,500 men Battle of Fishers Hill - Background: In June 1864, with his army besieged at Petersburg by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, General Robert E. Lee detached Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early with orders to operate in the Shenandoah Valley.   The goal of this was to have Early reverse Confederate fortunes  in the region which had been sustained a blow due to Major General David Hunters victory at Piedmont  earlier in the month.   Additionally, Lee hoped that Earlys men would divert some Union forces away from Petersburg.   Arriving at Lynchburg, Early was able to force Hunter to withdraw into West Virginia and then drove down  (north) the valley.   Entering into Maryland, he pushed aside a scratch Union force at the Battle of Monocacy on July 9.  Ã‚  Responding  to this new threat, Grant ordered Major General Horatio G. Wrights VI Corps north from the siege lines to reinforce Washington, DC.   Though Early threatened the capital later in July, he lacked the forces to mount a meaningful assault on th e Union defenses.   With little other choice, he withdrew back to the Shenandoah. Battle of Fishers Hill - Sheridan Takes Command: Weary of Earlys activities, Grant created the Army of the Shenandoah on August 1 and appointed his cavalry chief, Major General Philip H. Sheridan, to lead it.   Composed of Wrights VI Corps, Brigadier General William Emorys XIX Corps, Major General George Crooks VIII Corps (Army of West Virginia), and three  divisions of cavalry under Major General Alfred Torbert,  this new formation received orders to eliminate Confederate forces in the Valley and render the  region worthless as a source of supplies for Lee.   Moving south from Harpers Ferry, Sheridan initially showed caution and probed to ascertain Earlys strength.   Leading four  infantry and two cavalry divisions, Early misinterpreted Sheridans early  tentativeness as  over-caution and permitted his command to be strung out between Martinsburg and Winchester. Battle of Fishers Hill - Gibraltar of the Shenandoah Valley: In mid-September, having gained an understanding of Earlys forces, Sheridan moved against the Confederates at Winchester.   In the Third Battle of Winchester (Opequon) his forces inflicted a severe defeat on the enemy and sent Early reeling south.   Seeking to recover, Early reformed his men along Fishers Hill just south of Strasburg.   A strong position, the hill was situated at a point where the valley narrowed with Little North Mountain to the west and Massanutten Mountain to the east.   Additionally, the north side of Fishers Hill possessed a steep slope and was fronted by a creek named Tumbling Run.   Known as the Gibraltar of the Shenandoah Valley, Earlys men occupied the heights and prepared to meet Sheridans advancing Union forces.    Though Fishers Hill offered a strong position, Early lacked sufficient forces to cover the four miles between the two mountains.   Anchoring his right on Massanutten, he deployed the divisions of Brigadier General Gabriel C. Wharton, Major General John B. Gordon, Brigadier General John Pegram, and Major General Stephen D. Ramseur in a line extending east to west.   To bridge the gap between Ramseurs left flank and Little North Mountain, he employed Major General Lunsford L. Lomaxs cavalry division in a dismounted role.   With the arrival of Sheridans army on September 20, Early began to realize the danger of his position and that his left was extremely weak.   As a result, he began making plans for a retreat further south to begin on the evening of September 22.      Battle of Fishers Hill - The Union Plan: Meeting with his corps commanders on September 20, Sheridan rejected mounting a frontal assault against Fishers Hill as it would cause heavy losses and had a questionable chance of success.   Subsequent discussions resulted in a plan to strike Earlys right near Massanutten.   While this was endorsed by Wright and Emory, Crook had reservations as any movement in that area would be visible to the Confederate signal station atop Massanutten.   Adjourning the meeting, Sheridan reconvened the group that evening to discuss a thrust against the Confederate left.   Crook, with support from one of his brigade commanders, future president Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes, argued in favor of this approach while Wright, who did not wish his men to be relegated to a secondary role, fought against it.   When Sheridan approved of the plan, Wright attempted to secure leading the flank attack for VI Corps.   This was blocked by Hayes who reminded the Union commander that VIII Corps had spent much of the war fighting in the mountains and was better equipped to traverse the difficult terrain of Little North Mountain than VI Corps.   Resolving to move forward with the plan, Sheridan directed Crook to begin quietly moving his men into position.   That night, VIII Corps formed in heavy woods north of Cedar Creek and out of sight of the enemy signal station (Map). Battle of Fishers Hill - Turning the Flank: On September 21, Sheridan advanced VI and XIX Corps towards Fishers Hill.   Nearing the enemy lines, VI Corps occupied a small hill and began deploying its artillery.   Having remained concealed all day, Crooks men commenced moving again that evening and arrived at another concealed position north of Hupps Hill.   On the morning of the 21st, they ascended the east face of Little North Mountain and marched southwest.   Around 3:00 PM, Brigadier General Bryan Grimes reported to Ramseur that enemy troops were on their left.   After initially dismissing Grimes claim, Ramseur then saw Crooks men approaching through his field glasses.   Despite this, he refused to send more forces to the left end of the line until he discussed it with Early. In position by 4:00 PM, Crooks two divisions, led by Hayes and Colonel Joseph Thoburn, commenced their attack on Lomaxs flank.   Driving in the Confederate pickets, they quickly routed Lomaxs men and pressed on towards Ramseurs division.   As VIII Corps began to engage Ramseurs men it was joined on its left by Brigadier General James B. Ricketts division from VI Corps.   Additionally, Sheridan directed the remainder of VI Corps and XIX Corps to pressure Earlys front.   In an attempt to rescue the situation, Ramseur directed Brigadier General Cullen A. Battles brigade on his left to refuse back to face Crooks men.   Though Battles men mounted a fierce resistance, they were soon overwhelmed.   Ramseur then sent Brigadier General  William R. Cox’s brigade to aid Battle.   This force became lost in the confusion of the fight and played little role in the engagement. Pressing forward, Crook and Ricketts next rolled Grimes brigade as enemy resistance faltered.   With his line shattered, Early began directing his men to withdraw south.   One of his staff officers, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Pendleton, attempted to mount a rearguard action on the Valley Turnpike but was mortally wounded.   As the Confederates retreated in confusion, Sheridan ordered a pursuit in the hopes of dealing Early a fatal blow.   Chasing the enemy south, the Union troops finally broke off their efforts near Woodstock. Battle of Fishers Hill - Aftermath: A stunning success for Sheridan, the Battle of Fishers Hill saw his troops capture nearly 1,000 of Earlys men while killing 31 and wounding around 200.   Union losses included 51 killed and around 400 wounded.   As Early escaped south, Sheridan commenced laying waste to the lower part of the Shenandoah Valley.   Reorganizing his command, Early attacked the Army of the Shenandoah on October 19 while Sheridan was away.   Though the fighting at the Battle of Cedar Creek initially favored the Confederates, Sheridans return later in the day led to a change in fortunes with Earlys men being driven from the field.   The defeat effectively gave control of the valley to the Union and eliminated Earlys army as an effective force.    Selected Sources Civil War Trust: Battle of Fishers HillShenandoah at War: Battle of Fishers HillHistoryNet: Battle of Fishers Hill