John Coltrane Essays - John Coltrane, Miles Davis,

John Coltrane Jazz, taking its roots in African American folk music, has evolved, metamorphosed, and transposed itself over the last century to become a truly American art form. More than any other type of music, it places special emphasis on innovative individual interpretation. Instead of relying on a written score, the musician improvises. For each specific period or style through which jazz has gone through over the past seventy years, there is almost always a single person who can be credited with the evolution of that sound. From Thelonius Monk, and his bebop, to Miles Davis' cool jazz, from Dizzy Gillespie's big band to John Coltrane's free jazz; America's music has been developed, and refined countless times through individual experimentation and innovation. One of the most influential musicians in the development of modern jazz is John Coltrane. In this paper, I examine the way in which Coltrane's musical innovations were related to the music of the jazz greats of his era and to the tribulations and tragedies of his life. John William Coltrane was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, on September 23, 1926. Two months later, his family moved to High Point, North Carolina, where he lived in a fairly well-to-do part of town. He grew up in a typical southern black family, deeply religious, and steeped in tradition. Both of his parents were musicians, his father played the violin and ukulele, and his mother was a member of the church choir. For several years, young Coltrane played the clarinet, however with mild interest. It was only after he heard the great alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges playing with the Duke Ellington band on the radio, that he became passionate about music. He dropped the clarinet and took up the alto saxophone, soon becoming very accomplished. When Coltrane was thirteen, he experienced several tragedies that would leave a lasting impression on him and would have a great impact on the music of his later years. Within a year, his father, his uncle, and his minister all died. He lost every important male influence in his life. After graduating from high school in High Point, he moved to Philadelphia in 1943, where he lived in a small one-room apartment and worked as a laborer in a sugar-refinery. For a year, Coltrane attended Ornstein School of Music. Then in 1945, he was drafted into the Navy and sent to Hawaii where he was assigned to play clarinet in a band called the Melody Makers. Upon his return from Hawaii a year later, Coltrane launched his music career. "With all those years of constant practice in High Point behind him, possessing a powerful inner strength from being raised in a deeply religious family, and with a foundation in musical theory and an innate curiosity about life, Coltrane was well prepared to seriously enter a battle." In the late nineteen forties, Coltrane began playing with several different R&B groups in small bars and clubs around Philadelphia. It became a tradition in many of the clubs at this time for musicians to "walk the bar" (i.e. to walk on top of the bar while playing one's instrument). Coltrane was ashamed of having to go through this "display" every night. "To any serious musician, it was an incredibly humiliating experience - to someone like Coltrane, who was developing a type of religious fervor for his music, it was devastating." In addition to the negative self-image this experience engendered, critics criticized his music as being too bizarre. Coltrane became very depressed, and searching for a way out, he turned to heroin. Heroin was a very popular drug among black musicians in the forties. It was a uniting force that, initially, brought them together, but in the end caused lives and careers to disintegrate. In 1949, Dizzy Gillespie invited Coltrane to play in his big band. Gillespie had been a very influential and important figure in the bebop movement. Bebop was a style of jazz, popular during the late thirties and forties. It incorporated faster tempos, and more complex phrases than the jazz of earlier years. For the first time in many years, Coltrane felt some sense of stability in his life. However, after a two-year stint with Gillespie, Coltrane was asked to leave because of his unreliability due to his heroin addiction. Again, Coltrane was reduced to"walking the bar", and playing in seedy clubs. Depressed and dejected, his addiction grew. It was during this time that Coltrane became very interested in eastern philosophies. "When he was not studying or playing he spent most of his time reading and

Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change

Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change Introduction In the ever changing dynamic world, change is inevitable. Businesses have to be adjusted with the changing environment. Change in a business is a gradual process that must be well planned. The management should be actively involved in the change process since support is required from all corners.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More When an organization or a country at large, wants to make a change in the way things are done then the start point is understanding the need that require a change. People are not willing to change, they tend to be in a state of inertia; however if well implemented then it can be a smooth transition. Change in organizations is greatly favoured by the mode of organizational culture, if a company has a freelance culture; this is a culture that embraces a system that the employee s feel free to air their views to the higher leadership, then change can be smoothly implemented. In large organizations, there can be a division into various departments and the departments are supposed to face a certain area; the same departments can be undergoing varying changes. As much as there are departmental meetings, and departments are supposed to come up with their own way of doing things, there are meeting with the larger managements that are not restricted to the team managers alone. Views from all are weighed equally and no one is supposed to be seen as the sole holder of wisdom when a change policy is being discussed. Views from all stake holders must be considered. Though decisions in this type of organizations take a long period of time, in most cases they make informed decisions. They are firms that embrace change and keep changing gradually. Innovations in the organizations are seen as the order of the day and entrants are highly encouraged to be innovative and em brace change. This paper discusses how to manage change effectively. Change The world is undergoing different transition; these translations require organisations to align themselves with the changes in the world. Change can be to improve the current conditions, take a complete strategy or adopt a different way of doing things. Change management is a process where the management learn, understand, and critically think about alterations they are supposed to make in an organization.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, for an effective change process, change should not be imposed to employees but they should be involved in the change system. When undertaking a change, the employees are the immediate people who will be affected and thus they need to be engaged from the earliest stage. To remain competitive in the changing environment, there is need to a dopt new mechanisms which ensure that a business is up to the task with the changing environments. When a business has taken the path of change, there are mechanisms that must be adopted for a smooth transition from the traditional method, of doing thing to a new mechanism. This takes the form of psychological needs, technical expertise, and structure of a business, suppliers and other stakeholders. To undertake this task, the management need to do their homework well for a smooth ride. The power of inertia will act negatively to the management since people generally do not want to be moved from their areas of comfort to adopt a change. This is where the need for a psychological approach is required. Objectives of a change management program Change is taken for different reasons; each reason has some objectives that it aims at meeting; the universal objectives are; Improve current working condition and strategies Adopt a different way of doing things Make new combinations of resour ces in an organization Adopt new technology Change of business, target market, production formulae, management, job schedules, and job description among others Have a different human resource management system, computer system among others Change process Before a company adopt a new system of doing things, there is need to appreciate that the new way can only succeed if the employees are positive about the change. This calls for a gradual way process of implementing the change. The organizational culture is one of the factors that can affect the change negatively or positively. The change agents should understand this well before implementing the change program. Generally a change follows the following procedure. Problem identification and analysis This is where the agents of change realize that there are / is some process that has to be made. After this there is the looking for the probable solution to the problem that must be alighted with the mission and vision of the organizati on. The staffs that will be affected as well as the entire team should be given the detailed analysis of what the organization want to do.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Understanding and Managing Resistance to Organisational Change specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More At this stage the management brain storms the effect of the program with the employees and let the employees learn how they will be affected. If there is any learning needed it is done at this stage. Generally to have a job well-done, it is of great importance that people involved start from the beginning. Change management is not an exemption. In this stage, a good context of the problem is grasped. It is only after getting the correct understanding of the problem that he/she can make a good decision. Pilot study There is always no guarantee that the new system is going to be more effective than the old system, thus there is the need for the system to be run as a pilot study alongside the old system. This also offers the employees the time to have a hand on experience on the new system. They learn more about it and may even improve on it. If the program is seen as a better one, then the final stage is done. In this stage the manager should gather all relevant data and facts. It is from the facts and data that he develops various alternatives of choices that can be used to solve the problem at hand. The statistics will also be the ones that will support the final decision. There are various methods of collecting data; they include researching, brainstorming, and experimentation. It is the manager’s duty to choose the right method to adopt because different problems call for different methods. Depending on the problem, the people to be consulted differ. However, an effective manager should ensure that he/she consults those who matter and those who know. Consultation assists in making a more informed decision and as sists in generating more alternatives of choice. Their opinions and viewpoints should be considered in the final decision making, but the manager should always keep in mind that it is his/her responsibility to come up with the right decision. Choosing the best alternative After taking time and pondering over the issues (time taken depends on the urgency of the decision on the right change to be adopted), he/she chooses and implements the best alternative. At the initial stage a lot of support of the decision is required to ensure that the whole organization or the departments concerned have adopted it effectively.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is not always that a decision made bring the expected results; thus feedback from the people on the ground and the general performance of the business should be sorted, so as areas that need improvement are recognized. In-case an area that needs improvement has been recognized, it should be addressed appropriately Full adoption, control, and monitoring At this stage, all things are alighted to follow the new system and the old one is switched off. All the employees are supposed to adopt the system. Improvement of the system is the major thing that follows this. Manager’s role in change Management Leaders are the people who are mandated with the task of pioneering a business to its desired objectives. In transitional period the leaders is the one who guides subordinates to the desired path. They jointly make rules and policies to be followed in attaining the goals. The role of the leader in this case is to oversee the performance of the roles of subordinates and giving guid ance in various areas. Change needs to be planned at all times when it is being implemented and conducted in such a way that it will be accepted in the business. The role of the leader in such case is the change agent. His (charisma) is put to test. He is supposed to guide his subordinate in a way that will inspire them and give intellectual stimulation. He will consider what is referred to as individualized consideration, where by the focus will be on making each individual in the business comfortable with the change and be able to contribute to decisions as expected. One of the major hindrances of change is organizational culture. A manager when pioneering a company from one wave of leadership to another should first of all understand the culture of the company. The use of opinion leaders is another way that a manager can use. Change is inevitable however it is one of the things that need to be planned by the concerned change agents since human being repel change; but when well de veloped and implemented it is adopted freely. Major barriers to an effective change system The first step in successful business change is to identify the communication channels to use in coaching employees. This can be through brainstorming where challenges facing the business can be identified. Such challenges can be obtained through reviewing the day to day activities of the business. Some questions may serve as a guideline, these include: Have employees been provided with a good working environment? Are they happy with what they are doing? Has the business been able to satisfy all the clients? Is proper information provided to all stakeholders? Is there good flow of conversations? Four communication weaknesses or barriers at any company are overload of messages, failure to share information among major stakeholders, failure to include employees in decision making processes, and personal attributes. Employees are given many instructions and they are not given room to practice the m nor to show their expertise. Communication means more than just giving out messages; it involves speaking, listening, sending, and receiving messages. In communication, listening is the key to success and most of the time listening gets people into problems because they do not practice it. For business communication to be successful, listening has to be proficient. Listening simply means holding back one’s judgment and allowing answers to come from outside. Sharing of important information is poor and most of the time it is withheld from the staff. The top managers are responsible to make different ideas and views concerning the development of the organization which may be influenced by their knowledge and culture. If incompetent decisions are made effecting a change is a hard task. Good communications will assisting employees embrace change effectively, transition period will also be reduced and efficient. Change and Organizational culture Organisational culture is a set o f belief that exists in an organization and determines how the employees interact with each other as well as how the workers respond to a certain situation. Culture of an organisation determines how employees are going to perceive change. The culture like any other society defines issues and expected response to them. It is worth saying that the culture is not written down somewhere but is exists and controls the behaviour of the organization. There are some values that the organization holds, and for one to be seen as a â€Å"compliant† member of the larger group, you need to act in line with the expectation. As individuals we have our personality that is different from others, the same happens with other organizations; they have an organizational personality that is can be termed to as the organizational culture. An organisation which has a freelance culture adopts change more easily than one with a power culture. A certain language is developed, signs and symbols start def ining situation in the organization. As much as there is no set way of punishing those who don’t act in line, with the culture, it is self reinforcing. The culture after it has developed is very hard to change. The entire entity seems to have deep roots in the culture and anybody who goes against is seen as an outcast and don’t interact smoothly with the other colleagues. There are different issues of organizational culture and have different effects on the leadership of the organization as well as well as the conduct of the employee (Jones 12). Eight steps to successful change by John P Kotters Increase urgency This is involving all the people affected by a change in understanding the current position and the need for change. The management should let their employees understand how the change will affect them. One of the barriers to an effective change is negative perception of employees. The perception is brought about by lack of people understanding of change effect s. Build the guiding team Depending with the kind of change to be implemented, management should develop a team of change agents. They are people who should be well informed about the change to occur and used to train others on the way forward. They are opinion leaders. The most effective people for this task are leaders in departments. Get the vision right This is the stage where objectives and timeframes for change are set and discussed with the people who will be affected by the change to occur in a business. Objectives should be attainable. Communicate for buy-in This is the most important stage where there is communication to employees on the change. It is the time for training of the new way to employees. An effective communication strategy should be prepared to be proactive. This is a plan that is prepared after defining a business’s success and getting solution from the listening activities. Things to be included in the plan includes: taking employees to seminars that cover topics such as customer care, organizing get together between employers and employees, rewarding employees, holding regular meetings, including major stakeholders in business decision, assurance to personal service, among others. This plan does not concentrate in solving past troubles but in laying down a good foundation that guarantees business future success. A communication plan should take into consideration the availability of resources and whether the business aims at a long term or short term objective. Once a communication plan has been prepared, the company now focuses on its implementation. The expected result should be kept in mind and the main constitute of the plan reviewed to make sure they are in line with the expected result. The implementation process should involve as many people as possible but it should have one person who is answerable to it. Empower action This is the stage where practical change is undertaken although operated with the traditional syste m. This stage assists in polishing any issues which may have been ignored in the initial stage. Employees learn more about the new system and its operations. Create short-term wins This is timely evaluations of the system to ensure that it is efficient and can replace the old system. There is no need to wait for long periods for results but can even be done on daily basis. Dont let up This is polishing any deficits recognised as the new system is undertaken. This is support from all angles where the system is made more understandable to the users. At the same time polishing of areas and people who have not grasped the system well is done. Make change stick Monitoring and sticking to change. This is where the old system is forgotten and focus is put on the new system. Those people who are repelling the new system are expelled from a company and those entering it will only hear of the old system as some stories of the company (Kotter 57-78). Conclusion In the ever changing environment , change is inevitable. Business processes need to be adjusted with the changing environment. Change is a gradual process that must be well planned. Management should be actively involved in the change process since support is required from all corners. The main objective in a change management process is to facilitate better methods of doings things for a cost effective business. For an effective change, employees should be involved right from the start. They should understand how the change is going to affect their employment; this is through training and good leadership. Leaders are the people who are mandated with the task of pioneering a business to its desired objectives. In transitional period the leader is the one who guides subordinates to the desired path. They jointly make rules and policies to be followed in attaining the goals. One of the major barriers of change is communication barrier and organisational culture. Jones, Helen. Managing Change. Businessdate 11.1 (2003 ): 1. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. Kotter, John P. Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, 73(2), 59. 1995. Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Complete. (Document ID: 4470386).

Tundra Land Biome Description and Characteristics

Tundra Land Biome Description and Characteristics Biomes are the worlds major habitats. These habitats are identified by the vegetation and animals that populate them. The location of each biome is determined by the regional climate. The tundra biome is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and treeless, frozen landscapes. There are two types of tundra, the arctic tundra and the alpine tundra. Key Takeaways: Tundra Biome The two types of tundra, arctic and alpine, have distinct differencesArctic tundra regions are located between coniferous forests and the north pole, while alpine tundra regions can be anywhere in the worlds high elevationsArctic tundra vegetation is mostly limited due to a number of inhospitable conditions.Tropical alpine tundra vegetation consists of a variety of short shrubs, grasses, ​and perennialsAnimals that live in tundra regions are uniquely suited to endure the harsh conditions Tundra The arctic tundra is located between the north pole and the coniferous forests or taiga region. It is characterized by extremely cold temperatures and land that remains frozen year-round. Arctic tundra occurs in frigid mountaintop regions at very high elevations. Alpine tundra can be found in high elevations anywhere in the world, even in tropic regions. Although the land is not frozen year-round as in arctic tundra regions, these lands are typically covered in snow for most of the year. This image shows permafrost melting in the arctic region of Svalbard, Norway. Jeff Vanuga/Corbis/Getty Images Climate The arctic tundra is located in the extreme northern hemisphere around the north pole. This area experiences low amounts of precipitation and extremely cold temperatures for most of the year. The arctic tundra typically receives less than 10 inches of precipitation per year (mostly in the form of snow) with temperatures averaging below minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit in winter. In summer, the sun remains in the sky during the day and night. Summer temperatures average between 35-55 degrees Fahrenheit. The alpine tundra biome is also a cold climate region with temperatures averaging below freezing at night. This area receives more precipitation throughout the year than the arctic tundra. The average annual precipitation is around 20 inches. Most of this precipitation is in the form of snow. The alpine tundra is also a very windy area. Strong winds blow at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. Location Some locations of arctic and alpine tundra include: Arctic Tundra North America - Northern Alaska, Canada, GreenlandNorthern Europe - ScandinaviaNorthern Asia - Siberia Alpine Tundra North America - Alaska, Canada, U.S.A., and MexicoNorthern Europe - Finland, Norway, Russia, and SwedenAsia - Southern Asia (Himalayan Mountains), and Japan (Mt. Fuji)Africa - Mt. KilimanjaroSouth America - Andes Mountains Vegetation Alaska Cottongrass. NCTC Image Library/USFWSÂ   Due to dry conditions, poor soil quality, extremely cold temperatures, and permafrost, vegetation in arctic tundra regions is limited. Arctic tundra plants must adapt to the cold, dark conditions of the tundra as the sun does not rise during the winter months. These plants experience brief periods of growth in the summer when temperatures are warm enough for vegetation to grow. The vegetation consists of short shrubs and grasses. The frozen ground prevents plants with deep roots, like trees, from growing. Tropical alpine tundra areas are treeless plains located on mountains at extremely high altitudes. Unlike in the arctic tundra, the sun remains in the sky for about the same amount of time throughout the year. This enables the vegetation to grow at an almost constant rate. The vegetation consists of short shrubs, grasses, ​and rosette perennials. Examples of tundra vegetation include: lichens, mosses, sedges, perennial forbs, rosette, and dwarfed shrubs. Wildlife A moose in the tundra. Chase Dekker Wild-Life Images/Moment/Getty Images Animals of the arctic and alpine tundra biomes must adapt to cold and harsh conditions. Large mammals of the arctic, like musk ox and caribou, are heavily insulated against the cold and migrate to warmer areas in the winter. Smaller mammals, like the arctic ground squirrel, survive by burrowing and hibernating during the winter. Other arctic tundra animals include snowy owls, reindeer, polar bears, white foxes, lemmings, arctic hares, wolverines, caribou, migrating birds, mosquitoes, and black flies. Animals in the alpine tundra migrate to lower elevations in winter to escape the cold and find food. Animals here include marmots, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk, grizzly bears, springtails, beetles, grasshoppers, and butterflies.

Career Exploration Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Career Exploration - Assignment Example Online solutions provide a wide range of tools that can be helpful in the career assessment. These tools have been uniquely tailored to not only disclose individual’s interest but also reveal how such interests translate to related carrier options. In this work I will detail the outcome of the following assessment test: Career Directions Inventory, Campbell Interest and Skill Survey, and the Jackson Vocational Interest Survey. The initial assessment focuses on personal trends throughput the different carriers. The results highlighted here depict my interest level with regard to particular activities when compared to other people. The assessment questions are customized to gauge an individual’s work-style and occupational interests. These Occupational interests are divided into 12 different interest types. The Basic Interest scores are displayed individually as percentiles. For instance, a score of 80% implies you obtained a higher score in this Basic Interest compared to 80% obtained by other people tested. Based on this assessment, the measures of my occupational interests came out as follows: I scored highest in clerical, a factor that simply implies that I enjoy Answering phones and greet clients warmly. Assist in filing duties, Perform basic bookkeeping duties, Compile financial records, organize office activities and other related duties. I got high score in Persuasive, signifying that I take pleasure in work that entails advising, influencing, counseling, motivating, guiding, and directing the tasks of others. Based on Assertive scale it is obvious that I prefer a work situation that allows one to assert his/her authority on others. This may include monitoring and directing their tasks. The second factor considered in the tests is the personality concept. This assessment follows John Hollands RIASEC theory that views the world of work based on six different models (Baker, 2014). Here, the test is stretched to include a seventh model that

Multinational Business of Big Bazaar, First Solar, and Tata Motors Case Study

Multinational Business of Big Bazaar, First Solar, and Tata Motors - Case Study Example The  Big Bazaar Company is planning to spread into the Middle East countries like Yemen as there is a huge opportunity in this market due to the nonpresence of any global retail chains there and availability of domestic supplier. The location of Yemen is at the southern end of Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East. The Arabian Sea, Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have made boundaries its southern and western side of the country. Two neighbour countries also bordered i.e. Saudi Arabia in north and Oman in the east. The population of this country is very poor and a large percentage the population is rural people. But in the last decades, it has been large scale urbanization in the country and now near about half of the population lives in town. There is a good incentives scheme by the Yemen government in any large foreign investment project. The purpose of this is to attract potential foreign investors to the prospective sectors of the country by minimising the risk of initial investment . Government also provide free exchange of currency from strong currency to Yemen or vice versa. To start a project in Yemen no need of nationalisation and reservation are required. Foreign investment projects are exempted from paying profit tax up to 7 years which is expandable up to 16 years if it helps to strengthen the sector. There is lack of well-developed commercial business centres in Yemen even in coastal cities; therefore, the country has poorly developed retail market. Most of the shops are in the major cities and maximum of these are family owned. The producers or manufacturer of retail products and goods are only the seller. No professional retail outlets or chains are there who sells by getting supply from producers. This is why the retail market is not at all penetrated even in urban areas of the country. But there is a good demand of retail chains which can provide the finished retail goods across the country and as the per capita income has been increasing and the p urchasing power as well as buying behaviour has been developing since the last decades. Big Bazaar is a India based supermarket chain and it get the supply of retail products from institutional supplier as well as direct from the producers of good branded product and sell those after retail pricing those products according to its profit margin strategy. But in Yemen as there is no such kind of institutional supplier. So the company needs to tie up with the home-based producer of the retail product like garments, food products, and other daily needed products which have a good demand in the urban market. First Solar’s multinational business can be analysed by doing a PESTEL analysis of the international business environment and the potential market analysis. Political: It represents how the government represents the economy and a certain business i.e. the way of representing and the extent. Political factors of a country represented by certain areas like taxation policy, labou r law, trade restrictions, tariffs and govt. stability. So, market attractiveness towards foreign investors will be high if the entire areas of political environment are business-friendly. Economical: Economical factors are influenced and comprised by the economy of a country, and the World economy. These factors are interest rates, inflation, economic growth i.e. exchange rates and currency strength.  

The Effect of Television on the American Culture Essay Example for Free

The Effect of Television on the American Culture Essay The television has positioned various issues pertaining to the lives of the general public in a number of ways. Undoubtedly, views and opinions of the public may be easily controlled and influenced through content of various commodities of television. People opinions may perhaps form by their views on certain subjects. Starting slightly beyond infanthood, children learn to engage in, duplicate, and imitate the accessories and fashions from movies, sitcoms, commercials, and television. Additionally, apart from producing awareness for adults, television activates certain images of ideas and factors into the minds of children. For example, television stereotype groups, in which various movies and sitcoms display how model youths act in educational institutions and individuals with turbans and beards must be terrorists. Stereotypes embed in the minds of children, and they become persuaded to pursue them in real life. Furthermore, celebrities accepting characters with nudity and cussing, creating the opinion of children and adults that it is acceptable to compromise roles and broadcast Christ. The Bible says, â€Å"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.† Television is significant to the media. Currently, television inundated a massive amount of communication that has an enormous effect in the lives of American culture. The American culture has a vast amount of information through television; it becomes very difficult to distinguish between right and wrong, or to decipher vital information from true and false. It is apparent that television has significant effect on young people, and these days practically all of them have access to television because of easy accessibility and it presents the highest degree of simulation. Visually being simulated inclines that television has an assorted kind of effect on attitudes and lives of people. It is debatable what people watch on television might shape their attitudes and behaviors that individuals holds in contradiction of or in favor of numerous issues. Such as, a television  show continuously showing youth wearing fashionable clothes with makeup, clearly, a youth that keep viewing the same ideas, views and images imposed on them by the associated media like internet and magazines, it is possible that they will begin to believe and accept similar ideas. Similarly, television may work in creating a variation of stereotypes, for instance, in high school, popular girls that are fashionable and rich, these girls become embedded in the minds of youn g girls as they are viewing television and its’ likeness. As a result, such images cause young individuals to shape certain stereotypes, attitudes, notions and ideas towards events and people surrounding them through showing what the intellect desires them to view, in which, unsurprisingly reality does not exist. We are to, â€Å"Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.† Still, television has created stereotypes from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. Such programs produces a sense of how an individual represent themselves, how an individuals’ impression in relation to ethnicity, gender and nationality they belong to or about their sexual orientation on themselves and others. Perhaps, the most significant misconception that a person may obtain from television is the description of other ethnicity or customs, which creates confusion and wrong assumptions in the mind of a child concerning people who belong to specified cultures. Studies have confirmed that television is a key influence on how to think, behave, feel, fear and believe of individuals from other ethnicities. For instance, most of action television programs present a female in distress and a male occurs to save her most times. This refers to a typical gender stereotyping, where the female portrayed as the weaker gender or sex always require rescue from a male for protection. Young people learn to respond to different ethnic groups from the knowledge attained via television programs. Such as, television programs on several occasions have depicted African Americans as generally proficient and skillful sport players. Whenever people view people playing sports, assumptions are that African American athletes are better performers than Caucasians. Above views does not assert that excellent quality cannot originate from television. A range of television programs disseminate and provide youth with massive meaningful information, for instance documentary films on National Geographic and Discovery channels pertaining to diverse events and issues in the lives of people. This positive side of television  shows, usage is a responsible, factual, and focused methodology. Society has the insight in evaluating the facts provided. These are popular television shows, which incorporate world stimulated views and opinions into the minds of people. Educational programs provide a unique amount of facts and information on diverse cultures across the world, and are beneficial in enhancing knowledge and eradicating the misconception about cultures and diverse people. In conclusion, television possibly has several significant effects on the lives of American people, for example the influence of attitude and belief of people, especially young people. Children watch television programs that could create a positive or negative impact on their minds concerning certain opinions and views. Worldwide, youth should be informed and aware of the different viewpoints that penetrate television programs, as well as implications on the different divides and cultures of society. It is apparent that television programs significantly influence the lives of people, especially children. Television programs may possibly shape opinions and views of youth in any direction, because children distinguish directly what is seen on television programs. Programs based on facts and reality may help young people comprehend society in a good manner that eventually directs them to progress. Horror television programs may have a negative influence on development of a child, which could result in long-term anxiety and fear. Altogether, these influences have a major impact on the learning and developments of children, the role of children are the future of all nations. The Bible says to, â€Å"Train up a child in the way he should go, [a]nd when he is old he will not depart from it.†

Modern Witches Essay -- Witchcraft Research Papers

Modern Witches While doing research for this paper I decided to talk to some modern witches. When I informed some of my friends of this the most common remark was â€Å"Be careful!.† From these conversations it quickly became evident that most people have no idea what witches believe or even if they exist. However, almost everyone has an image of an ugly witch on a broom, who kidnaps and eats little children. Kids dress up like her during Halloween, and books like Hansel and Gretel introduce her to each new generation of children. I became interested in where all these stereotypes about witches come from and how they differ from the reality about witches and Wicca. It seems that most of the stereotypes can be traced to the Middle Ages and the time of the witch craze and the inquisition. 1. The stereotype of witches and where it comes from a. Pre-Christian Witches Although most of the stereotypes of witches can be traced to the Middle Ages, it does not mean that people during this time came up with the description of a witch without prior historical influence. In order to understand what happened during the Middle Ages to create the images of a witch that we know today, it is necessary to go back to pre-Christian times. European witchcraft during the Middle Ages was strongly influenced by beliefs in magic and sorcery from the Greco-Roman as well as Hebrew times. The Greeks had a sophisticated system of magic that was combined with witchcraft and religion. The highest level of magic was that dealing with the gods. This was the one acceptable form. The two lower levels both deal with individuals who claim to brew potions, recite incantations, or give people magical objects. These people usually sold their... ...with all the other groups that fall under the name of witchcraft. References: 1. Adler, Margot. Drawing Down the Moon. Boston: Beacon Press, 1981 2. Ankarloo, Bengt and Henningsen, Gustav. Early Modern European Witchcraft. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. 3. Barry, Jonathan and Hester, Marianne and Roberts, Gareth. Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996. 4. Clark, Stuart. Thinking with Demons. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 5. Farrar, Stewart. What Witches Do. Blaine: Phoenix Publishing Inc., 1991 6. Russell, Jeffrey. A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, and Pagans. New York: Themes and Hudson Inc. 1983. 7. Starhawk. The Spiral Dance. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 1989 8. Interview with Seamus McKeon and Sandy Herrera both practicing Wiccans.

Imagery In Caged Bird Essay

Maya Angelou uses caged and free birds to symbolize the dream of attaining freedom. The poem illustrates the contrast between imprisonment and freedom through symbolism of a caged bird and a free bird and then between their dreams and desires. Although the poem paints a picture of a carefree bird in a beautiful landscape the caged suffering bird reaching out for freedom seems to dominate the poem giving it a serious and solemn tone. The beautifully written poem opens our mind to sad truths about segregation and oppression through a wonderful blend of similes, metaphors, rhyme, repetition, assonance and other figures of speech. The poem uses powerful imagery to convey the opinion and message of the poet. Metaphor â€Å"Bars of rage† symbolizes the anger and frustration of the enslaved not having the freedom to express the feelings. The â€Å"Narrow Cage† is used to describe the claustrophobic society in which the suffocated captives are subjugated to humiliation and denied equality in life or society. â€Å"Graves of Dreams the caged bird stands on† is another illustration sketching the disillusionment of the black oppressed people. They fear that freedom for them is merely a mirage -something so evasive something they can never achieve. White people represent the free bird able to â€Å"leap on the back of wind† and do as she or he chooses. The free bird thinking of â€Å"free worms† and â€Å"naming the sky his own† demonstrates that these free white men care merely about their own wealth and disregard the needs and cries of the oppressed black community. ‘The caged bird replicate the black citizens of the US. The wings are clipped and his feet tied tell us that these people are devoid of the simple joys of freedom, which is their birthright, and have unfortunately and unfairly become victims of discrimination and racism. The phrase â€Å"tune is heard on a distant hill† is a message that the white people have knowingly moved far too away to hear the cries of â€Å"the black caged birds† and choose to be indifferent and lack any compassion. Another phrase, â€Å"dips his wings in orange sun rays,† reveals a contrast between the delicacy and gentleness of the language and the blunt harshness of the theme of the poem. The poet has simultaneously used powerful verbs like â€Å"Leaps, flows, dips and dares to describe the actions of the free and oppressed.† The bird â€Å"stalks†¦Ã¢â‚¬  opens his throat to sing conveys that singing is the only expression of freedom and the only way of leaping and floating ahead towards freedom. This highly romantic poem concludes on a optimistic note by saying through the words â€Å"for the caged bird sings of freedom† showing that slowly the captives will succeed in making everyone aware of the social injustice and obtain the much deserved freedom and opportunity to be happy.

Preparation of Identification by Ir and Nmr Spectroscopy Essay

The reactive acid chloride can then be treated with a primary or secondary amine to give the amide along with HCl, which reacts with the excess amine to give an alkylammonium chloride salt. The mechanism of this process is shown on the following page in Scheme 22: [pic] Scheme 2 To carry out this reaction, the apparatus shown in Figure 1 will be assembled. The apparatus must be dry, since thionyl chloride will react with water to give sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride. The acid chloride will then be cooled to room temperature and dissolved in anhydrous ether. Ice-cold diethylamine will be added as a solution in anhydrous ether to form the amide. The resulting ether mixture will washed with aqueous sodium hydroxide (to remove any excess acid chloride), then washed with hydrochloric acid (to remove any excess diethylamine). The resulting ether solution of DEET will be dried and evaporated to yield the crude product, which will then be purified by column chromatography to afford pure DEET. The percent yield from m-toluic acid will be determined and the product will be analyzed by transmission infrared spectroscopy (IR) as a neat sample using NaCl plates5 to confirm its structure by (1) looking at the major absorptions and comparing them to a correlation table6 and (2) by comparing the spectrum to that of an authentic sample. Thionyl chloride is toxic and corrosive! Do not breath the vapors! Use in a hood! When heating a reaction apparatus, be sure that it is open to the air so that pressure build up and subsequent rupture of the apparatus does not occur. When heating liquids, make sure the liquid is stirred (or a boiling chip is added) to prevent â€Å"bumping†. When performing an extraction, make sure to vent the separatory funnel often to prevent pressure build-up. The apparatus shown in Figure 1 was assembled. The 10-mL reaction flask was charged with 0. 275 g of m-toluic acid (0. 0020 mol) and 0. 30 mL of thionyl chloride (0. 492 g, 0. 0041 mol). The condenser water was started, and the mixture was gently heated with stirring on an aluminum block (block temp ~ 90 oC) until boiling started. The reaction mixture was then gently boiled for about 15 minutes. After the boiling period was finished, the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature. 4. 0 mL of anhydrous ether were added, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature until a homogeneous mixture was obtained. To this solution was added (dropwise over a 15 minute period) a solution of 0. 6 mL of cold (0 oC) diethylamine (0. 462 g, 0. 0063 mol) in 1. 33 mL of anhydrous ether. During the addition, a thick white cloud of diethylamine hydrochloride was formed. After complete addition, the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for about 10 minutes. 10% aqueous sodium hydroxide (2 mL) was then added, and the reaction mixture was stirred for an additional 15 minutes at room temperature, then poured into a separatory funnel and allowed to separate. The aqueous layer was discarded, and the organic layer was washed with an additional portion of 10% aqueous sodium hydroxide (2 mL), followed by a portion of 10% hydrochloric acid (2 mL). The organic layer was washed with water (2 mL), dried (Na2SO4) and evaporated to yield crude N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide as dark brown liquid. The crude product was filtered through a short alumina column using hexane as the eluent (~ 5 mL). The hexane solution was evaporated to give 0. 340 g of pure N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide as a yellow liquid. Reaction of m-toluic acid with thionyl chloride, followed by diethylamine produced 0. 340 g of a yellow liquid the IR spectrum of which unequivocally showed the presence of the amide carbonyl functional group at 1633 cm-1. In addition, absorptions due to aliphatic C-H (2980 – 2880 cm-1), and aromatic C=C (at 1585 cm-1). The IR spectrum is attached to this report. These data are consistent with the structure of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET), shown in Figure 2 below: [pic] Figure 2: N,N-Diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) In addition, the IR of the product closely corresponds with that of an authentic sample of N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide (DEET) shown in the lab text. 9 Also, the 1H-NMR shows the presence of four (4) aromatic protons in the region 7. 3 – 7. 1 ppm, as well as a three (3) proton singlet at 2. 35 ppm, which corresponds to the benzylic methyl group. The presence of two ethyl groups is clearly shown by the presence of two quartets which integrate to 2 protons each at 3. 53 and 3. 24 ppm, and two triplets which integrate to 3 protons each at 1. 23 and 1. 09 ppm.

Arts Essays

Arts Essays Arts Paper Arts Paper Over the past few months, the media has drawn attention to the inhumane treatment of women in many Muslim societies.As a result of an influx of technological advances, Muslims societies are more aware of customs in other cultures.This awareness is slowly changing many Muslim beliefs.The atrocities that are portrayed by way of the media often represent extreme and isolated events, thereby depicting the plight of women as more harsh and widespread than it may actually be. The Muslim culture considers women to be inferior to men; women have been treated like second-class citizens for centuries.Many Muslims believe that a man is superior to a woman in both intellect and spirituality.This custom is based on verses from the Quran (Koran), the following verse reinforces these views.Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath men the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women) (Yusufali 4: 34). Muslim women are often referred to as s hadows, because they rarely speak and are seldom seen.It is held that a womans place is home, where she can pray frequently.Because it is considered shameful for a woman to expose any part of her body publicly, she covers her face and body with what is referred to as a burqa during the isolated occasions where she leaves her home.It is believed that a woman who is lacking beauty will not sexually temp a man, for this reason, some societies will allow her to expose her face.It is an honor to be chosen as a Muslim wife, for this honor, a wife is expected to strive to please her husband.Traditionally, Muslim women are raised to be completely submissive to their husbands.The wishes of a husband must never be denied, doing so could result in a beating.A man has the legal right to beat his wife if she violates any of the

Benefits of Activity Based Costing Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Activity Based Costing Essay In order to make a profit on production, the firm would have to charge a price that is greater than the cost of production. Generally, the cost of production is understood to be the cost of producing a good plus the cost of transportation to the consumer. In order to stay in business, and therefore, to avoid losses at all possible costs – the firm must cover all costs related to the production of the good and include all costs to deliver the same to the consumer at a price that is higher than the cost of production. The operating or overheard expenses of an enterprise are generated by its activities to perform its business and/or manufacturing processes successfully. As its name implies, activity based costing relates the costs facing the enterprise to its various activities. By so doing, this system of costing provides pretty accurate information about costs, allowing businesses to effectively manage their overhead expenses in order to increase their revenues (Cooper, 1988). It is but commonsensical that companies may work on cutting their costs once they know what is driving these costs. By improving their processes in order to cut costs, businesses may realize greater profits than before. What is more, by identifying high costing activities needed to produce certain goods or serve certain customers, companies may decide to focus instead on low costing products or customers by reducing their production of or service to high costing products or customers. In this way, they may shift their focus to products or customers that are more profitable to produce or to serve. Thus, management experts cite the following benefits of activity based costing as opposed to traditional methods of costing: Identifying the most and least profitable customers, products and channels. Determine the true contributors to— and detractors from—financial performance. Accurately predict costs, profits and resource requirements associated with changes in production volumes, organizational structure and resource costs. Easily identify the root causes of poor financial performance. Track costs of activities and work processes. Equip managers with cost intelligence to drive improvements. Facilitate better Marketing Mix. Enhance the bargaining power with the customer. Achieve better Positioning of products. (â€Å"Activity Based Costing,† 2008). Businesses that benefit the most from activity based costing are those with high manufacturing operating expenses or overhead costs. These costs may result from a diverse range or products, intensity of capital, or vertically integrated system of manufacturing. Activity based costing may help such businesses not only to understand but also to control their operating expenses so as to increase their revenues (O’Guin, 1991, p. 76). Organizations with large marketing, sales or distribution costs may also reap great benefits from activity based costing. As mentioned previously, this method of costing identifies those customers that are most profitable from those that are least profitable. This provides insight to management on how to improve operations. With activity based costing, such businesses may be able to answer questions such as: â€Å"What discounts are appropriate for large orders? What size accounts should salespersons no longer call on? How effective is advertising to different markets? † (O’Guin, p. 76). Firms that are experiencing sluggish or low profitability on increasing sales may be suffering from growth that is unmanaged. It may very well be that these businesses are selling products at losses to a number of customers. The accounting system of accurately measuring costs, that is, activity based costing, would allow these firms to determine which of their customers and products are generating revenues and which are not (O’Guin, p. 76). O’Guin describes another benefit of the activity based costing system thus: Even with a diverse product line or customer base and very high profitability, a company lacking an ABC system is surprisingly vulnerable. Product profitability probably varies widely across the company. Highly profitable products present an irresistible target to new market entrants. Management should know which products are reaping enormous margins, so they can erect barriers to entry. (p. 76). Also according to O’Guin, the activity based costing system provides not only strategic but also tactical benefits to businesses that implement it. Whereas benefits that are strategic in nature may be realized only once in a blue moon, for the simple reason that organizations cannot be expected to change their pricing, business operations, distribution or manufacturing processes each year – tactical benefits may be realized constantly. Indeed, activity based costing could help businesses not only with reduction of overhead costs, but also just-in-time support, improvement of quality, decisions about design, and investment in capital. Thus, businesses that implement the activity based costing system may improve their profitability on an ongoing basis (O’Guin, p. 76). In the twenty first century, companies that have a competitive edge are those that maintain flexibility, a trend that has been recognized as a critical factor for success since the 1990s. Life cycles of products have been shortened and focus on the customer has become increasingly important. As economies of scale virtually disappear, manufacturing plants that are successful are those that are able to quickly introduce innovative products and economically produce small quantities. Activity based costing system can help businesses tremendously to achieve these goals. What is more, this system of costing could assist businesses of the twenty first century to achieve their goal to increase employee motivation. With the activity based costing system in place, employees increase their understanding of business activities and therefore their involvement in business operations. So, for example, whenever they see a mound of papers they would see overhead costs, leading them to the following questions: Why do we have so many bills? Why are there so many process involved in our purchase orders (O’Guin, p. 76)? Thus, the activity based costing system encourages businesses to push their rates of cost drivers down. This helps in the reduction of time to setup, streamlines buying, in addition to time taken to development a product. When costs are attached to each of these processes or activities, management may not only measure but also plan improvement (O’Guin, p. 76). As mentioned before, some of these improvements may entail reducing production of goods or service to customers that cost more to produce or service than the others. Hence, the activity based costing system may also lead the business that implements it to improve upon its marketing mix or positioning of its products. If products and customers that cost more than the others are required by the company to produce or serve in the same quantity as before, however, activity based costing system helps the organization to improve its processes in order to decrease its costs without reducing the quantity to produce or serve. After all, it is only possible to improve inefficient processes. Because activity based costing allows the company to weigh the costs of activities against their benefits, firms that use it are in a great position to increase the efficiency of all of their processes so as to gain competitive advantages. References Activity Based Costing. (2008). Value Based Management. Retrieved Jan 27, 2009, from http://www. valuebasedmanagement. net/methods_abc. html. Cooper, R. (1988, Summer). The Rise of Activity-Based Costing – Part One: What is an Activity-Based Cost System? Journal of Cost Management, pp. 45-54. O’Guin, M. C. (1991). The Complete Guide to Activity-based Costing. Chicago, IL: CCH Tax and Accounting. Benefits of Activity Based Costing. (2016, Jul 29).

Assignments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignments - Essay Example There are three different arguments about determinism. First, the author said that if determinism is true, then we can accurately predict our future. Also, the author argued that it is completely illogical to completely â€Å"foretell† what would happen to a person’s life because everything has already been determined even at the micro-level. The second argument against determinism is that people can always change their mind about a decision let’s say to do something or to go somewhere. The author calls this â€Å"stepping-back† which is an active participation of an individual to take decisions as well as change decisions in his life. These decisions were based on valuing that the theory of determinism lacks according to Honderich. The last argument against determinism by Honderich is about determinism as â€Å"self-destructive†. He first stated the Epicurean argument to determinism to lay down a strong foundation for his reason. In the end, Honder ich concluded that if determinism was true, then people do not have free will. Of course, we know that man has free will and would do whatever he chooses according to his value judgments. The main difference tells us that Frankfurt believes that a person is still morally responsible for the consequences of his actions. Frankfurt believes that individuals have a choice to make and be answerable for their decisions.