Huck Finns Journey to Morality essays

Huck Finns Journey to Morality essays Huckleberry Finns Journey to Morality In Mark Twains novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn we see through the eyes of a brilliant child, the prejudice world he lives in, and the reality that is thrown at him in his journey down the Mississippi River. He learns to see the true society he is a part of by encountering many different characters. These characters will unknowingly turn this innocent and perceptive young boy into a moral-based and caring young man. Miss Watson tries to show Huck the good of Christianity, while the King and Duke prove to him that there are always some people left in the world who are inhumane. With both of these influences, Hucks morals become as strong as they possibly can. He goes against society to save a man whom he never considered would be a friend for life. Huck is unable to grasp Miss Watsons religion. He does not care for the past and takes ...no stock in dead people(Twain 4). Miss Watson tells Huck that if he prays for something, he will get it. Huck tests the theory and is let down. He says, It warnt so. I tried it. Once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. I tried for the hooks three times, but somehow I couldnt make it work (Twain 12). The hypocrisy is that Huck prays for the hooks, does not receive them, and wonders why. What he does not realize is that he cannot pretend to act like he understands the whole concept, and expect to receive the hooks. After Huck is taken by his father and escapes down the river, he gets hungry, and bread reaches him down the river. Huck thinks the bread is sent to him because of Miss Watsons prayers. He realizes he may not understand it all but says, ...theres something in it when a body like the widow or the parson prays, but it dont work for me, and I reckon it dont work for only just the ri ght kind(Twain 37). Continuing on his way with Jim, Huck ...

Understanding Ancient Maya Storage Systems

Understanding Ancient Maya Storage Systems A chultun (plural chultuns or  chultunes, chultunob in Mayan) is a bottle-shaped cavity, excavated by the ancient Maya into the soft limestone bedrock typical of the Maya area in the Yucatan peninsula. Archaeologists and historians report that chultuns were used for storage purposes, for rainwater or other things, and after abandonment for trash and sometimes even burials. Chultuns were early noted by westerners like Bishop  Diego de Landa, who in his â€Å"Relacion de las Cosas de Yucatan† (On the Things of Yucatan) describes how the Yucatec Maya dug deep wells near their houses and used them to store rainwater. Later explorers  John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood  speculated during their trip in Yucatan about the purpose of such cavities and were told by local people that these were used to collect rainwater during the rainy season. The word chultun probably comes from the combination of two Yucatec Mayan words which mean rainwater and stone (chulub and tun). Another possibility, suggested by archaeologist Dennis E. Puleston, is that the term comes from the word for clean (tsul) and stone (tun). In modern Yucatecan Maya language, the term refers to a hole in the ground that is wet or holds water. Bottle-Shaped Chultuns Most of the chultuns in the northern Yucatn peninsula were large and bottle-shaped, a narrow neck and a wider, cylindrical body extending as much as 6 meters (20 feet) into the ground. These chultuns are usually located near residences, and their internal walls often have a thick layer of plaster to make them waterproof. A smaller plastered hole provided access to the interior subterranean chamber. Bottle-shaped chultuns were almost certainly used for water storage: in this part of the Yucatan, natural water sources called cenotes are absent. Ethnographic records (Matheny) illustrate that some modern bottle-shaped chultuns were built for just that purpose. Some ancient chultuns have huge capacities, ranging from 7 to 50 cubic meters (250-1765 cubic feet) of volume, capable of holding between 70,000-500,000 liters (16,000-110,000 gallons) of water. Shoe-Shaped Chultuns Shoe-shaped chultuns are found in the Maya lowlands of southern and eastern Yucatan, most dating to late Preclassic or Classic periods. Shoe-shaped chultuns have a cylindrical main shaft but also with a lateral chamber that extends out like the foot part of a boot. These are smaller than the bottle-shaped ones, only about 2 m (6 ft) deep, and they are typically unlined. They are dug into slightly elevated limestone bedrock and some have low stone walls built around the opening. Some of these have been found with tight-fitting lids. The construction seems to be intended not to keep water in but rather to keep water out; some of the lateral niches are large enough to hold large ceramic vessels. Purpose of the Shoe-Shaped Chultun The function of the shoe-shaped chultuns has been debated among archaeologists for some decades. Puleston suggested they were for food storage. Experiments on this use were carried out in the late 1970s, around the site of Tikal, where many shoe-shaped chultuns had been noted. Archaeologists dug chultuns using Maya technology and then used them to store crops such as maize, beans, and roots. Their experiment showed that although the subterranean chamber offered protection against plant parasites, local humidity levels made the crops such as maize decay very quickly, after only a few weeks. Experiments with seeds from the ramon or breadnut tree had better results: the seeds remained edible for several weeks without much damage. However, recent research has led scholars to believe that the breadnut tree did not play an important role in the Maya diet. It is possible that chultuns were used to store other types of food, ones that have a higher resistance to humidity, or only for a very short period of time. Dahlin and Litzinger proposed that chultuns could have been used for the preparation of fermented drinks such as maize-based chicha beer  since the chultuns internal microclimate seems particularly favorable for this kind of process. The fact that many chultuns have been found in the close proximity of public ceremonial areas in several sites of the Maya lowlands, could be an indication of their importance during communal gatherings when fermented beverages were most often served. The Importance of Chultuns Water was a scarce resource among the Maya in several regions, and chultuns were only part of their sophisticated water control systems. The Maya also built canals and dams, wells, and reservoirs, and terraces and raised fields to control and conserve water. The chultuns were very important resources to the Maya and may well have had a religious significance. Schlegel described the eroded remains of six figures carved into the plaster lining of a bottle-shaped chultun at the Maya site of Xkipeche. The largest one is a 57 cm (22 in) tall monkey; others include toads and frogs and a few have explicitly modeled genitalia. She postulates that the sculptures represent religious beliefs associated with water as a life-giving element. Source:AA.VV. 2011, Los Chultunes, in Arqueologia Maya Chase AF, Lucero LJ, Scarborough VL, Chase DZ, Cobos R, Dunning NP, Fedick SL, Fialko V, Gunn JD, Hegmon M et al. 2014. 2 Tropical Landscapes and the Ancient Maya: Diversity in Time and Space. Archeological Papers of the American Anthropological Association 24(1):11-29. Dahlin BH, and Litzinger WJ. 1986. Old Bottle, New Wine: The Function of Chultuns in the Maya Lowlands. American Antiquity 51(4):721-736. Matheny RT. 1971. Modern Chultun Construction in Western Campeche, Mexico. American Antiquity 36(4):473-475. Puleston DE. 1971. An Experimental Approach to the Function of Classic Maya Chultuns. American Antiquity 36(3):322-335. Schlegel S. 1997. Figuras de estuco en un chultun en Xkipche. Mexicon 19(6):117-119. Weiss-Krejci E, and Sabbas T. 2002. The Potential Role of Small Depressions as Water Storage Features in the Central Maya Lowlands. Latin American Antiquity 13(3):343-357.

Motivation College Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivation College - Essay Example At the same time, people represent the highest single cost figure, they also are considered to be the most unpredictable, difficult to control, and they are by far the one critical factor that nothing much can be done about. Much of the industry have turned its energies to solving more technical issues and has turned away from dealing with human factors as the primary key to improving profit. (Gerry, 45-57) Motivation is the key factor in influencing humans to work better, so an increase in motivation will result in higher productivity and more profit, which is the ultimate goal of the construction industry. Understanding and having knowledge about motivation theories can help to create a motivational atmosphere, and application of these theories can result in achieving higher productivity. The leadership style of a manager has a lot of influence on the motivation of workers. Construction is still considered as a tough guys business. Most construction managers and supervisors consider a democratic leadership style as a weakness. However, research has proved that democratic supervisors have achieved higher performance and better results than any other leadership style. (Iain, 78-85) Motivation is defined as, "a person's active participation in and commitment to achieving the prescribed results". (Gerry, 45-57) The concept of motivation is somewhat abstract, different strategies produce different result at different times, and there is no single strategy can produce guaranteed favorable results all the time. One of the difficulties in motivating workers is that they all are different and react differently to the same kind of change or action. Many motivation researchers agreed that managers can create a positive motivational atmosphere that can help in motivating workers for higher productivity, but they will likely not motivate everyone, because everyone is motivated by different things. Most companies are looking into ways to improve efficiency, productivity, and quality. The question is how to make workers work more productively This is a question of fundamental importance to any manager. The answer to this question is both complex and vague. Flannes and Levi n (2001) explained it by saying, "the project manager must effectively and comfortably wear many different hats when leading a project". (Levin, 2001) A construction manager's job is to get work done by the workforce. The construction manager's leadership style has a significant role in workforce motivation. Researchers have identified the major leadership styles as, laissez-faire, democratic, and autocratic. According to behavioral scientists, the democratic leadership style has achieved higher productivity and effectiveness. Concept of Motivation Concepts of motivation are somewhat abstract. To analyze factors that influence motivation, five motivation theories will be discussed in detail in this paper. Figure 1 shows a conceptual model of motivation. (Gerry, 45-57) At point A, a person has needs and tries to fulfill those needs. At point B, the person finds the sources of fulfilling those needs. At point C, he engages or motivates himself to achieve tasks to fulfill his needs. At point D, once he achieves his goal, new needs or variations of those original needs will be

Application of Theories in Firms Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Application of Theories in Firms - Assignment Example Companies use penetration marketing to gain market share and retain their customers Method Various literature and information were evaluated as regards the culture of employee empowerment theory. Empowerment as a social theory is traceable to Freire, an educator and humanitarian of Brazilian origin who espoused a plant for liberating the oppressed in the world using education. The idea of empowerment was mostly associated with alternative approaches to social or psychological development. The theory of employee empowerment suggests that employees will undertake their duties and responsibilities in a more responsible, efficient, and effective manner if they are allowed to behave in a less encumbered way and are better informed (Hur, 2006). Employee understanding of the mission, objectives, vision, and goals of the company will enable them demonstrate greater initiative, risk-taking and responsibility when they are effectively trained, accorded an environment that is relatively free of castigatory consequences and they have some authority in making decisions. It involves delegating authority up to the lowest level within the organization where decision making is allowed. Over the past twenty years, the theory of employee empowerment has been tried and proven to yield considerable predictive value (Towns, 2010). Employee empowerment culture gives employees the leeway to make decisions by themselves and this gives a lot of room for creativity, and entails principles of shared leadership and is a shift from the traditional hierarchical leadership method. It incorporates an approach that is motivational where not much independent power and authority is accorded to employees. The other approach is relational that entails a lot of power decentralization (Towns, 2010). Question Two The theory of penetration pricing is a strategy that entails giving customers a markedly low price (compared to average market price) at the early stages of the business enterprise with the b elief that over time due to experience and increased efficiency, costs of production will go down for instance due to economies of scale. This ultimately leads to the enterprise becoming profitable (Rao, 2009). It is suitable when a completely new product is being introduced, the market has customers that are price sensitive, a threat of a competitor entering the market exists, and continuous innovation is expected. Question three This memo reviews Google and Wal-Mart as two companies in the USA that practice employee empowerment and penetration pricing; respectively. Most traditional companies condition their employees to rely and depend upon leaders whom they really have no intrinsic connection to as the means for company progress. Employees are just not trusted to make the right decisions on matters affecting the company on their own (Llopis, 2010). Google has shown leadership and ‘breaking away’ from the pack by empowering their employees to make decisions and explo re their creativity. Google employees are empowered to use 20 percent of the time they spend at work daily to pursue personal projects that are not related to Google as a company and remarkably enough, this presently accounts for half of Google’

Different Marriage or Wedding Practices in Countries Essay Example for Free

Different Marriage or Wedding Practices in Countries Essay I. Africa: 1. In some African tribes, the bride and groom have their wrists tied together with cloth or braided grass to represent their marriage. 2. To honor their ancestors, some Africans pour Holy water, or alcohol, onto the ground as prayers are recited to the ancestral spirits. 3. The bride wears a veil made of plaited hair which represents reserve. 4. The people present wear traditional regional costumes. 5. The couple jumps above a brush covered with flowers, which symbolizes the starting of domestic life. 6. The Kola nut is most often used for medicinal purposes in Africa. It is also essential in most African weddings. The Kola nut symbolizes the couples willingness to always help heal each other. In Nigeria, the ceremony is not complete until a kola nut is shared between the couple and their parents. II. Arabia: 1. Traditionally, marriage was between paternal first cousins or other patrilineally related kin. 2. It was customary for potential spouses not to meet before the wedding night, and marriages had to be arranged by fathers, mothers, and other relatives. These practices are changing slowly and unevenly, but the tendency is toward fewer close-cousin marriages and for the couple to communicate with each other before the wedding. 3. The bride wears an elaborate veil and gets her hands and feet decorated with a drawing made with alhea (henna). 4. During the reception, men and women stay separated. 5. Men are allowed to have four wives at a time as long as they can treat them equally, but polygyny is uncommon in most of the population. Marriage is considered a necessary part of life, and almost all adults marry III. Caribe and Burmuda: 1. The bride and groom show off their finest clothes for the entire village. 2. There’s no need for a best man at an Island wedding. 3. A typical wedding feast features curried goat and spicy chicken jerky 4. The traditional wedding cake is a â€Å"Black Cake† with the recipe handed down from mother to daughter for many generations. The cake is traditionally served with a Hard Rum Sauce and all of the dried fruits are soaked in rum in a crock pot for anywhere from two weeks to one year. 5. Calypso music is played. 6. In the Bermudas people plant a tree for prosperity. IV. China: 1. Auspicious days are subject to interpretation by fortune tellers that perform the analysis based on one’s birth date (day and hour) after consultation with the Chinese almanac. It is said to be the oldest continuous publication known. 2. In the Chinese community it is considered bad form if an individual consults the almanac and performs a self analysis. That is why a fortune teller or Fung Suey [Feng Shui] expert is consulted. 3. The 15 day period from the middle to the end of the seventh lunar month is considered inauspicious because that is time of the Hungry Ghost Festival when the gates of Hell are opened and the lost spirits are allowed to wander the earth. They should not be invited to the wedding! 4. Decorations and gift wrappings are red as this color (and gold too) symbolizes happiness and wealth. 5. There are always rockets acting as protection against bad spirits. 6. The bride changes her dress three times during the wedding ceremony. V. England: 1. The familiar tradition of a flower girl throwing rose petals as she passes down the aisle before the bride is a reminder of days gone by when the bride walked to the church with her maids in waiting. Leading the procession was always a young girl throwing flower petals along the lane, so the brides path through life would be happy and laden with flowers. 2. The couple walks toward the church with their wedding procession over a path of orange blossoms. 3. Something Old Something New Something Borrowed Something BlueAnd a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe! This good-luck saying that originated many years ago in the Victorian era. 4. Most of the brides wear a horseshoe on one of their arms decorated with lace as an amulet. 5. The fruit cake is covered with marzipan. The upper section (baptism tart) is kept until the first child is born. VI. France: 1. A traditional French custom for the groom to call on his future bride at her home on the morning of their wedding. 2. In a church filled with incense and flowers, the couple stands beneath a silk canopy. A predecessor of the veil, a square of silk fabric, carre' is held over the head of the bride and groom as the couple received the priests final blessing. They were designed to protect the couple from descending malice. The same veil is used for the baptism of their new born child. 3. The bridal portion is put in the nuptial wardrobe, hand engraved with symbols of health and prosperity. 4. The couple drinks from the traditional wedding cup. 5. All decorations are white, and laurel leaves are spread out of the church when the nuptial couple departs. 6. On the wedding night, pots and pans are drummed to disturb the couple. The groom invites jokers in and some refreshments are offered. VII. Germany: 1. During the engagement period both the bride and groom wear a ring on their left hand. After the wedding they wear the wedding ring on their right hand. Usually the rings are gold with no diamonds. 2. Germany brides wear either very short trains or usually none at all attached to their wedding dress. If veils are worn they are of fingertip length and typically never worn over the face 3. The groom usually wears a black suit or a smoking jacket (dinner jacket) 4. Some weeks before the wedding the groom and his male friends go to a Kneipe (pub) to drink and have fun for his last time as a single man. 5. Before a church wedding the bride and groom will have been married in the Standesamt (Registry Office) by a registrar which is most often in the Rathaus (town hall). A witness is needed for the bride and also for the groom. 6. At a party on the evening before the wedding plates and dishes are smashed to scare off evil spirits. Only china can be used. Anything else would bring bad luck. The bride and groom have to clean up everything. This is to indicate that they can work together. 7. Together, the bride and groom will enter the church and walk down the aisle. Because it is not legal to have only a church ceremony, the couple will have already been legally married by a Standesbeamte. 8. As the couple walks to the wedding car, fir boughs are laid along the path to pave their first newlywed steps with fresh greenery to symbolize hope, luck and fertility. 9. On the day of the wedding, the guests go to couples house. VIII. Greece: 1. Before the wedding, tradition in Greece is to have your â€Å"Bed† made before groom actually sleep in it with the new spouse. During this ceremony, the bed is â€Å"made† with hand-knit linens and then adorned with Koufetta – almond candies, rose petals and, of course, money from friends and family for good luck. 2. When attending a Greek wedding, guests might wear a small â€Å"Eye† to ward off evil and keep the Bride and Groom protected from bad luck. 3. Greek Brides often put a lump of sugar in their glove for a â€Å"sweet† marriage. 4. Nowadays, after the wedding ceremony, guests are offered bombonieres. These delightful gifts of sugar-coated almonds are wrapped in net and attached to a small memento of your wedding. 5. Another hallmark of modern weddings is the wild and deafening loud concerto of automobile horns before and after a wedding ceremony. 6. In the reception a dance with handkerchiefs (Kaslamantiano) is enjoyed by all while stuf fed grape leaves, lamb skewers, and wine are served. 7. During the ceremony the groom is asked to honor the bride and she slightly touches him to put emphasis. IX. Italy: 1. A traditional Italian proposal begins with a romantic serenade. 2. Brides to be and their families gathered a dote or dowry of household goods and clothing in hope or marriage chests. This was often augmented with money or property. 3. In southern Italy, wild bachelor parties are uncommon as are raucous gatherings for the ladies. 4. Italian bride wears a white gown and veil. The white dress symbolizes purity while the veil, sometimes torn for luck, prevents the groom from clearly seeing the face of his intended before the ceremony, and thereby bringing bad luck upon the couple. 5. Almonds covered with caramel symbolize the joys and sadness of marriage. Sometimes the couple is pelted with sugared almonds. 6. In the reception, everyone enjoys the traditional dance called the Tarantella. X. Japan: 1. Sake Ceremony known as one of the oldest traditional Japanese wedding customs, san-san-kudo, or sharing of sake is still performed today. 2. In Japan, brides may wear a colorful silk kimono or a shiromuku, a formal gown passed down over the ages and still used today as traditional bridal dresses. Some Japanese brides choose to wear a modern wedding gown. 3. The bride wears an elaborate white silk dress, various adornments, and a special wig. 4. In the reception theres a dedication and some speeches, and the honored guests tell stories about the couple. 5. Kiogashi (colored sweets with flower shape), indicate that this is also a party. 6. Red is the funny and lucky color. XI. Korea: 1. In Korea, the marriage between a man and woman represents the joining of two families, rather than the joining of two individuals. 2. Before a Korean bride may be married, she must take part in the traditional Introduction ceremony, where she is accepted into the grooms family. In a private ceremony, the grooms family welcomes the bride. 3. The grooms father may throw red dates at his daughter-in-law to bring her luck in fertility. 4. On the eve of the wedding (hum), the groom, bride, and her friends gather at the bride’s house. The groom’s friends arrive later, shouting and carrying lanterns to light the way and the bride’s things/dowry. Before entering they demand to be paid. When the payment of food and song is agreed upon, they enter and join with the others to celebrate. 5. Traditionally, a chest of gifts for the bride’s family was brought by the groom’s family. 6. The bride wears a multicolored silk dress with white sleeves and a black silk crown and she is made up with red points on her cheeks to scare away bad spirits. XII. Scotland: 1. Usually about a week before the ceremony the mother of the bride will hold a â€Å"show of presents† for her daughter. This corresponds to the bridal shower in other cultures. A slightly more raunchy tradition is the groom’s stag party. 2. The modern Scottish bride will wear a traditional or contemporary white wedding gown, while the groom dresses in traditional Highland kilt, kilt jacket and sporran. 3. The couple is either bag piped down the isle or traditional Gaelic hymns are played as they walk to the altar. The Highland Wedding is played at virtually all Scottish weddings. 4. Once at the altar the couple may choose to recite their vows in ancient Gaelic or to recite them in modern English. Following the vows the groom often pins a strip of his clan’s tartan colors to the bride’s wedding dress to signify that she is now a member of his clan. 5. Following the ceremony the bride and groom and all their honored guests head to a private home or to a restaurant for a lavish reception feast. At the typical Scottish reception you can count on the bride and groom being â€Å"piped† to the table of honor, where the bride will cut the first slice of wedding cake using a dirk (a long-bladed knife) that is provided to her by the piper. As the bride slices the first piece of wedding cake, custom dictates that her hand is guided by the hand of her new husband. 6. The wedding reception is filled with music, signing, much drinking and toasting to the health and happiness of the new couple. The celebrations can go on into the wee hours of the morning. 7. One custom that hasn’t changed for more than 700 years is the custom of the groom carrying his new bride over the threshold of their new home together. XIII. The Netherlands: 1. Dutch people are free to choose their spouses. The common basis for marriage is most often love. This does not mean that people marry independently of the constraints of class, ethnicity, and religion. 2. The choice of a partner is often class-based. Monogamy is the only marriage form allowed. 3. Many Dutch couples live in a consensual arrangement. Same-sex couples can marry and have the same rights as heterosexual couples. 4. A civil wedding ceremony, usually conducted in the town hall, is required in Holland to give marriage legality; so many couples have both a religious and civil ceremony on the same day. 5. The wedding ceremony is usually followed by a series of celebrations consisting of a reception, a formal dinner and a party, and it is common practice for family and friends to be invited to either all or just part of the celebrations, depending on their closeness to the couple. XIV. Russia: 1. The betrothal is a ceremony performed with the rites of the Eastern Church, and takes place eight days before the marriage. 2. During the interval between betrothal and marriage the brides girl friends endeavor to amuse her and keep up her spirits (for she is supposed to be in a state of lamentation and grief) by singing to her, and their songs tell of the happiness of married life. 3. On the day before the wedding they conduct her to the bath, where much time is spent in dressing her hair, while she listens to their songs. 4. Both bride and bridegroom receive a solemn blessing from their parents before leaving their houses, and even the wedding garments are blessed by the priest. 5. After the dedication, cups are thrown to the floor. Their breaking means happiness. 6. The bride and groom usually tie a doll to the wedding car or carriage if they wish their first child to be a girl, and a teddy bear if they want a boy. XV. Hawaiian: 1. The bride wears a long, white formal version of the muumuu called a ‘holoku. 2. Instead of a veil, a woven garland of island flowers, ‘haku lei’ is worn around her head. 3. The bride’s bouquet may consist of white orchid sprays. 4. The groom wears a long sleeve white shirt and white pants. A long red or colored sash is worn wrapped about his waist. A lei of maile and ilima flowers adorn his neck. 5. Hawaiian wedding bands bearing the couple’s name in Hawaiian are often exchanged. The name ‘kuuipo’ meaning sweetheart, is favorite choice for the bride. XVI. Philippines: 1. During the reception couples practice the Filipino wedding custom of releasing a pair of doves to symbolize a loving and harmonious marriage. 2. During the reception the wedding cake is sliced. 3. Throwing rice confetti at the newlyweds will bring them prosperity all their life. 4. The groom must arrive before the bride at the church to avoid bad luck. 5. Dropping the wedding ring, the veil or the arrhae during the ceremony spells unhappiness for the couple. 6. Bride should not try on her wedding dress before the wedding, maybe it will push through. XVII. Native American: 1. From Apache to Cheyenne and Hopi to Sioux, Native American wedding customs are beautiful and vary according to tribe. One custom in particular requires the bride and groom to wash their hands to cleanse away evil and previous lovers. 2. Ceremonies can be held in chapels, historical landmarks, Indian monuments, or reservations. Pow Wow drums provide lively music for the wedding reception festivities. 3. The Blanket Ceremony This ritual entails using two blue blankets to represent the couple’s past lives. The couple are wrapped in blue blankets and led to a sacred circle of fire. The officiating person or spiritual leader blesses the union and the couple shed the blue blankets and enveloped by relatives in a single white blanket which represents their new life. Under the white blanket, it’s customary that the couples embrace and kiss. The white blanket is usually kept and displayed in the couple’s home. 4. The Native American bride may wear a white dress or a beautiful long leather dress with beading and traditional colors woven into the fabric. The traditional colors of Native Americans include White for east, Blue for south, Yellow for west, and Black for north. 5. The wedding feast consists of ceremonial foods such as white and yellow corn prepared in a delicious corn mush. The white represents the groom and the yellow represents the bride. The two types of corn are mixed to represent the new union.

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) Essay -- Essays Papers

Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) Author of Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785). "The Enlightenment was a desire for human affairs to be guided by rationality than by faith, superstition, or revelation; a belief in the power of human reason to change society and liberate the individual from the restraints of custom or arbitrary authority; all backed up by a world view increasingly validated by science rather than by religion or tradition." (Outram 1995) In the eighteenth century, people started questioning the authority and knowledge of the church. New ideas placing human reason over faith and blind obedience began arising. This period in history is known as the Enlightenment. It is a movement, still in progress, for individual people to reach and hopefully grasp their highest potential. It began with the writings of philosophers such as Voltaire (1694-1778) and Charles-Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755). The second wave included Denis Diderot (1713-78), d'Alembert (1714-80), and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78), and the final stretch came from thinkers such as Lessing and Immanuel Kant (1724-1804). All three eras emphasized intellectual reason over faith and put more reliance on scientific discoveries and revelations. However, the people in the third part, especially Immanuel Kant, having the benefit of hindsight, are able to encompass the movement from faith to reason in their writings. The basic details of Kant's biographic life take very little space. He was born in 1724 in Konigsberg, the capital of East Prussia and one of Frederick the Great's garrison towns. Kant knew what it was like to live as a peasant, since he came from a peasant family. His father was a harness maker. From an early age, Kant showed much intellectual potential and his local fame gained him admittance into a school called the Collegium Fredericianum, an institution run by Pietists. "Pietism was an eighteenth century fundamentalist movement within German Protestantism", also followed by his parents, "that minimized the authority of the church and stressed individual moral conduct (Sullivan 1994)." Then, he attended the University of Konigsberg, also staffed mainly by Pietists. The influence of this religious background is reflected in Kant's beliefs in the existence of God, in the dignity of each person, and in a universal moral code. Kant spen... ...e believes that it is still going on. The time of Enlightenment is not over yet we still presently are in it today. He says: "If it is asked now whether we live at present in an Enlightened age, the answer is: No, but we do live in an age of Enlightenment (Velkley 1989)." Immanuel Kant Links: University of Arkansas Link: University of Arkansas Link Kant Homepage Link: Kant Homepage Works Cited - Acton, H.B., Kant's Moral Philosophy, published by: Macmillan and Co., Copyright 1970. - Buchdahl, Gerd, Kant and the Dynamics of Reason, published by: Blackwell Publishers, Copyright 1992. - Deleuze, Gilles, Kant's Critical Philosophy, published by: The University of Minnesota Press, Copyright 1983. - Sullivan, Roger J., An Introduction to Kant's Ethics, published by: Cambridge University Press, Copyright 1994. - Velkley, Richard L., Freedom and the End of Reason, published by: The University of Chicago, Copyright 1989. - Wood, Allen W., Kant's Rational Theology, published by: Cornell University Press, Copyright 1978.

Analytics exercise: Quality Management †Toyota Essay

Discussion Questions: Develop diagram that summarizes what Toyota has done in response to it recent quality recall problems. Focus on the changes by functional area (i.e. Management, Product Design, Quality, and Manufacturing). Functional Area Actions Management Name a managing director to oversee all safety-related issues. Quality Launch a global database to track vehicle repairs and cut reporting times about customer complaints from months to days. The foundation of Toyota Advanced Quality Information Center. Extend deployment of rapidresponse teams to determine the causes of accidents beyond the US and Japan to other major markets, including China and Europe. Swift Market Analysis Response Team that they rolled out globally Manufacturing Assign 1000 engineers to spot-check quality and add at least four weeks to its new-car development scedules. Evaluate the statement in the case made by Toru Sakuragi. Is this a realistic strategy? Do you have suggestions for how the strategy might be improved? The strategy to balance between pursuing the need to cut costs to overcome the strong yen and the need to improve quality to prevent recalls is a realistic but difficult strategy if you look at the long-term. Cutting costs and improving quality are both decisive factors for Toyotas survival. Toyota first built its reputation on quality, but seen the damage it suffered years ago, this strategy is determining if Toyota can make a remarkable recovery or not. Firstly, it needs to insure that quality is settled across all makes and models. They can continue to look for cost savings, but do so without sacrificing that baseline set of customer expectations. Secondly it should look for features that are no longer relevant, that customers no longer care about, and use this as a basis for cost cutting features. And finally it should look for points of innovation across its portfolio and it continue its role as a auto technology innovator, to stay competitive. Suggest improvements that you feel could be made to Toyota’s quality program. Also, what might Toyota do to improve its image to the consumer relative to quality.

A cup of coffee Essay

On a grey, rainy, foggy day, the first thing that comes to my mind is a cup of coffee. On a sunny, happy day, the first thing that comes to my mind is a cup of coffee. Whether I feel like a â€Å"superstar† or not, all I need is one cup of deliciously, fresh-brewed coffee. Every morning it seems as if I am in a fog until that warm cup of coffee touches my lips. I can honestly say that I am addicted to this caffeinated beverage. The intoxicating scent helps open my eyes and get me energized and motivated for the rest of the day. Caffeine is not the only component that I am obsessed with; I am also addicted to the flavor of coffee, particularly the savory flavor of Starbucks coffee. We live in the great city of New York and unlike many other cities, we get to experience a variety of coffee shops, cafà ©s, or restaurants with cosmopolitan coffee. We have the choice of a huge variety of different types of coffee as well, whereas other countries have their individual coffee tradit ions. For example, the Turks enjoy their coffee strong, dark and sweet, with the grounds settling at the bottom of the cup. Cubans like an espresso brewed with sugar and the French simply like a cafà © au lait. Living in New York we can experience all different kinds of coffees, but Starbucks made drinking coffee pretty universal. You can visit any Starbucks cafà © in any country and get your favorite drink the way you like it. Even the atmosphere in the cafà © will be the same. Every day or every other day I walk a few blocks from my building to go grocery shopping, walk out of the gym, or visit a few store. I can walk to my various tasks in several different directions, however, I take one route each time because I know that route leads to that lovely, aromatic shop with the well-known circular sign on the glass window, featuring twin-tailed crowned mermaid. I can stop in on my way to completing my tasks or on the way back from completing them. The strong bitter aroma of ground coffee beans drifted in the air welcoming me as I open the coffee shop door. The redolence is intoxicating. When you walk in the Starbucks coffee shop the amazing aroma of coffee beans being brewed creates a smell so wonderful you can almost taste your steamed cup of coffee or flavored drink; even before you have the drink in your h and. The cashier in the traditional green apron of Starbucks takes my order, my favorite, caramel macchiato. Then I move to the next counter and wait for my coffee. I hear the sound of bean grinding and segregation. The aroma of the  coffee reaches deep in my nose, so I want to take a deep breath to enjoy awakening, refreshing smell. Once I get my coffee I am on a search for a place to sit. With my warm coffee in hand, I notice the comfortable atmosphere, the orange lighting which gives the shop a soft and warm hue, making the environment cozy, the giant table in the middle for larger groups to gather and share ideas and the smaller tables that are taken by individuals or couples who want to be more intimate. There are also two soft sofas by the glass window that are usually always taken. There is such an atmosphere of comfort and harmony that makes Starbucks is a one kind. Even though Starbucks is always packed it is by no means a noisy place as opposed to other coffee shops that are always loud and obnoxious. The sound of people chatting and laughter blends harmoniously with the background music; yet somehow it blends perfectly. I take a seat and start looking around and the different and in teresting characters in the cafe. These are people who truly enjoy coffee: the man in blue suit with a book on his table and a coffee cup in his hand; the young man in blue jeans and a black hoody with just a cup of coffee; the woman in glasses with her laptop and her coffee on the table; a group of friends chatting with each other, with smiles and coffee on their table. They all appreciate being here and drinking coffee. I take my first sip of coffee and the sweet aroma takes over my senses, the warm smell fills the atmosphere. The smooth freshly steamed milk surfs in my mouth and the drink tastes very dense, sweet and creamy with caramel sauce on the top. It is just perfect. Sometimes I feel that my caramel macchiato could be the perfect companion to a delicate, crisp Blueberry muffin, but the quantity of sugar in both gastronomical delights scares me. Sipping my magically tasty beverage, I think about how little we need to feel peacefully, happy. I like to enjoy my coffee in a relaxing atmosphere. It is a moment when the rest of the world can wait. I look out the window and see the people on the streets rushing around, while sitting in the soft chair with a cup of coffee in my hand. Maybe that is why it is called â€Å"coffee break†. I love the experience itself. Even though usually I don’t drink more than one cup of coffee a day, but sometimes I just want to taste caramel macchiato in the end of the day as a delicious sweet reward for being good and productive during the day. Even just smelling coffee could make me less stressed. For me, coffee equates  happiness, comfort, coziness, good mood, clear thinking and something warm that comes from the heart. It energizes you and puts smile on your face and when it happens you can share your good energy with everyone around you. I would even say that everything good starts with a good cup of coffee.

Weimar Society and Culture Essay Example

Weimar Society and Culture Essay Example Weimar Society and Culture Paper Weimar Society and Culture Paper Essay Topic: All Quiet On the Western Front The good years for Weimar Germany were from 1924 to 1929, when the Republic got through the crises of 1923 and entered a stage of stability. The economy at this time was prosperous and the political chaos turned to constancy. The brilliant culture of Germany made it the centre of European creativity. This was in the areas of music, film, art, literature, science and more where Berlin showed great talents! Berlin was now seen as one of the most exciting cities in Europe, and Germany was accepted back as an equal in to the community. Theatre and the cabaret especially flourished in Weimar society and culture with the concept of Proletarian Theatre developed by Erwin Piscator coming in to play. This theatre produced plays as well as challenging views of the members of society which hadn’t been seen much before this time. A man named Bertolt Brecht along with composer Kurt Weill; they created The Threepenny Opera, a production that became very successful when it first appeared in 1928. Brecht was a communist and his work usually expressed his lack of exception with the commercial mid-class culture. Most theatre pieces of Germany were different to the past because much of it had a political and social message. When it came to the cinema, Berlin had a very progressive film industry. In the 1920’s, more films were produced then in the rest of Europe combined. Many amazing German directors were discovered who included Fritz Lang, Joseph von Sternberg and Ernst Lubitsch. Some of the movie master pieces these men created include: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, The Blue Angel, Metropolis and Nosferatu. Blue Angel launched its star Marlene Dietrich who became world famous. Nosferatu was a German horror movie and so was The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. The Cabinet of Dr Caligari was directed in 1919 by Robert Wiene; and is the story of murder and deception set in a small German town of Hols enwall. Both of these horror movies were re-made again in the future. Great film companies made German cinema one of the most notable in the world (a position it never again achieved). Leading composers of atonal music taught and heard their works first performed in Weimar Germany. The following decade in Germany was full of wonderful writers and great literature. Some of these writers include Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann and Erich Maria Remarque who was famous for his novel ‘All Quiet on the Western Front. ’ A. q. o. t. w. f. was published in 1928 and was the most famous of all his work. The novel is about the cruelty of war from a soldier’s perspective. Thomas Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1929, most probably because of his successful novels Buddenbrooks and magic mountain. The famous school of architecture ‘Bauhaus’ came across the new designs for German building. Walter Gropius was the founder of the school in 1919, believed that art should work with technology and make a change to the buildings they were to create. The school reflected the issues going on in Germany and rejected the older more traditional styles that were seen in the dire times of the country. Berlin, in particular, became a thriving midpoint of many new art movements such as Dadaism and expressionism. Artists used techniques that were new and unusual to produce meaningful works that expressed the world and reality. Artists liked to express there feelings and emotions; most of the time reflecting the suffering and hardships many German’s had to go through in society. The major artists of this period include George Grosz, Otto Dix and Max Ernst (as well as many more). Max Ernst was particularly famous because of his weird behaviour and unorthodox methods. The Weimar artists were first influenced by Russia and the USA. The assembly line technique that was developed in the American auto industry, the skyscraper, and styles of the American’s mass consumption seemed to be the core of modern Weimar artists. They adapted some American forms but often used them critically and creatively. Germany had the most educated population in Europe so it made technological and scientific advances during the 1920’s. Seven Nobel prizes were won by German scientists through out the decade; and had the most famous scientists of them all; Albert Einstein who worked in Germany until 1933. Einstein was a theoretical physicist who was best known for his theory of relativity which is E=mc2. He won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. A man named Karl Mannheim developed theories encouraged by a synthesis of socialism and Freudian therapy that have proven highly influential in the twentieth-century. In addition to that, the Weimar Republic inherited excellent universities and science centres. Gottingen was the worlds most famous centre for physics, and German was the international language in physics and chemistry. The technology of Weimar Germany also boomed. The world’s first great passenger airship was created and named the Graf Zeppelin. This humongous plane was created by a company called Luftschiffbau Zeppelin and was filled with oxygen to make its crossings to the USA and South America. One day it even flew around the whole world! Another German airship made was named the Hindenburg and only to destroy itself while attempting landing in 1937. Also communications advances such as the radio were developed. The New roads and railways were being made, so now the motor industry including the Mercedes and the BMW flourished. Like any catastrophe, the Great Inflation also had important social effects; which hit many people of the middle class. For example, young girls were permitted by their parents to hire themselves out as prostitutes so long as they were paid with butter, one of the most precious goods of inflation-ridden Germany. Government officials once who were corrupt; willingly accepted bribes in the form of food or foreign money in exchange for permits and ration cards. One might even see government officials and men of the world of high finance courting drunken sailors without shame. In Berlin, hundreds of men dressed as women, and hundreds of women as men under the accepting eyes of the police! Not saying all Germans reacted to the inflation in this way, even the middle class. One of the more serious reactions to the uncertain economy was the growing suspicion amongst the middle class that the Jews were somehow responsible.

Biography of Jim Jones, Peoples Temple Cult Leader

Biography of Jim Jones, Peoples Temple Cult Leader Jim Jones (May 13, 1931–November 18, 1978), the leader of the Peoples Temple cult, was both charismatic and disturbed. Jones had a vision for a better world and established the Peoples Temple to help make that happen. Unfortunately, his unstable personality eventually overcame him and he became responsible for the deaths of more than 900 people, most of whom committed revolutionary suicide or were murdered at the Jonestown compound in Guyana. Fast Facts: Jim Jones Known For: Cult leader responsible for the suicide and murder of more than 900 peopleAlso Known As: James Warren Jones, FatherBorn: May 13, 1931 in Crete, IndianaParents: James Thurman Jones, Lynetta PutnamDied: November 18, 1978  in Jonestown,  GuyanaEducation: Butler UniversitySpouse: Marceline Baldwin JonesChildren: Lew, Suzanne, Stephanie, Agnes, Suzanne, Tim, Stephan Gandhi; several children out of wedlockNotable Quote: Id like to choose my own kind of death, for a change. Im tired of being tormented to hell. Tired of it. Early Years Jim Jones was born in the small town of Crete, Indiana, on May 13, 1931. Since his father James had been injured in World War I and was unable to work, Jims mother Lynetta supported the family. Neighbors considered the family a little odd. Childhood playmates remember Jim holding mock church services in his home, many of which were funeral services for dead animals. Some questioned where he kept finding so many dead animals and believed he had killed some himself. Marriage and Family While working in a hospital as a teenager, Jones met Marceline Baldwin. The two were married in June 1949. Despite an extremely difficult marriage, Marceline stayed with Jones until the end. Jones and Marceline had one child together and adopted several children of various ethnicities. Jones was proud of his rainbow family and urged others to adopt interracially. As an adult, Jim Jones wanted to make the world a better place. At first, Jones tried to be a student pastor at an already established church, but he quickly quarreled with the churchs leadership. Jones, who strongly opposed segregation, wanted to integrate the church, which was not a popular idea at that time. Healing Rituals Jones soon began preaching specifically to African-Americans, whom he most wanted to help. He often used healing rituals to attract new followers. These highly staged events claimed to heal peoples illnesses- anything from eye problems to heart disease. Within two years, Jones had enough followers to start his own church. By selling imported monkeys as pets to people door to door, Jones had saved enough money to open his own church in Indianapolis. The Origins of the Peoples Temple Founded in 1956 by Jim Jones, the Peoples Temple started in Indianapolis, Indiana as a racially integrated church that focused on helping people in need. At a time when most churches were segregated, the Peoples Temple offered a very different, utopian view of what society could become. Jones was the leader of the church. He was a charismatic man who demanded loyalty and preached of sacrifice. His vision was socialist in nature. He believed that American capitalism caused an unhealthy balance in the world, where the rich had too much money and the poor worked hard to receive too little. Through the Peoples Temple, Jones preached activism. Although just a small church, the Peoples Temple established soup kitchens and homes for the elderly and mentally ill. It also helped people find jobs. Move to California As the Peoples Temple grew increasingly successful, scrutiny of Jones and his practices grew as well. When an investigation into his healing rituals was about to begin, Jones decided it was time to move. In 1966, Jones moved the Peoples Temple to Redwood Valley, California, a small town just north of Ukiah in the northern part of the state. Jones picked Redwood Valley in particular because he had read an article that listed it as one of the top places least likely to be hit during a nuclear attack. Plus, California seemed much more open to accepting an integrated church than Indiana had been. About 65 families followed Jones from Indiana to California. Once established in Redwood Valley, Jones expanded into the San Francisco Bay Area. The Peoples Temple once again established homes for the elderly and the mentally ill. It also helped addicts and foster children. The work done by the Peoples Temple was praised in newspapers and by local politicians. People trusted Jim Jones and believed he had a clear view of what needed to be changed in the United States. Yet, many did not know that Jones was a much more complex man; a man who was more unbalanced than anyone ever suspected. Drugs, Power, and Paranoia From the outside, Jim Jones and his Peoples Temple looked like an amazing success; the reality, however, was quite different. In fact, the church was transforming into a cult centered around Jim Jones. After the move to California, Jones changed the tenor of the Peoples Temple from religious to political, with a strong communist bent. Members at the top of the churchs hierarchy had pledged not only their devotion to Jones  but had also pledged over all of their material possessions and money. Some members even signed over custody of their children to him. Jones quickly became infatuated with power, requiring his followers to call him either Father or Dad. Later, Jones began to describe himself as Christ and then, in the last few years, claimed that he was himself God. Jones also took large quantities of drugs, both amphetamines and barbiturates. At first, it might have been to help him stay up longer so that he could get more good works done. Soon, however, the drugs caused major mood swings, his health deteriorated, and it increased his paranoia. No longer was Jones just worried about nuclear attacks. He soon believed that the entire government- especially the CIA and FBI- was after him. In part to escape from this perceived government threat and to escape from an exposà © article about to be published, Jones decided to move the Peoples Temple to Guyana in South America. The Jonestown Settlement and Suicide Once Jones had convinced many of the Peoples Temple members to move to what was supposed to be a utopian commune in the jungles of Guyana, Joness control over his members became extreme. It was apparent to many that there was no escape from Joness control; this control was leveraged, in part, by his use of mind-altering drugs to manage his followers. According to The New York Times, he had stockpiled and was administering Quaaludes, Demerol, Valium, morphine and 11,000 doses of Thorazine, a drug used to calm people with extreme mental problems. The living conditions were horrible, the work hours were long, and Jones had changed for the worse. When rumors of the conditions at the Jonestown compound reached relatives back home, concerned family members put pressure on the government to take action. When Rep. Leo Ryan of California took a trip to Guyana to visit Jonestown, the trip ignited Joness own fears of a government conspiracy that was out to get him. To Jones, greatly addled by drugs and his paranoia, Ryans visit meant Joness own doom. Jones launched an attack against Ryan and his entourage and in so doing used that to influence all his followers to commit revolutionary suicide. Ryan and four others were killed in the attack. Death While most of his followers (including children) died from being forced at gunpoint to drink cyanide-laced grape punch, Jim Jones died on the same day (November 18, 1978) of a gunshot wound to the head. It is still unclear whether or not it was self-inflicted. Legacy Jones and the Peoples Temple have been the subject of many books, articles, documentaries, songs, poems, and movies about the events in Jonestown, Guyana. The event also gave rise to the expression drinking the Kool-Aid, meaning believing in a flawed and potentially dangerous idea; this phrase derives from the deaths of so many Peoples Temple members after drinking poison-laced punch or Kool-Aid. Sources Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. â€Å"Jim Jones.†Ã‚  Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 14 Nov. 2018.â€Å"Jones Commune Found Stocked With Drugs to Control the Mind.†Ã‚  The New York Times, 29 Dec. 1978.â€Å"The Culture of Jim Jones: An Analysis of Reactions to the Jonestown Tragedy.†Ã‚  Alternative Considerations of Jonestown Peoples Temple.

Discuss the Explain the view that the dependence of developing Essay

Discuss the Explain the view that the dependence of developing economies on agriculture condemns them to remaining among the worlds poorest nations, Discuss th - Essay Example Cash crops in developing countries are mainly for exports and some of these products include coffee, tea and cocoa, however the oversupply of these products in the global market leads to low prices, high competition in the global market also leads to the low prices of these products. Subsistent crops are produced for the purpose of domestic consumption and the surplus is sold in the local markets, however the products are usually perishables and due to lack of good infrastructure and communication networks products do not reach the market where prices would have been high. The production of both cash crops and subsistence crops is important in these developing countries, cash crops are grown for the purpose of export while the subsistence crops are for local production, however these countries mostly produce the cash crops in large quantities in order to export although these goods do not yield sustainable incomes for the country to develop, there is need to diversify these products. Many developing countries are faced with natural disasters such as draughts and floods, this cause them to import food from other countries when such disasters occur, they lack food security programs that ensure that in years of over production the surplus is stored and these therefore contribute to food shortages, these importation of food products from other countries results to unfavourable balance of payment and unsustainable debts, therefore there is need to initiate a food security program and also an import substitution strategy. Falling food prices in the long term Due to the overproduction of agricultural products leading to high supply levels, the prices of food products falls even to levels below the cost of production, these leads to underdevelopment in the agricultural sector where farmers avoid overproduction of products. Price stabilisation The developing countries