Company overview Essay Example

Company overview Essay The recruiting company called â€Å"Initiative†. Founded in 1991, it is a medium sized firm, which employs 15 people. The company is situated in Green Bay, WI. The main services that â€Å"Initiative† offers are: Searching for potential candidates to fill clients’ vacancies; Holding preliminary interviews with candidates; Developing HR strategy for the client (primarily for small firms or start-up enterprises with no experience); Organizing teambuilding seminars for clients. The main customers of â€Å"Initiative† are medium-size companies, which are actively developing. However, there are also several clients who represent solid well-known companies. â€Å"Initiative’s† business credo is â€Å"Experience and devotion to make you feel the difference†. Considering that the company operates in the large segment (customers are small and medium-sized firms, which are multiple in the city), the competition is very intense. Therefore, in order to survive and ensure competitive advantage, â€Å"Initiative† offers additional complimentary services such as strategic HR planning and teambuilding seminars for its clients. Moreover, there is a discount scheme for any company that worked with â€Å"Initiative† at least once. The organizational structure of the company has a matrix form. There are two general managers, 7 consultants, 4 researchers who are grouped in a team depending on the project. There are also Accountant and Assistant Accountant who work separately serving all the projects without exception. We will write a custom essay sample on Company overview specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Company overview specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Company overview specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Break-even Analysis â€Å"Initiative† is a recruiting company, which means that its core competence is to provide services – fitting clients’ needs for certain type specialists. For services companies it appears to be quite difficult to determine the break-even point, since it is hard to classify the costs and attribute them to specific revenues. However, it is important to chose an activity of the company and try to analyze it in order to find a break-even point. For â€Å"Initiative† such activity will be finding one candidate (say, financial analyst) for the customer to fit the position. The time period of search is limited to one month. The main inputs into the activity are: Time ( days); The number of people working on the project (The more people working, the more costly it is for the company); Utilities and conveniences, mainly Internet and phone connection. In this case, fixed costs for the company are salaries of employees working on the project. Variable costs are the costs of utilities and different supplementary materials (paper, pens etc.) The revenue is the amount of money (in $) â€Å"Initiative† gets for the appropriate financial analyst the client accepts. The unit of measurement is $/day (costs/days of work on the project): how costly is one day of working on the project or simply days. Obviously, the less time â€Å"Initiative’s† team spends on the project, less costly it would be in terms of variable costs. The break-even point will be when Revenue= TC (Fixed+Variable costs), where VC=VC/day*days. VC/day =95 , FC = 1800 Revenue $3500. All figures attributes to one month period. Break-even point   (days) = (Revenue – FC)/VC/day = 18 days It means that efficient for the company to complete the project is actually 18. The result is customer satisfaction and eagerness to continue cooperation with â€Å"Initiative†. The main implication: since salaries (i.e. fixed costs) remain the same, the general managers have to organize team in such a way to spend the less time possible on the project to minimize variable costs and to reach the break-even point as quickly as possible. Decision-making The decision that has been recently made by the company has to do with the necessity to improve the technical level of the company, i.e. to implement the new IT systems, which will enable â€Å"Initiative† to save time on many operations and give access to different previously unavailable information. Relevant costs associated with the decision are: The price of the IT necessary. Nowadays to stay competitive, it is important to upgrade own level using various sources. IT is one of them. However, competitive advantage â€Å"costs† a lot. Therefore, the company will have to evaluate own resources in order to make final decision wether to buy IT application or not. Possible costs = $100000 Salaries that the company will have to pay for the specialist, which will serve the new IT application once it is purchased (installation, testing, monitoring etc.) Possible costs = $6000 Non-relevant costs associated with the decision: While the new IT application will be launching, it is possible that the company will slow down its current projects (as a rule, it is needed from 2 weeks to 2 months to train personnel and get used to the innovation). Possible costs = $5000-10000 in unrealized projects In case of delay with the projects (due to system launching), the current clients can be dissatisfied. Thus, â€Å"Initiative† risks to lose customers, which will reflect on the ultimate revenue of the company and can be even more costly in terms of money (both current and future) than IT purchase and launching. Might be very costly considering possible future orders that lost customer could make. Thus, the main implication of the decision is that â€Å"Initiative† has to evaluate all the pros and cons of the IT launching in terms of money and strategic perspectives. It might be reasonable to postpone the innovation implementation until summer, which is considered to be a slow season in terms of recruiting. Treatment of allocated costs â€Å"Initiative† attributes its cost to specific project. The project means the cooperation with specific company no matter how many vacancies the latter needs to fill. For example, â€Å"Alfa Auditing Ltd.† project may include the need to fit 3 positions – accountant, receptionist, and IT specialist. This project is assigned to a team of 3 consultant and one researcher (total of four people).   Total time period is one month. The allocated costs of this project would appear as the following: Salaries of those working on the team. It is important to notice that if the project takes, for instance, 15 days (half of the month), then we can assume that the second half of the month the team could work on another project and costs associated with their work would be divided by 2. Salaries = $12000 total Utilities; It is reasonable to attribute utilities for the number of teams working simultaneously. If there are two teams working during this month, then the cost of utilities will be divided by 2. utilities = $500 Transportation (in case the meeting is held not at the â€Å"Initiative† but at another place); $200 Thus, the overall sum of allocated costs will be $12700. However, despite the allocated costs, we should also consider so-called unallocated costs or the costs that are not obvious. In â€Å"Alfa Auditing† project case the unallocated costs appear to be the following:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time spending on finding the customer. â€Å"Alfa† is a well-known company in the region. â€Å"Initiative† had to hold multiple meetings with â€Å"Alfa’s† Chief HR to sign a deal. The time spending on this equals to the time of medium-size project completion ($15000)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Headhunting costs. In order to satisfy â€Å"Alfa† it is necessary to find a highly qualified professional for the position of Accountant, which is twice as time-consuming compared to less scale project (additional costs $1500) Thus, we can see that overall costs appear to be twice as much as the costs reported. However, it is so-called accounting method of reporting costs. Yet, it is reasonable and absolutely necessary to consider benefits from satisfying such major client as â€Å"Alfa†. Those benefits might include: Ø   Large-scale and thus price-worthy projects in future; Ø   Continuing co-operation; Ø   Possible recommendations for others to use â€Å"Initiative’s† services. Activity Based Costing Since the services of â€Å"Initiative† are mainly fitting client’s need for the appropriate candidates, the ABC will be attributed to finding specific person to fit one position in some company. The stages of the activity are the following: Making announcement and collecting resumes. Usually, it takes up to two weeks. Making preliminary phone interviews. The main cost driver here is phone connection ($200-300 per month); Holding personal interview. The main cost driver here is time spending for the interviews while selecting several needed people. As a rule, it takes 7 to 10 days. The costs at this stage are calculated as monthly salary of the consultant divided by days spending for interviews. The less day spent, the more efficient is the work of the consultant and thus less costly it is for the company, since the rest of the time after the project completion this employee can spend on another project and thus generate more revenues for the company. Presenting selected candidates for the customer. The cost driver here is also the time the customer spends on the decision-making. For instance, if the customer accepts the first presented candidate, the time spent will be 1 day. If he accepts one of the following candidates, the overall time spend should be calculated as the sum of days between presenting the first one and accepting the final candidate. The costs associated with this activity should be calculated as revenue for the project multiplied by the days of selection. For instance, the total revenue is $10000. The time limit – 20 days (10000/20=$500 day). The time spent for selection is 3 days. Thus, the total cost will be $1500. However, it is important to notice that this kind of indicator is not used in the company’s balance sheet. It is solely the criterion to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the project. In such a way, ABC of the company shows that the main cost drivers are days spending on the project. The more days are spent, the more costly it is for the company. Thus, the main implication again is that â€Å"Initiative† has to work on own efficiency. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary to:  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Form the team in such a way to enable it to show the best performance possible. For instance, if the project is huge, it is reasonable to assign two instead of one researcher;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To improve IT to speed up internal documentation processes;  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To improve the qualification of consultants (by training and seminars) in order to help them to reveal psychological and professional qualities of candidates quicker and thus spend less time on interviewing and ensure appropriate decision-making.

Free Essays on Competition

THE GOOD Competition is clearly a part of human nature. While some cultures are more competitive than others, universal elements of competition cut across many cultures. For example, competition for resources in the forms of food, jobs, living quarters, and general status in society is prevalent, to some degree, in most cultures. Furthermore, an element of score keeping is evident in the most innocent of children's games. The number of young people participating in competitive events such as athletics, 4-H contests, spelling bees, academic quiz bowls, or beauty Contests demonstrates how competition engages the youth in this country. Adults, too, compete daily both at work and at play. Some believe that the only way to achieve a competitive edge in the adult world is by engaging in as many competitive experiences as possible in childhood to gain practice. Support of competition is so strong that one political party recently included a mandate for competition through participation in 4-H activities as part of the Iowa caucus. This was a response to an attempt to recognize participation ahead of winning or losing at 4-H events, and was perceived by party leaders as promoting socialism. So competition clearly exists. Exactly how competition motivates young people, however, is much less clear. According to some studies, competition among preteens enables them to compare their skills against the skills of their peers. Competition as a means of social comparison appears to help young people find their niches. As soon as this is established, they can refine and specialize their skills. Helping young people manage the competitive demands of their lives is difficult, but not impossible. Cox (see Practice Wisdom) offers helpful strategies for designing programs in which competition enhances development.... Free Essays on Competition Free Essays on Competition THE GOOD Competition is clearly a part of human nature. While some cultures are more competitive than others, universal elements of competition cut across many cultures. For example, competition for resources in the forms of food, jobs, living quarters, and general status in society is prevalent, to some degree, in most cultures. Furthermore, an element of score keeping is evident in the most innocent of children's games. The number of young people participating in competitive events such as athletics, 4-H contests, spelling bees, academic quiz bowls, or beauty Contests demonstrates how competition engages the youth in this country. Adults, too, compete daily both at work and at play. Some believe that the only way to achieve a competitive edge in the adult world is by engaging in as many competitive experiences as possible in childhood to gain practice. Support of competition is so strong that one political party recently included a mandate for competition through participation in 4-H activities as part of the Iowa caucus. This was a response to an attempt to recognize participation ahead of winning or losing at 4-H events, and was perceived by party leaders as promoting socialism. So competition clearly exists. Exactly how competition motivates young people, however, is much less clear. According to some studies, competition among preteens enables them to compare their skills against the skills of their peers. Competition as a means of social comparison appears to help young people find their niches. As soon as this is established, they can refine and specialize their skills. Helping young people manage the competitive demands of their lives is difficult, but not impossible. Cox (see Practice Wisdom) offers helpful strategies for designing programs in which competition enhances development....

Latin American Insurgencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Latin American Insurgencies - Essay Example The Zapatista was trending vigorously and thus was demanding for reforms as the government had failed to deliver. The EZLN are mostly native poor farmers based union with an intellectual organization leadership from towns and cities, it is deeply entrenched in Mexico and spreads all over the penury affected areas of Chiapas in Mexico. An area highly populated by the Indian communities and eliminated from any entrepreneur development, where high numbers of households lacking water and electricity. The Zapatistas majorly demands for Democracy, freedom and justice from the government, as this three rights have been since deprived resulting into unfair treatment and corruption. The type of democracy Zapatistas visualize should be based in a concordance manner, direct and exercised in a free and fair process. Their aim of freedom is needed to enhance original sovereignty and facilitate self-discovery. Civil and economic justice is vital for the rebellious Zapatistas in order to secure respect for the local culture. According to Schulz & Wager, (1994), the Zapatistas was a succession of the very many bad and serious economic, political and social problems that had dominated, not only in Chiapas but also in remote areas of Mexico. This essay is going to study how the rebellious group influenced the defense forces and their impact on political development of Mexico and among its suburbs. The Zapatistas is less influenced by political matters as they feel that all leaders in their political parties are corrupt and cannot be trusted to support the welfare of their people. The election of leaders symbolizes no importance to Zapatistas and the rebellious benevolent group neither supports the self-sufficient heads nor the common leaders (Botz 2014). However, EZLN organizes lobbies around the country through preaching against corrupt leadership and against

Critically evaluate current neo-liberal education policies, in Essay

Critically evaluate current neo-liberal education policies, in relation to forcing some schools to become academies. Do you thin - Essay Example This paper shall briefly discuss what neoliberalism is and how it impacts educational policies in the United Kingdom. It will then dwell on the issue of forcing some identified low performing schools to become academies. The Academies programme is part of the New Labour Coalition government’s efforts to improve the educational climate of schools. This paper shall evaluate if students’ educational attainment had indeed improve with the implementation of their educational policies. Educational Policies in the UK Ball (2008) summarizes the history of educational reform policies from the 1800’s. The early education policy was drafted to respond to the various needs of social classes, namely, to manage the new urban working class and to give the new middle class a chance to realize their aspirations. Next policy came in the mid 1990’s which found divisions within the public education systems culminating in the creation of comprehensive schools. Ball continues o n to the third prominent policy period from the last quarter of the 90’s wherein the New Right attempted to dismantle the welfare state and stress the importance of individual choice in education. Finally, the current policy reform was put into place under Tony Blair’s New Labour party from the late 90’s, advocating for a â€Å"competition state† taking practices from businesses into education. This current policy reform under the New Labour government is greatly influenced by neoliberal ideology. Ball (2008) criticizes the â€Å"policy overload† (p.2) as a manifestation of politicians creating an image for themselves that they are being proactive in their role as well as succumbing to pressures of globalization. Neoliberalism Neoliberalism was borne out of Adam Smith’s advocacy of classic liberalism as well as the concept of man, society and economics (Clarke, 2005). At its earliest stages, neoliberalism was viewed as an entirely new framew ork for managing the economy and drafting policies, which make up a capitalist society. Neoliberalism is associated with a set of political beliefs that strongly uphold the state’s purpose of safeguarding individuals specifically commercial, liberty and even their property rights (Nozick, 1974). It respects independent thinking of individuals enough to liberate them or minimize its hold on them and any transgression by the state beyond its purpose of safeguarding them is not acceptable (Harvey, 2005) Freely adopted market mechanisms are believed to be the right way of organizing exchanges of goods and services (Norberg, 2001) because it releases the creative potentials and entrepreneurial nature of people. In turn, it leads to more individual liberty and well-being and a more efficient allocation of resources (Rothbard, 2004). Munck (2005) argued that when government agencies intervene, it is almost always undesirable because it disturbs the natural rhythm of the marketplace, thus reducing its efficiency. Neoliberal Educational Policies Applied to education, neoliberals saw students as global capital and valued according to the skills they have gained to be contributory in the global marketplace. Hence, they should be invested upon and be trained to be competitive in order to bring out the best in them (DenBesten, et

AT&T sales management plan - BODY ONLY no abstract or conclusions Term Paper

AT&T sales management plan - BODY ONLY no abstract or conclusions - Term Paper Example The AT&T organization holds workshops for the different managers in the organization. These workshops enable them to acquire adequate skills in using the sophisticated equipment the organization sells. The management is also able to have a feel of what their customers require. The organization should focus on a few areas such as increasing their negotiations for sales with their customers. They should use online training to enhance support among their users’ performances. The sales team should also been assigned with the task of tracking the results of their sales and reporting them to the organizations management. This will in turn enable the management to make improvements on the products that are performing dismally. The sales team will rely on building more stable and accountable relationships with their customers to ensure their sales remain high. The organization has entered into an agreement with other producers of technology to improve on their product’s quality. This ensures that their sales and profitability levels remain high (Still, Cundiff and Govoni, 2006). An example of such an agreement was entered into with Cisco systems, which was meant to create products that were compatible with their widely used technologies. They should enter into similar agreements in future to enhance their productivities and profitability. The sales management is charged with the responsibilities of planning, controlling, directing and staffing the sales team activities. They are left to plan the strategies the team will use in order to accomplish the organizations objectives. This is because the sales team mingles directly with the customers and understands their needs better. They are left to control the teams activities to ensure their activities reach a wider market. The sales team has experience in the field and should employ methods that increase the

Walt Whitman And Emily Dickinson Were Giants

Walt Whitman And Emily Dickinson Were Giants It is indisputable that both walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson were giants in the history of American literature owing their extraordinary accomplishments in poetry composing plenty of poems, focusing on a wide range of themes such as emergent America, its expansion, its individualism and its Americanness, and most importantly, creating the poems in refreshing ways that have broken the convention of the iambic pentameter and exerted great influences in the following generations. Meantime, significant differences also exist between the two poets. In terms of their backgrounds, themes focused and writing techniques and styles, the two masters presented their uniqueness respectively. Background Walt Whitman came from a working-class family with eight siblings and the family could hardly support his access to higher education. As a result, he had to start his experienced life at a very early age. At the age of eleven, after his five-years formal schooling, he started to work to earn income for his family. In a word Whitman did not receive much education and his study was almost on his own. After his first job, Whitman worked as an office boy, a printers apprentice, schoolmaster, printer, editor and journalist. Successively, he contact with different levels and various things therefore gained a thorough knowledge of life and the country, which laid a solid basis for his creation of poetry. Emily Dickenson, on the contrary, grew up in a rather prominent family of Amherst and was well educated. Being rooted in the puritanical Massachusetts of the 1800s, the Dickinson children were raised in the Christian tradition, and they were expected to take up their fathers religious beliefs and values without argument. Later in life, Emily would come to challenge these conventional religious viewpoints of her father and the church, and the challenges she met with would later contribute to the strength of her poetry. Moreover, unlike Whitman, she led a quite pure, to some degree, secluded life, withdrawing herself from society and diving into the study of the Bible, classical mythology, and Shakespeare, which enabled her to focus on her world more sharply and acquire a brand new understanding and vision for the simplest things in her daily life. Hence it is comprehensible why Whitman often demonstrated a national outlook in his poetry, showing his concerns on the common people and his country and Emily Dickinson, would dwell on comparatively narrow aspects, namely, the inner life of the individual. Theme Besides their different backgrounds, exposure to different influences and different personalities also led to their uniqueness in poetry creation. Possessing an optimistic mindset, Whitman often composed in a cheerful tone, singing for democracy and freedom and with great expectations and enthusiasm for new things and a new epoch. Dickinson, shy, sensitive, sometimes rebellious, however, would express herself in a tragic tone, creating a comparatively pessimistic atmosphere. Subject to various influences such as The Enlightenment and its ideals of the rights and dignity of the individual and Transcendentalism and its tenets of believing in living close to nature, teaching the dignity of manual labour, advocating self-trust, valuing individuality and self-reliance, Walt Whitman, poet of the common people and prophet and singer of democracy, would usually show a keen eye on man and nature. He extols the ideals of equality and democracy and celebrates the dignity, the self-reliant spirit and the joy of the common man. Songs of Myself, a highly representative poem from Leaves of Grass, Whitmans masterpiece, illustrates very well Whitmans thoughts. Titled as song of myself though, it is more a song of all the human beings, of any vivacious existence in the universe, not confined to the historic Walt Whitman only. By displaying various people, man and woman, whoever has a decent job such as being the president or not as being as prostitute, Whitman sincerely s ang praise for the equality and democracy among human beings; by beautifying the animals, for instance, the wild gander leading his flock through the cold night, Whitman showed his respect for animals and indicated the equality between human beings and animals, and his song of nature, to a large extent, the song of the whole universe. Distinct from the grandness of substantial issues like patriotism in Whitmans poems, Dickinsons poems appear more regional and individual, mainly dwelling on issues of the individual world. Natural phenomena, changes of seasons, heavenly bodies, animals, birds and insects, flowers of various kinds are often the subjects of her poetry; death, love, friendship, nature and immortality are the recurrent themes. For example, in This Is My Letter to the World, she implicitly expressed her loneliness and disappointment of not being recognised, yearning for someone to know her, fully understand her and recognise her. It is easy to find that most of Dickinsons poetry is more a natural flow of personal feeling and experience far from society, many of which partly resulted from her reclusive life and solitude and which can not be separated from the religious influences she received during childhood and adolescence. Calvinism with its doctrine of predestination and its pessimism pressured her an d colored her work so that her basic tone was tragic. Coupled with her frequent witnessing of deaths of many friends, especially the bereavement of her tutors, Benjamin Newton and Charles Wadsworth, the repressive dogma made death a main topic of Dickinsons poetry, confronting which Dickinson could still behave with poise and on which she could surprisingly exert profound pondering. For Dickinson, death leads to immortality; it is not to be feared but a natural part of the endless circle of nature. This is reflected in one of her poems, Because I could not stop for Death. In this poem, she imagined the time when she died: He kindly stopped for me, indicating that death was not terrible for her. We slowly drove He knew no haste, showing her peaceful and calm mindset towards death. Actually, in the first stanza, The Carriage held but just ourselves And immortality, has already told her attitude towards death; together with death, there came immortality. The comparison between the tran sience of mans life and the eternity of God in the last stanza also showed that she enjoyed the death. Just judging from the lengths of Whitmans and Dickinsons poems, we can already tell the difference of their styles. The most conspicuous differences between the two poets lie in their special techniques. The most distinctive characteristics of Whitmans poetry are the use of repetition, parallelism, rhetorical mannerisms, the adoption of the natural cadences of speech in poetry, and the employment of the phrases instead of the good as a unit of rhythm. Most notably, to comprehensively express himself, Whitman broke the conventional poetic form and extensively used free verse in his poems. Disobeying the iambic pentameter form, her tried to approximate the natural cadences of speech in his poetry, carefully varying the length of his lines according to his intended emphasis while ensuring every aspect of life was able to speak without restraint. In I Hear American singing, there are the paralleling singings of a multitude of people ranging from the carpenter, the mason, the boatman, the shoemaker, the wood-cutter, the plough boy, the mother to the young wife; in O Captain! My Captain!, there are the repetitions of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½O Captain! My Captain!à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½on the deck m y Captain liesà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Fallen cold and deadà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ which strongly suggest Whitmanà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s profound love for Lincoln and desperate sorrow for his death. Dickinson, however, was famous for her startling and original diction. Her poems, terse, simple and direct, marked with her style of no title, capitalised words, dashes to create cadence, images and symbols, establish her as one of Americaà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s great lyric poets. à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½Her gemlike poems are short, fresh and original, marked by the vigor of her images, the daring of her thought and beauty of her expression.à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ Simple and even unusual as some of her words are, they are thought-provoking and of fundamental meanings. In Because I could not stop for Death, she personified death as a carriage-driver, compared the journey to death as travelling by carriage and compared à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½childrenà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½the Fields of Gazing Grainà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½the Setting Sunà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ to childhood, adulthood and old age respectively, thus displaying her feelings towards death in a vivid and expressive way. Conclusion In conclusion, while Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson both commenced a new era in American literature, they varied from each other in diverse ways. Whitman was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works and is often called the father of free verse; whereas, Emily Dickinson, adept at employing images in her poetry, greatly influenced further Imagists such as Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell, and became, with Stephen Crane, the precursor of the Imagist movement. In the development of American literature, they both made indispensable contributions.

Sherman Alexie: What it means to be an Indian in America Essay

Sherman Alexie: What it means to be an Indian in America â€Å"Dr. Mather, if the Ghost Dance worked, there would be no exceptions. All you white people would disappear. All of you. If those dead Indians came back to life, they wouldn’t crawl into a sweathouse with you. They wouldn‘t smoke the pipe with you. They’d kill you. They’d gut you and eat your heart.† -Marie, Indian Killer, 314 The identity of the modern Native American is not found in simple language or description. Neither does a badge or collection of eagle feathers determine Native American identity. As Alexie demonstrates through the character of Dr. Mather and Wilson, pony-tails and store bought drums are mere materialistic symbols and stereotypes: they have no real value or respect for the history behind a person’s cultural heritage. Hanging out in Indian bars is insufficient. The identity of the Native American is formed in a context of opposition and resistance, of irreversible historical travesty, and of inescapable conflict. Given the complex and lengthy history of U.S. atrocities against the Indians, and the equally violent aggressions of Indians against whites, bloodshed and animosity were the basis original Indian- U.S. relations. The original brutality these relations cannot be underestimated; nor the intricate series of laws and Acts passed throughout the ninteeth and twentieth centur ies for the destruction of Indian culture and heritage. Yet, as Alexie argues, the forces of hatred cannot be exclusively emphasized in determining the identity of the Native American. Indian Killer by Sherman Alexie is a work of humor, an investigation of community identity and family love, as well as a discussion of race and hate. Marie’s speech to the hapless Dr. Mat... ...efers back to Marie’s hostile statement. Although not every Indian feels as Marie and Reggie do, certainly not John Smith in his dream, the ominous metaphor of the owls marks Alexie’s prediction for the future: unless hate can be reconciled, the spirit of murder and blood shed will continue to plague man kind. While the title of the work serves to encompass victims of both white and Indian cultural backgrounds and closes on the image of the ambiguous killer, (could it be Wilson dancing wildly with his store bought cassette tape? Or could it be Reggie living large in his bloody victories?), the content of the novel is a living account of human actions to historical contexts. Alexies’ work is exaggerated beyond reality, to be sure, yet his assessment of Native American identity is intriguing and universal in the story of recovery from human inflicted violence and hate.

Ap World History Chapter 12-14 Vocabulary

Tarek Sahyoun AP World History Unit 3 Vocabulary * Bedouins are pretty much the stereotypical Arabs because of their culture based on herding camels and goats * I would have liked to be a Shaykh if I lived in a Bedouin society because they usually possessed large herds. * It is a Muslim practice to pray toward the city of Mecca. * I was surprised to hear that Muhammad's flight to Medina began the Muslim calendar. * The Umayyad clan dominated Mecca, and later became a Muslim dynasty. * Muhammad is the prophet that started the religion of Islam, which even today is a major religion. My grandmother reads the Qur'an in her free time. * If one is Muslim, one must always have faith in the Umma. * Muslims must pay zakat to the mosques to allow them to keep functioning. * The Five Pillars are the set of rules that all Muslims must follow. * Caliphs were doubted by many because they took the place of Muhammad although there were no official procedures to have someone follow the prophet. * Ali was the cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad. * Abu Bakr had the privilege of succeeding Muhammad as the first caliph. * The Ridda Wars following Muhammad's death restored the unity of Islam. Jihad was the Islamic holy war. * Mu'awiya was the first Umayyad caliph and had a capital was Damascus * Today, Sunnis make up most of the Muslim population. * Today, Shia’s make up the minority of the Muslim population * Mawali people had many restrictions, although they were granted the right convert to Islam. * Dhimmis were known as â€Å"the people of the book† who originally included the Jews and the Christians. * The Abbasids dynasty succeeded the Umayyads after a long rivalry had ended. * Hadiths are â€Å"traditions† of the prophet Muhammad Wazir was the chief administrative official under the Abbasids * Dhows were used by Arab merchants, and helped them be very successful in quick trade. * The Ayan was the wealthy landed elite that emerged under the Abbasids * Al-Mah di failed to reconcile Shi'a moderates to his dynasty and to resolve the succession problem. * Harun al-Rashid was the most famous of the Abbasid caliphs * Buyids were Persian invaders of the 10th century that captured Baghdad * The Seljuk Turks were nomadic invaders from central Asia * There have been several accounts of Crusades in history of the world. Salah-ud-Din reconquered most of the crusader kingdoms. * Ibn Khaldun was a great Muslim historian * Al-Razi was a scientist who was incorrect, and classified all matter as animal, vegetable, and mineral. * Al-Biruni –was an advanced scientist who calculated the specific weight of major minerals. * The Ulama was made up of Islamic religious scholars. * Al-Ghazali was a brilliant Islamic theologian * Sufis were Islamic mystics, and spread Islam to many Afro-Asian regions. * Mongols were central Asian nomadic peoples, and later had one of the largest empires in the world. Chinggis Khan was a Mongol ruler, who would later play a large role in the history of the Mongols. * Mamluks were rulers of Egypt who descended from Turkish slaves * Muhammad ibn Qasim is respected because he was once the Arab general who conquered Sind and made it part of the Umayyad Empire * Although they are Arabic numerals, they are actually Indian. * Mahmud of Ghazni was ruler of an Afghan dynasty. * Muhammad of Ghur was a Persian ruler of a small Afghan kingdom. * Sati was a very cruel way of dying, for widowed women had to be burned with their deceased husbands. Bhaktic cults were Hindu religious groups who stressed the importance of strong emotional bonds between devotees and the gods or goddesses. * Kabir was Muslim mystic who played down the differences between Hinduism and Islam * Shrivijaya was the trading empire based on the Malacca straits * Malacca was a flourishing trading city in Malaya that was established a trading empire after the fall of Shrivijaya. * Demak was most powerful of the trading states on the north Java c oast. Stateless societies -societies of varying sizes organized through kingship and lacking the concentration of power found in centralized states * Maghrib is the Arabic term for northwestern Africa * The Almoravids built an empire reaching from the African savanna into Spain * The Almohadis built an empire reaching from the African savanna into Spain * Ethiopia is a Christian kingdom in the highlands of eastern Africa * Sahel is the term for the extensive grassland belt at the southern edge of the Sahara. Sudanic states are states trading with north Africa and mixing Islamic and indigenous ways * Mali is a state of the Malinke people centered between the Senegal and Niger rivers * Juula were Malinke merchants who traded throughout the Mali Empire and west Africa * Mansa was title of the ruler of Mali * Ibn Batuta was an Arab traveler throughout the Muslim world * Kankan Musa was legendary because of the wealth distributed along the way on a pilgrimage to Mecca. * Sundiata created a unified state that became the Mali Empire. * Songhay was the successor state to Mali. * Hausa states combined Islamic and indigenous beliefs. East African trading ports were urbanized commercial centers mixing African and Arab cultures. * Demographic transition is the term for the change from slow to rapid population growth. * Nok was the central Nigerian culture with a highly developed art style. * Yoruba was a highly urbanized Nigerian agriculturists organized into small city-states. * Luba peoples created a form of divine kingship where the ruler had powers ensuring fertility of people and crops. * Great Zimbabwe incorporated the greatest early buildings in sub-Saharan Africa * Justinian was a Byzantine emperor who failed to reconquer the western portions of the empire. The Body of Civil Law was the emperor Justinian's codification of Roman law. * The Byzantine weapon consisting of mixture of chemicals that ignited when exposed to water was known as Greek fire. * Icons are ima ges of religious figures venerated by Byzantine Christians. * Iconoclasm was the action of breaking of icons. * Manzikert was the Seljuk Turk victory which resulted in loss of the empire's rich Anatolian territory * Cyril and Methodius were Byzantine missionaries sent to convert eastern Europe and Balkans. * Kiev was a commercial city in Ukraine established by Scandinavians. Rurik is regarded as founder of Kievan Rus' in 855. * Vladmir I was a ruler of Kiev that converted kingdom to Orthodox Christianity. * Russian Orthodoxy was a Russian form of Christianity brought from Byzantine Empire. * Yaroslav was the last great Kievan monarch. * Boyars were Russian land-holding aristocrats. * Tatars were Mongols who conquered Russian cities. * The Middle Ages is known as the period in western European history between the fall of Roman Empire and the 15th century. * Gothic architecture is an architectural style developed in Western Europe. Vikings were seagoing Scandinavian raiders who disrup ted coastal areas of Europe. * Manorialism was a rural system of reciprocal relations between landlords and their peasant laborers during the Middle Ages. * Serfs were peasant agricultural laborers within the manorial system. * The three-field system was the practice of dividing land into thirds, rotating between two different crops and pasturage. * Clovis was a king of the Franks. * The Carolingians was royal house of Franks. * Charles Martel was the first Carolingian king of the Franks. * Charlemagne was a Carolingian monarch who established large empire in France and Germany. Holy Roman emperors were political heirs to Charlemagne's empire in northern Italy and Germany. * Feudalism was a personal relationship during the Middle Ages by which greater lords provided land to lesser lords in return for military service. * Vassals were members of the military elite who received land or a benefice from a lord in return for military service and loyalty. * The Capetians were a French dyna sty. * William the Conqueror invaded England from Normandy. * The Magna Carta represented principle of mutual limits and obligations between rulers and feudal aristocracy, and the supremacy of law. Parliaments are bodies representing privileged groups. * The Hundred Years War was a major conflict between England and France. * Pope Urban II organized the first Crusade in 1095. * Investiture is the practice of appointment of bishops * St. Clare of Assisi is the founder of a woman's monastic order * Gregory VII is a pope who attempted to free church from secular control; quarreled with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over practice of lay investiture of bishops * Thomas Aquinas was a creator of one of the great syntheses of medieval learning. Scholasticism is a dominant medieval philosophical approach. * Troubadours gave a new value to the emotion of love in Western tradition. * The Hanseatic League was an organization of north German and Scandinavian cities for the purpose of establishing a commercial alliance * Jacques Coeur’s career as banker to the French monarchy demonstrates new course of medieval commerce * Guilds stressed security and mutual control; limited membership, regulated apprenticeships, guaranteed good workmanship; held a privileged place in cities * The Black Death significantly reduced Europe's population. Columbus referred to the Native Americans as Indians. * Toltecs established capital at Tula following migration into central Mesoamerican plateau; strongly militaristic ethic, including cult of human sacrifice. * Aztecs also known as the Mexica established a large empire. * Tenochtitlan became center of Aztec power. * Calpulli were clans in Aztec society. * I think it would be pretty cool to work on a Chinampa. * Pochteca specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items. Inca socialism was an interpretation describing Inca society as a type of utopia * The Inca was a group of clans centered at Cuzco. * Pachacuti began the military campai gn that marked the creation of an Inca empire * Huayna Capac brought the empire to its greatest extent * Split inheritance is an Inca practice of ruler descent * Curacas were local rulers who the Inca left in office in return for loyalty. * Tambos were supply centers for Inca armies Quipu -system of knotted strings utilized by the Incas in place of a writing system; could contain numerical and other types of information for censuses and financial records * Period of the Six Dynasties -era of continuous warfare (220-589) among the many kingdoms that followed the fall of the Han * Wendi -member of prominent northern Chinese family during the era of Six Dynasties; established Sui dynasty in 589, with support from northern nomadic peoples * Li Yuan -Duke of Tang; minister for Yangdi; took over the empire after the assassination of Yangdi; 1st Tang ruler * Ministry of Public Rites -administered the examinations for state office during the Tang dynasty * Jinshi -title given students who p assed the most difficult examinations; became eligible for high office * Chan Buddhism -call Zen in Japan; stressed meditation and appreciation of natural and artistic beauty; popular among the elite * Mahayana (Pure Land) Buddhism -emphasized salvationist aspects of Chinese Buddhism; popular among the masses * Wuzong -Tang emperor (841-847); persecuted Buddhist monasteries and reduced influence of Buddhism in favor of Confucianism * Khitan nomads -founded Liao dynasty of Manchuria in 907; remained a threat to Song; very much influenced by Chinese culture * Zhao Kuangyin -general who founded Song dynasty; took royal name of Taizu * Zhu Xi -most prominent Neo-Confucian scholar during the Song dynasty; stressed importance of applying philosophical principles to everyday life * Wang Anshi -Confucian scholar and chief minister of a Song ruler in 1070s; introduced sweeping reforms based on Legalism; advocated greater state intervention in society * Southern Song -smaller surviving dynast y (1127-1279); presided over one of the greatest cultural reigns in world history * Jurchens -founders of Jin kingdom that succeeded the Liao in northern China; annexed most of Yellow River basin and forces Song to flee south * Grand Canal -great canal system begun by Yangdi; joined Yellow River region to the Yangtze basin * Junks -Chinese ships equipped with watertight bulkheads, stern-post rudders, compasses, and bamboo fenders; dominant force in Asian seas east of the Malayan peninsula * Flying money -Chinese credit instrument that provided vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of a venture; reduced danger of robbery; an early form of currency * Footbinding -male imposed practice to mutilate women's feet in order to educe size; produced pain and restricted movement; helped to confine women to the household * Bi Sheng -11th c artisan; devised technique of printing with movable type; made it possible for China to be the most contemporary literate civilziation * Taika refo rms -attempt to remake Japanese monarch into an absolutist Chinese-style emperor; included attempts to create professional bureaucracy and peasant conscript army * Fujiwara -mid-9th c Japanese aristocratic family; exercised exceptional influence over imperial affairs; aided in decline of imperial power * Bushi -regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies * Samurai -mounted troops of the bushi; loyal to local lords, not the emperor * Seppuku -ritual suicide in Japan; also known as hari-kiri; demonstrated courage and was a means to restore family honor * Gumpei wars -waged for five years from 1180 on Honshu between the Taira and Minamoto families; ended in destruction of Taira * Bakufu -military government established by the Minamoto following Gumpei wars; centered at Kamakura; retained emperor, but real power resided in military government and samurai * Shoguns -military leaders of the bakufu Hojo -a warrior family closely allied with the Minamoto; dominated Kamakura regime and manipulated Minamoto rulers; ruled in name of emperor * Ashikaga Takuaji -member of Minamoto family; overthrew KamaKura regime and established Ashikaga shogunate (1336-1573); drove emperor from Kyoto to Yoshino * Daimyos -warlord rulers of small states following Onin war and disruption of Ashikaga shogunate; holding consolidated into unified and bounded mini-states * Choson -earliest Korean kingdom; conquered by Han in 109 BCE * Koguryo -tribal people of northern Korea; established an independent kingdom in the northern half of the peninsula; adopted cultural Sinification * Sinification -extensive adaptation of Chinese culture in other regions * Yi -dynasty (1392-1910); succeeded Koryo dynasty after Mongol invasions; restored aristocratic dominance and Chinese influence * Trung Sisters -leaders of a rebellion in Vietnam against Chinese rule in 39 CE; demons trates importance of women in Vietnamese society * Khmers and Chams -Indianized Vietnamese peoples defeated by northern government at Hanoi * Nguyen -southern Vietnamese dynasty with capital at Hue that hallenged northern Trinh dynasty with center at Hanoi * Chinggis Khan -born in 1170s; elected supreme Mongol ruler (khagan) in 1206; began the Mongols rise to world power; died 1227 * Tumens -basic fighting units of Mongol forces; made up of 10,000 cavalrymen divided into smaller units * Tangut -rulers of Xi-Xia kingdom of northwest China; during the southern Song period; conquered by Mongols in 1226 * Shamanistic religion -Mongol beliefs focused on nature spirits * Batu -grandson of Chinggis Khan and ruler of Golden Horde; invaded Russian in 1236 * Golden Horde -one of four regional subdivisions of the Mongol Empire after death of Chinggis Khan; conquered and ruled Russua during the 13th and 14th c * Prester John -a mythical Christian monarch whose kingdom supposedly had been cut of f from Europe by the Muslim conquests; some thought he was Chinggis Khan * Ilkhan khanate -one of four regional subdivisions of the Mongol empire after the death of Chinggis Khan; eventually included much of Abbasid empire * Hulegu -grandson of Chinggis Khan and rule of Ilkhan khanate; captured and destroyed Abbasid Baghdad * Mamluks -Muslim slave warriors; established dynasty in Egypt; led by Baibars defeated Mongols in 1260 * Kubilai Khan -grandson of Chinggis Khan; conquered China; established Yuan dynasty in 1271 * Chabi -influential wife of Kubilai Khan; demonstrated refusal of Mongol women to adopt restrictive social conventions of Confucian China * Nestorians -Asian Christian sect; cut off from Europe by Muslim invasions * White Lotus Society -secret religious society dedicated to overthrow of Yuan dynasty * Ju Yuanzhang -Chinese peasant who led successful revolt against Yuan; founded Ming dynasty * Timur-i-Lang -last major nomad leader; 14th c, known to the West as Tamerlane ; Turkic ruler of Samarkand; launched attacks in Persia, Fertile Crescent, India, southern Russia; empire disintegrated after his death in 1405 * Ottoman Empire -Turkish empire established in Asia Minor and eventually extending through the Middle East and the Balkans; conquered Constantinople in 1453 and ended Byzantine Empire * Ming Dynasty -replaced Mongal Yuan dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted large trade expeditions to southern Asia and Africa; later concentrated on internal development within China * Zheng He -Muslim Chinese seaman; commanded expeditions throughout the Indian Ocean * Renaissance -cultural and political elite movement beginning in Italy circa 1400; rested on urban vitality and expanding commerce; produced iterature and art with distinctly more secular priorities than those of the European Middle Ages * Portugal, Castile, and Aragon -regional Iberian kingdoms; participated in reconquest of peninsula from Muslims; developed a vigorous military and religious agenda * Vivaldi brothers -Genoese explorers who attempted to find a western route to the â€Å"Indies†; precursors of European thrust into southern Atlantic * Henry the Navigator -Portuguese prince; sponsored Atlantic voyages; reflected the forces present in last postclassical Europe * Ethnocentrism -judging foreigners by the standards of one's own group; leads to problems in interpreting world history

The Science Behind Fog

The Science Behind Fog Fog is considered a low cloud that is either close to ground level or in contact with it. As such, it is made up of water droplets that are in the air like a cloud. Unlike a cloud, however, the water vapor in fog comes from sources close to the fog like a large water body or a moist ground. For example, fog usually forms over the city of San Francisco, California during the summer months and the moisture for that fog is produced by the cool ocean waters that are nearby. By contrast, moisture in a cloud is gathered from large distances that are not necessarily near where the cloud forms. Formation of Fog Like a cloud, fog forms when water evaporates from a surface or is added to the air. This evaporation can be from the ocean or another body of water or moist ground like a marsh or a farm field, depending on the type and location of the fog. As the water begins to evaporate from these sources and turn into water vapor it rises into the air. As the water vapor rises, it bonds with aerosols called ​condensation nuclei (i.e. small dust particles in the air) to form water droplets. These droplets then condense to form fog when the process occurs close to the ground. There are, however, several conditions that need to first occur before the process of fog formation can be complete. Fog usually develops when relative humidity is near 100% and when the air temperature and dew point temperature are close to one another or less than 4ËšF (2.5ËšC). When air reaches 100% relative humidity and its dew point  it is said to be saturated and can thus hold no more water vapor. As a result, the water vapor condenses to form water droplets and fog. Types of Fog There are various types of fog that are categorized based on how they form. The two main types though are radiation fog and advection fog. According to the National Weather Service, radiation fog forms at night in areas with clear skies and calm winds. It is caused by the rapid loss of heat from the Earths surface at night after it was gathered during the day. As the Earths surface cools, a layer of moist air develops near the ground. Over time the relative humidity near the ground will reach 100% and fog, sometimes very dense forms. Radiation fog is common in valleys and often when the fog forms it remains for long periods when winds are calm. This is a common pattern seen in Californias Central Valley. Another major type of fog is advection fog. This type of fog is caused by the movement of moist warm over a cool surface like the ocean. Advection fog is common in San Francisco and it forms in the summer when warm air from the Central Valley moves out of the valley at night and over the cooler air over the San Francisco Bay. As this process occurs, the water vapor in the warm air condenses and forms fog. Other types of fog identified by the National Weather Service include upslope fog, ice fog, freezing fog,​ and evaporation fog. Upslope fog occurs when warm moist air is pushed up a mountain to a place where the air is cooler, causing it to reach saturation and the water vapor to condense to form fog. Ice fog develops in the Arctic or Polar air masses where the air temperature is below freezing and is composed of ice crystals suspended in the air. Freezing fog forms when the water droplets in the air mass become supercooled. These drops remain liquid in the fog and immediately freeze if they come into contact with a surface. Finally, evaporation fog forms when large amounts of water vapor are added to the air through evaporation and mixes with cool, dry air to form fog. Foggy Locations Because certain conditions must be met for the fog to form, it does not occur everywhere, however, ​there are some locations where fog is very common. The San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley in California are two such places, but the foggiest place in the world is near Newfoundland. Near Grand Banks, Newfoundland a cold ocean current, the Labrador Current, meets the warm Gulf Stream and fog develops as the cold air causes the water vapor in the moist air to condense and form fog. In addition, southern Europe and places like Ireland are foggy as is Argentina, the Pacific Northwest, and coastal Chile.

Homelessness Essays - Homelessness In The United States, Free Essays

Homelessness Essays - Homelessness In The United States, Free Essays Homelessness The Stewart McKinney Act of 1987 defines a homeless person as Aone who lacks a fixed permanent nighttime residence, or whose nighttime residence is a temporary shelter, welfare hotel or any public or private place not designated as sleeping accommodations for human [emailprotected] (583). Included in the homeless population are people who stay with friends or family for a short period of time and then decide to find shelter on the streets because of conflict with the people whom they are staying with, or because of personal pride. In the early 1980=s homelessness was determined to be a major problem in the United States. These years saw a steep rise in the number of homeless, due to poor economy and diminishing financial help for housing and income. The homeless consist of all types, races, and ages of people. A large portion of the homeless population consists of men but the number of women and children living on the streets is on the rise. Current statistics show that women and children now make up around forty percent of the homeless population. According to John J. Macionis one-third of homeless people abuse drugs and one-fourth are mentally ill. The current homeless population is mostly non-white and has an average age of the middle thirties. Veterans make up about one-third of the total number of homeless men. The homeless all suffer from absolute poverty. As stated in 1995 by the United States government, 36 million people or 13.8% of the population was poor. The government defines a family of four as being poor if they generate a yearly income of $15,569 or less, although the average improvised family=s income was only around $10,000 in 1995. The Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics states, the average annual income of the homeless in Chicago was $1198 in 1996 (584). APerhaps we should not be surprised that one percent of our population, for one reason or another is unable to cope with our complex and highly competitive [emailprotected] (Macionis 183) According to the Encyclopedia of Applied Ethics homelessness in America has several causes. One such cause is the competitiveness of the business market. Companies are no longer as loyal to their employees as they used to be. Many corporations now use overseas laborers. Also, a diminishing amount of low-skill jobs, due to industrialization has increased the chances of low-skilled workers finding employment. The Chicago coalition for the homeless states that a person must be employed full time and earn more than $8.29 per hour in order to exceed the federal poverty level for a family of four. According to the 1997 census report 2.3 million people worked full time but were still below the poverty line (5). Another reason for the increased number of homeless is the lack of affordable housing, especially in urban areas. The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless reports that, nationally, 10.5 million low income renters compete for 6.1 million rental units that are within their price range, leaving 4.4 million without affordable housing (3). Many low-income areas are being bought out by wealthy entrepreneurs who remodel and restore them and restore them and sell them for a large profit. The mainstreaming of institutionalized mental patients is another reason for homelessness. According to Microsoft Encarta nationally 20-25% of the homeless population suffers from some sort of major mental illness (2). These people are less likely to be able to obtain support such as treatment, case management and the help that is necessary to find and maintain permanent housing. The most recent cause of homelessness in the United States is the Afeminization of [emailprotected] Because of the high expense of child care and the increasing numbers of single mothers, the number of homeless women and children is on the rise. According to Stacey Chambers the rise in the number of homeless women is partially due to domestic violence. In an interview of homeless mothers ninety-two percent had been assaulted at one time in their lives. More than half had suffered from bouts of major depression inther lives whereas only twenty percent of the United States female population had suffered from similar depression (2). Despite these facts and statistics, little else is known about these people. Most sociological surveys are conducted by phone or

Nationalism and imperialism in British africa 1850-1960 Essay

Nationalism and imperialism in British africa 1850-1960 - Essay Example Identity is another issue in settler societies. Louis Hartz, in his seminal work, "The Founding of New Societies" (1964:11-13, 53-4)1, observed that identity formation by European settlers in a new land is a complex process. Changes in Europe and the presence of 'native' peoples in the new land make it difficult to maintain identification with the old country. The 'racial element' becomes an integral part of settler consciousness and national identity in a way that does not occur in Europe. Colonial presence became established first, in the West African Settlements (Sierra Leone, Gold Coast etc.). It brought, as a by-product, Christian missionaries (White and Black!) and Enlightenment ideas of freedom and self-determination to Africa. However, it also brought the idea of the "Other" with it and dispossessed the Africans from their sense of the "Self". Edward Said in his "Orientalism" (1984) focused on the idea of discourse. He categorically explained the discursive practices of the "West" since the beginning of the Renaissance and their "Humanist" attempts to situate themselves into a historically, anthropologically, socially, psychologically and economically dominant and "subject" position that would forever dispossess the native "orient" being from their own history and claim to history within the Western canon. Not only that Fanon in his "Black Skin White Masks"2, talks about the psychological dislocation of the native due to the complete eradication of African iden tity from educated native. Incase of the masses the dislocation was physical - through the dislocation of their lands. Thus, anthropologists such as Madison Grant or Alexis Carrel built their pseudo-scientific racism, inspired by Gobineau's "An Essay on the Inequality of the Human Races" (1853-55). This ruse of superiority was used from the nineteenth century onwards, to begin the 'civilizing mission' which legitimated imperial conquest and control brought to the fore the issue of 'native policy'. The 'white man's burden' meant that, in imperialist theory and to some extent in practice, 'native policy' involved the role of the Colonial Office as guardian of 'racial' minorities and 'backward' peoples. In the mixed colonies, however, it continued to mean principally the legalized theft of 'native' land and the use of 'natives' as a source of cheap labor. Settler societies were therefore quick to seek political autonomy in order to deal with the 'natives' in their own way and acquire w hat territory they wanted. Hence, the nineteenth century saw a further divergence between colonial and imperial ideology. Two contradictory sets of principles were on a collision course within the settlements: the concept of trusteeship within the imperial philosophy of a non-racial empire, and the settlers' determination to create a 'White Man's Country' (Huttenback 1976:21)3. After the 'scramble for Africa' in the 1880s, there was a brief age of self-conscious imperialism when the British empire was vaunted as the strongest, largest and most benign the world had ever seen, and flags and banners became sacred symbols of the nation. However, this could not hide the savagery of the war that was being used as an appropriate civilizing mission. In South Africa, three groups struggled over the land. In the early 1800s, the Zulu chief Shaka fought to win more land. Meanwhile, the British won control of the Dutch colony on the

Empolyment low Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Empolyment low - Essay Example While she was on sick leave, it was alleged by the defendant that she continued to give her consultation to private patients. She was summarily dismissed for her gross misconduct for having received sick leave pay and also attended private patients. Aggrieved by this, she appealed to EAT claiming that the no due consideration was given by the NHS to any mitigating elements like any past untarnished records, employee’s long service or outcome of any dismissal. In this case, the tribunal was of the opinion that once gross misconduct had been demonstrated, dismissal must always within the ambit of adequate responses. However, the plaintiff appealed to EAT against tribunal findings on the ground that the employment tribunal should not have gone to a straight conclusion that dismissal is the punishment for the gross misconduct as it failed to give weight to any mitigating elements like past clear track record, length of employment and outcomes of any dismissal from the NHS. EAT con curred with her view that summary dismissal for a gross misconduct will be held void if no consideration has been given to other mitigating elements like employees past track record, length of service and the outcome of any dismissal. (Morris 2013). ... It should be demonstrated that the incident was examined, and satisfactory evidence was available for the misconduct and for the employee to be informed and to have a chance to challenge any accusation in a typical disciplinary process. In such cases, the conduct alleged had already been set out in the training book or employment contract; it would be advantageous for the employee to prove it to be a gross misconduct. Further, an appeal process should be established, and the employee should be given an opportunity to avail such an appeal process. (Fenwick & Kerrigan 2011:221) The meaning of the Reasonable The gravity and the nature of the offending demeanour will be seen at here. The tribunal will inquire whether the demeanour was so bad as to annihilate the association between the employee and the employer or did it just create irritation. If the demeanour of the employee was not significant like not attending the office at the right time, habitual absenteeism, the tribunal may view it as irrational for the employer to jump for the immediate dismissal without contemplating other actions or sanctions. (Fenwick & Kerrigan 2011:221) In BHS v Burchell, it was held that employer has to corroborate a rational faith in the guilt of the employee well before dismissing him, particularly in case of the alleged theft. However, John can suspend Smith and Freeman while they are under investigation. Both Smith and Freeman have to be questioned individually from each other. (Holland 2013:385) In Monie v Coral Racing Limited, there was disappearance of cash from the safe custody of the employer. The defendant could not decide which of the two employees who was responsible for the