Placing the Pieces Together free essay sample

I may have been born broken, but I grew up placing myself together piece by piece. The back of our burgundy van was packed with blankets, trunks full of clothes, boxed snacks, and my brother and sisters sleepy eyes bundled in their seats.Where are we going, why isnt Dad coming too? I looked up at Mom for an answer. Her cheeks were glistening and tears were puddling in the crevices of her tired face. She didnt need to speak any words. We arrived in front of a big white building with four rows of windows, and a woman came out to help settle us in. It was late fall, and my pink plaid high tops crumbled the leaves beneath them. I looked wide eyed at the tree above and thought, â€Å"I am just like you.† I knew that my family tree was losing all its leaves. I found my high school, Nova, almost three years ago. We will write a custom essay sample on Placing the Pieces Together or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page With four jobs and four kids, my mothers ability to get by took priority over my education. I had to decide to make it my own priority and through Nova I was able to create, structure, and pave my own unique road to learning. I took Womens Seminar, where together we found how to love and celebrate our bodies in a culture that gives us one image of beauty. I grew through activism by breaking social norms that thrive off of racial profiling and narrow expectations of femininity and masculinity, and I found ways to maneuver socially and financially in a patriarchal culture. I chose to break the gender roles assigned to me by not shaving my body, praising rather than hiding my curves, and seeking higher education and knowledge independently rather than staying at home to cook, clean, procreate, and live a life that I felt would not suit me. I found my passions because I was actually given the opportunities to freely do so. I took a class called Earth Justice and found the crucial importance of sustainability for our worlds future. I designed an ecologically smart apartment building that uses a green-only system, as well as a zine packed full of DIY projects to make out of recycled items. I built myself around a community I made a family out of, and through my classes I developed a love of philosophy that keeps me continually asking questions. I moved out on my own a year ago. Not because I had to, or got myself into trouble, but because it was time that I started taking care of my mother by taking care of myself. I knew I had hard working hands and legs that moved so I put them to work. I kept a stable job baking 40 hours a week, going to class, paying rent, bills, and made sure there was food in mine and my puppys belly before we curled up together and fell asleep at night. Without Nova, none of this would have been possible. I was able to shape and balance my school work with my life at home, and finish what needed to get done in both places. A few years back I walked down the street to the shelter I spent the beginning years of my life in. The front entrance was filled with trees. Big, brown trees full of life and green leaves each filled with experience, wisdom and stories of the roots they grew from. Still like them, my roots shape who I am and will keep me sturdy and grounded in my adventure through life.

3 Key Career Tips for Millennials

3 Key Career Tips for Millennials Ah, â€Å"the millennials.† Faceless generation of socially networked people who never touched a rotary phone- or so the media likes to generalize. In reality, the only thing that millennials have in common is being born around the same time. As such, there’s no â€Å"one size fits all† career approach that will boost all millennials as they enter and push further into the workforce. However, there are some career tips to keep in mind as you get started in your professional life. 1. Social networking does NOT equal social capital.According to career guru Margaret Heffernan, who gave a 2015 TED Talk about how to get more out of workplace structure, one of the most important things an employee (or employer) can do is to build bonds in the workplace, and enable things like casual stand-up meetings or coffee breaks to facilitate conversation. This builds â€Å"social capital,† or mutual trust and reliance. This is different from social networking, where we mig ht know where a colleague had dinner last night, but not necessarily much insight about what makes them tic professionally. Social media (and the tech-savviness it suggests) is a great tool, but you can’t replace good old-fashioned conversation with retweets.2. It’s okay not to be â€Å"on† all the time.There’s a certain perception that if you’re young and ambitious, you’re willing to â€Å"do what it takes† around the clock to move up and ahead. That could mean long hours, or it could mean putting yourself â€Å"on call† to answer emails at 10:30 at night. And while showing devotion and round-the-clock competence looks good to anyone who might be observing from a distance, it’s not going to mean much if you burn out early. Don’t neglect work-life balance, even at the start of your career. You’re committing to a career for the long haul, so setting dangerously high precedents early on can turn on you later on if your priorities change or you decide that your old work habits just aren’t sustainable.3. Time management is key.This is the mantra for all ages, actually. But for millennials, who are seen as natural multitaskers thanks to technology, it’s especially relevant right now. Set aside time for big projects or necessary productivity. Ignore your inbox for an hour (if possible) in order to check off some hard to-dos from your list. Look at your week in advance, and figure out what you need to do and when you can do it, to avoid running into a crunch time.Super-multitasking (email + chat + work task + second work task in the background) can be exhausting, and may lead to shoddier â€Å"productivity.† Mistakes happen when you’re trying to do too many things at once, so be sure to take specific â€Å"breaks† throughout the day from various tasks in order to give your attention to other things that need to be done as well.Whether you’re just get ting started out of school or still figuring out what you want your long-term career path to be, keeping these ideas in mind can help you navigate those bumpy early days. (And by â€Å"early days,† I mean every day until your retirement party.)

Can You Take the ACT in College

Can You Take the ACT in College SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you took the ACT in high school, you were probably perfectly content to bid it farewell when you want on to college. If you didn't take it in high school, you were probably just as glad to get a pass on that particular trial. But what if you need to take it after you graduate? Can you take the ACT in college? Yes! It's absolutely possible to take the ACT in college; there's nothing standing in your way.This article will discuss reasons to take the ACT as a college student, what the process is like, and what makes it different than taking it in high school. Reasons to Take the ACT in College There are a few reasons a person might need to take the ACT in college. Some scholarships- and even jobs- require applicants to provide their scores. Usually that means scores from a high school test date, but, if youdidn't take the ACT in high school, or if you need higher scores and you think you can do better, then it may become necessary to take the test later on. Always be in contact with the organization you're applying to or through in order to get the most precise and specific information. Most of the time, if you're thinking about taking the ACT in college, it's connected to a prospective transfer.Many schools require ACT scores, and you want to put your very best foot forward. That may mean retesting, if your high school scores weren't great. Some schools have different requirements for different circumstances. They may require scores only for first-year and possibly second-year applicants. They may require scores only if students already took the test. Other schools are test-optional or test-blind. This means that you will not be required to submit test scores, whether you're a transfer or applying afresh. Test-optional schools will accept scores but do not require them, where as test-blind schools will not look at your scores at all. The moral of the story is, you need to know the policy of the college in question. If you can't find the necessary information online- and many colleges have web pages specific to transfer policies- it's important to contact someone at the school. The website may have an email address for the administrative offices; otherwise, you'll have to pick up a phone and call. This student iswondering just how badly he needs those ACT scores. Logistics of Taking the ACT in College The mechanics of taking the test will be largely unchanged for you as a college student. If you took it in high school, it's going to be the same basic deal, logistically, as it was then. How to Register You can register online or, technically, by mail. Now, it's not especially convenient to do it by mail, but it's possible. You'll berequired to submit a picture and providesome very basic personal information, and you'll be asked to answer a number of non-mandatory questions about coursework, etc.Online, the process is said to take about 40 minutes. Where Can You Take It You're going to be taking the ACT at a test center. This might be a high school, or it might be a college campus; either way, you'll be taking it with local high schoolers. The fact that you're a college student isn't treated specially. You'll be takingthe ACTthe same way, in the same place, as all the other test-takers. Advice for Testers in College Remember, the ACT is designed for high schoolers. Don't think, though, that it'll be a breeze for you just because you're in college. You've probably gotten a little rusty on some of those high school topics. Recall that the ACT tests reading, math, English, science, and writing. Depending on your major, you may not have been coveringall of these topics in your college coursework. In other words, one way or another, it's been awhile since you were fully fluent in everything the ACT tests you on. As such, it's important to prep for the testand get back up to speed on anything that's fallen by the wayside. Realize that the test does undergo changes from time to time. There hasn't been any major overhaul recently, but there have been a few pronounced adjustments. As of last year, there are nowpaired passages on the Reading test, and the Writing test has been completely redesigned.The test is going to be at least a little different than the last time you took it (if you've taken it at all). This is another reason to prepare. On the ACT, as in an emergency, it's always best to be prepared. 3 Key Tips on Preparing for the ACT in College The logistics of registration may not change much from high school to college, but your strategy on how to prepare should. Get Familiar with the ACT's Unique Style Questions on the ACT are not designed to mimic our everyday interactions; the questions are dense and rigid, as are the answer choices. It's definitely not anything insurmountable, but you don't want to let this fact slow you down on test day. Therefore, it's important to take a practice test and examine practice questions to get a feel for the style and tone of the test. Review Topics You're Not Fully Secure On As mentioned above, there are bound to be a few subjects you've kind of forgotten. It's not wise to take the test cold; if you do, you're taking a serious gamble. If your score is not what you want, you've lost the test fee and several hours of your weekend- for nothing. A little preparation in the first place will save you that headache and help you avoid needing to take the thing yet again. Consider Your Schedule and Your Needs College, for many people, is an extraordinarily busy time. It's a time when we're learning how to balance involvementin the activities we're passionate about with the need for downtime. Classes are already grueling; add on sports, clubs, jobs, and hanging out with friends, and things can get out of hand quickly. Be realistic, then, about your limits. Give yourself plenty of time to study. Check your schedule and your syllabi- don't commit to taking the ACT in the midst of midterms or anything like that! You don't want too many tests piling up on the horizon. Conclusion There are a few reasons to take the ACT in college, and we've talked a little about how to approach the task. The whole process is basically the same as it is for high schoolers: you'll be registering the same way, and you'll be in a test center with high schoolers. Still, you need to recognize that you're approaching it at a different age and from a different era in your life. The main relevance of this is the importance of studying for the test ahead of time; it's not designed for college students, so you need to get used to the way it works. What's Next? Read more about the logistics of the ACT in general. It's a good idea to be familiar with the process of the test. Remember that all questions on standardized tests can be viewed as analytical. Let that inform your approach onthe test. Since the essay may be a little different than what you're writing in your classes, take some time to get used to how to handle the Writing section. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Use of Donde and Related Words for Where in Spanish

Use of Donde and Related Words for Where in Spanish Donde and related words and phrases are used in Spanish to indicate the concept of where. The different forms can be easy to confuse, and even native speakers dont always clearly distinguish between sound-alikes such as adonde and a donde. Here are the most common uses: Donde Donde typically functions as a relative pronoun following a noun or preposition. Its use is a bit broader than the English where, so it can sometimes be translated as which or in which. Note also that the English where often is used without a preposition even though the preposition is mandatory in Spanish, as the parenthetical words show: Es la casa donde nacià ³ mi madre. (Its the house where my mother was born.)El lugar donde vivimos nos hace quienes somos. (The place where we live makes us what we are.)Las escrituras son el espejo donde vemos el alma. (The scriptures are the mirror in which we see the soul.)Invierte tu dinero en donde està © tu corazà ³n.( Invest your money where your heart is.)No sà © de donde obtenà ­a ella el poder para ver el futuro. (I dont know from where she got the power to see the future. Note that the from in the translation could be omitted, while de in the Spanish sentence couldnt.)Fueron a donde estaban las chicas. (They went where the girls were. To in the translation is optional.)Viajo a donde los mapas terminan. (Im journeying to where the maps end.)Encontraron un lugar estratà ©gico desde donde se podà ­an controlar las caà ±ones. (They found a strategic place from which they could control the cannons.) Dnde Dà ³nde is similar to donde but is used in questions, indirect questions, and exclamations. If youre asking something that expresses the concept of where to and want to use the preposition a, use adà ³nde (see below), which is the equivalent of a dà ³nde, although the former is preferred. Note that dà ³nde without a preposition does not indicate movement:  ¿Dà ³nde comemos hoy? (Where are we eating today?_ ¿Dà ³nde en el web puedo crear mi cuenta? (Where on the web page can I create my account?) ¿De dà ³nde eres? (Where are you from?)No quiero saber dà ³nde has estado o que has visto. (I dont want to know where you have been or what you have seen.)i ¡Hacia dà ³nde vamos? (Where in the world are we going to?)No sà © dà ³nde est. (I dont know where he is.) Adonde Adonde usually functions as a relative adverb, typically following a location and followed by a verb of motion. Pueden escoger la escuela adonde quieren enviar a sus hijos. (You can choose the school where you want to send your children to.)Aquella es la playa adonde fuimos hace unos aà ±os. (That is the beach were we went to some years ago.)Estn en un remoto pueblo adonde viajaron para dar un concierto. (Theyre in a remote village where they went to give a concert.) Adnde Adà ³nde is used in direct and indirect questions to indicate motion toward a place:  ¿Adà ³nde vamos despuà ©s que morimos? (Where do we go to after we die?) ¿Adà ³nde sales con tus amigos? (Where are you leaving to with your friends?)No tengo la menor idea adà ³nde nos llevar. (I dont have the slightest idea where it will take us to.) Dondequiera Dondequiera (or, less commonly, adondequiera) is typically used as an adverb meaning anywhere, everywhere, or anyplace. It is sometimes spelled as two words: donde quiera. No habà ­a una escalera dondequiera. (There werent stairs anywhere.)Triunfaremos dondequiera que vamos. (We will triumph wherever we go.)Dondequiera que fue mi amigo, encontrà ³ problemas. (Wherever my friend went he ran into problems.)Dondequiera veo gente abrazandose y eso me hace sentir tan feliz. (Wherever I look I see people hugging each other than this makes me feel so happy.)Nos encontrarà ­amos caminando por dondequiera en el desierto sin propà ³sito ni direccià ³n. (We found ourselves walking everywhere in the desert without aim or purpose.) Although less common, donde sea is sometimes used in the same way: Irà © a donde sea que se me abra una puerta. (I will go to wherever a door opens for me.)Puedes comer saludable donde sea. (You can eat healthy anywhere.) For Beginners: What You Should Know First You can usually use  ¿dà ³nde? when asking where someone or something is. Use  ¿adà ³nde? when asking where someone is going:  ¿Dà ³nde est? Where are you? ¿Adà ³nde vas? Where are you going?

Is Expected Utility a good theory for explaining how people make Essay

Is Expected Utility a good theory for explaining how people make choices - Essay Example Therefore, it is virtually impossible to distinguish the most important factors from the least important ones. More often than not, economic theorists and scholars in statistics and probability choose to describe one single element of human decision-making and fail to account for a variety of subjective influences and objective circumstances that change the decision-making reality. Theory of Expected Utility is fairly regarded as one of the most challenging, controversial, and sophisticated theories of making choices. Theory of Expected Utility provides a brief insight into how individuals weigh and choose the anticipated utilities of different actions and decisions. Unfortunately, Theory of Expected Utility is too narrow to explain how people make choices: the theory exhibits unbelievable insensitivity to emotional and probabilistic factors and does not account for the natural human striving to preserve emotional and rational status quo by all possible means. Theory of Expected Util ity (or Expected Utility Theory – EUT) is rightly considered as one of the most complex and controversial explanations to how people make choices.... Apparently, EUT relies on the intrinsic striving by humans to be rational and objective in their choices and decisions. It should be noted, that the roots and origins of EUT date back to the middle of the 18th century, when the first solutions to the St. Petersburg paradox were developed (Cohen 1994). Daniel Bernoulli was the first to propose an idea that any expectation and decision-making that follows would be integrally linked to the notion of personal worth or personal utility, which individuals attributed to each particular option (Cohen 1994). Moreover, it was due to Bernoulli that the process of making choices was presented in numerical terms (Cohen 1994). With time, making choices came to exemplify a complex set of rational steps and acts, which laid the ground for making one specified preference over other stated options (Cohen 1994). As a result, EUT was developed to reflect a theoretical belief that any option could be assigned a numerical value, generally described as â⠂¬Å"utility†, with the process of making choices directed toward the option with the highest expected utility (Cohen 1994). Despite its theoretical contribution, EUT is too narrow to reflect, discuss, and predict how people make choices. The growing body of scholarly criticism does not leave any room for EUT. The fact is in that individuals are being governed by a variety of non-rational, emotional, subjective meanings that are beyond the scope of EUT. EUT does not account for the fact that individuals tend to make emotional choices and are willing to preserve their status quo by all possible means. Therefore, EUT can hardly be a relevant means of explaining how people make choices. Rather, it presents only one, narrow dimension of the complex process of taking the

ITM501 MOD 4 SLP Assign Mangement Information System Essay

ITM501 MOD 4 SLP Assign Mangement Information System - Essay Example â€Å"Microsoft says cloud computing has the potential to drastically reduce time and cost of developing applications accessible to massive numbers of users† (Chan, 2009). In the modern business world, people do their work together online by using various tools in internet through online collaboration. When people work together there arises a need for sharing files, storing, online conversation etc. Collaborative working environment helps people to work individually and in a corporative way. In such an environment people can access and interact with one another within a single entity. In order to overcome the time differentials, the employee’s electronic communication as well as groupwares are supported. â€Å"Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) is the field study of the way people collaborate and how special technologies impact collaboration† (Winkler, 2012). CSCW is dependent on a more social concept and it helps to develop guiding principles and explana tions for technologies. It mainly analyzes how these computers and technologies benefit and affect group behavior and also groupware designs are motivated and validated. This type of collaboration tools mainly focus on processes like communication, information sharing etc. Technology which supports group works with computers is called a groupware. The aim of this technology is to facilitate as well as widen the collaboration process. It mainly helps the people who use software to participate in a joint project.  Many such applications are developed and used these days. Different purposes are involved such as audio and video conferencing, chat systems, project management etc. Extranet helps people to work together even if they are miles away from each other. According to the usage of collaboration, hardware and software are categorized. Such tools are also differentiated on time and place basis. It can take place in the same time or different time period.   Cloud computing is the most excellent suit for various requirements of the business enterprise. The major importance is the reduction in cost in the infrastructure and the technology free atmosphere being operated. They are not dependent on the location or the infrastructure, but concerned with the consistency and the accountability in their various methods, and they contribute to the advantages of the business establishment. This type of computing manages the security of the data that has highly influential contribution to the information management. They handle the storage of the confidential data and their recovery when needed. The benefits of cloud computation are the resources available and also they formulate the resource allocation and build up the sustainability of the resources. â€Å"There are many postings this morning about the influence that cloud computing and globalization will have on the American IT Worker. IT workers who are holding on to their own data centers and not learning cloud c omputing are not keeping their skills up to date† (Morill, 2010). The efficiency of the shared resources is maximized with cloud computing. An ordinary point of discussion pertaining to cloud is the role and scope of the enterprise. In fact some organizations have planned to think altering the point of view of â€Å"cloud in the enterprise† (Price Waterhouse Coopers LLP, 2011) to â€Å"enterprises in the cloud† (Chao, 2013). This is a subtle yet important change that represents a transition in

Portfolio - semester 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Portfolio - semester 1 - Essay Example It is also important because it will enable me to be more vigilant when evaluating data and ensuring it is perfect and up to date as in most cases such information are always ongoing projects. In addition, I will be in a position to identify new business openings and open opportunities for the business in order to improve on their statement approaches. What I want to have achieved by the end of the placement At the end of the placement, I hope to have gained more arithmetical skills that will enable me to perform more tasks that require data collection and analysis. Furthermore, I hope to have improved my participation and devotion characters so that I may become an active member in my working place through taking part in various activities. Criteria 2 Oral communication Why do I think this is important to develop? This element is important because it promotes a high level of understanding and transparency in oral communication as it is interpersonal. There is no constituent of infle xibility in verbal communication, which implies that there is tractability for permitting modifications in the decision-making previously taken. In addition, oral communication is a vital tool for teamwork and team determination (Gonon 2008, p.90). Verbal communication endorses an approachable and motivating positivity among workforces. Therefore, because of these benefits of oral communication, I feel it is very important as it allows interaction within the workplace. By employing effective oral communications skills in a team, I stand a good position to share various ideas with my team members. For me to perform tasks efficiently for the project I have to advance my oral communications skills (Useem 2001, p. 85). I have to develop a proficient understanding with other associates and members of the organization, communicating with them in a formal manner using correct grammatical English. For instance, during my placement I was asked to perform a telephone surveys with staff and me mber from different part of the department. This allowed me to collect qualitative as well as quantitative data from members who are part of the â€Å"Business Allowance Programme.† The feedback from the survey questions gave me an insight of how the programme helped set up the individual company. I also spoke to members and patrons, who are members of the organization asking for their opinions on Chamber’s communications, speaking with member allowed me to enhance my technical vocabulary. At the end of the 6-week project, I was asked to produce a report along with a presentation to the employees of the company. This boosted my self-assurance and vocabulary letting me to execute to the paramount of my capacity. Therefore, this experience was a revelation in my field, especially in terms of improving my oral communication. It made me to realize that oral communication is a very essential component in my project and in the world as a whole as I join the working group. In most organizations, a significant number of employers seek out for applicants with good oral communication; therefore, developing such a character is an advantage for future employment opportunities. What I want to have achieved by the end of the placement By the end of this placement, I hope to have enhanced my oral communication using clear vocabularies during any speech I will be allowed

How HR managers should best staff their new subsidiary Essay

How HR managers should best staff their new subsidiary - Essay Example x-patriots is oftentimes seen in a negative light by the host nation; either through the understanding that their own human resources are too expensive or otherwise not suited to the task at hand. Another potentially negative drawback from utilizing ex-patriots as a means of fulfilling certain needs and expanding a given business within certain geographical region has to do with the danger that these ex-patriots might not fully recognize all of the cultural nuances that are part and parcel of the way in which business is conducted within such a locale. The inherent harm that is affected within such a situation is that expatriates might be totally and completely clueless with respect to the cultural norms that underscore effective business negotiation and development within a given international space. As can be seen from the information thus far discussed, it is of inherent importance that a firm seeking to expand within an international market space should carefully consider the iss ue of human resource allocations and whether or not they will be brought in from the external environment or they will be leveraged from the internal environment. The case in question illustrates a situation faced by Las Vegas Sands Corp-one of the largest gambling companies in the entire world. As such, the firm is seeking an international expansion within Japan; in anticipation for the expected legalization of gambling in 2015. As no other entrants into this market currently exists, the firm hopes to effect a dominating position as the first to effectively establish a base of operations and market presence within the nation of Japan. However, before this can be affected, the firm faces a fundamental issue with respect to where it will draw its human resources from. Three choices are essentially represented; two of which involve leveraging ex-patriots from either the Las Vegas corporate office or employees at the Macau branch of the firm. The third choice is that the employees for

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) Essay

Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844 (1997) - Essay Example The CDA provisions were in tandem with Christian faith and the Holy bible which deplores immorality. The book of 1Thessalonians 4:3 states,† For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality." The Bible also states in the book of Proverbs 29:17, â€Å"Correct your son and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul.† This act sought to safeguard upbringing of children by shielding them from a filthy society that threatens corrupt their morality. However, in the case of â€Å"Reno vs. American Civil Liberties Union,† the court of Supreme upheld a previous lower court decision that the CDA violated two existing provisions of the constitution. The CDA act violated the first amendment that provided freedom of speech. The CDA was found also violating the Fifth Amendment by virtue of vagueness of its words such as â€Å"indecent â€Å"and â€Å"patently offensive† (Law.cornell.edu, 2014). The judges final ruling resonates with an incidence in the Bible where Jesus disregarded Mosaic Law in order to protect a more fundamental right in the book of John 8:7-8 where he saved an adulterous woman from a mob that wanted to stone her, as required by the Mosaic Law. â€Å"He, who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her and when they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones...† Justice John Paul Steven recognized the fact that the government had the responsibility to protect minors from sexually explicit materials but expressed his concern that the provisions unnecessarily suppressed the right to provide information to adults which could be educative. For instance a discussion on birth Control practices. The court was also concerned with the criterion used to define indecent materials or communication. The court argued that CDA â€Å"community standards† criterion implied that other nation- wide internet communication would be

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Essay Example for Free

The Global Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 Essay Economists and scholars spend years dissecting financial markets and evaluating the causes of booms and busts. Throughout United States history there have been multiple economic booms that were underestimated and followed by recessions. In the situation of the 2007-2008 global financial crisis many culprits have been identified as causes, such as loose monetary policy, credit booms, deregulation, over complexity, and greed. Since the economic boom was solely dependent on weak policies and misconceptions, this leads me to believe prevention was possible with adequate regulatory policy, risk assessment and clarifications for commercial banks. Monetary Policy The Federal Reserve uses monetary policy to control the supply of money in order to determine interest rates and manipulate currency values. Markets commonly favor lower interest rates because people are able to pay less for capital. When the capital costs decline, banks and other entities are able to build up leverage for financing activities. When banks become highly leveraged they begin to take on more credit and liquidity risks without providing addition collateral. This is sometimes in reckless proportions that drive institution into possible closure and the need for bailouts (Investopedia, 2012). At the turn of the century during the infamous â€Å"dot-com bubble†, the stock market was flooded with new investors trying to take part in the newest financial craze. These investments were overestimated and premature, and as the stock market crashed high interest rates nearly crippled the economy. The Federal Reserve reacted by lowering the interest rates in order to stabilize the economy and aid in its recovery. In response, consumers, bankers and other investors took advantage of the cheaper borrowing costs and flooded the economy with capital (businessinsider, 2012). Aside from the United States, many countries’ economies behaved similarly and the global economy prospered. Cross-country borrowing and investing began to increase relative to the flow of capital. Historically cross-country capital exchanges happen at disproportionate levels and create global financial imbalances amongst countries (IMF, 2012). At this point domestic economies begin to blend and become globally dependent, increasing their vulnerability and sensitivity to market fluctuations. Housing Bubble At the start of the century the U.S. economy experienced a credit boom that was underestimated on regulatory, institutional and consumer levels. Low interest rates attracted consumers and increased the demand for asset acquisition. Real estate and other marketable assets increased in value (dailybeast, 2012). Traditionally investment bankers invested in Treasury bonds, but interest rates were so low the yields were not worth the investment. At this time there were drastic increases in home ownership and a booming market for mortgages. Investment bankers began to purchase individual mortgages as a means to acquire more debt leveraging to continue financing more mortgage purchases. These mortgages were grouped together with other comparable mortgages then they were reformed, rated and packaged as a marketable product known as a collateralized debt obligation (CDO). The CDOs had different levels of risk and returns based on the estimations of default probability (NY times, 2012). To insure their investments, investors also purchased derivative instruments known as credit default swaps (CDS). Credit defaults swaps are known as insurance contracts that protect the investor’s investments by gambling on whether a company or homeowner will default on debt obligations. The CDO and CDS markets were not new concepts, but had never experienced this level of investing in prior periods. In the past consumers generally purchased a CDS to go along with their bond or CDO investment. Since the CDS markets were facing large potential returns, external investors began to flood the market without having any principal ties. As these markets began to take hold, there was a realization of finite number of qualified homeowners (Wikipedia, 2012). Generally homeowners were required to meet certain qualifications in order to borrow funds for mortgages, also known as prime mortgages. Since the prime mortgage market had receded, lenders were encouraged to lower their requirements for lending and began to allow subprime mortgages. These less responsible homeowners began to default on their mortgages, which turned investment bankers’ stream of mortgage payments into empty houses. Increases in foreclosures raise the supply of available houses, which lowers the fair market values of houses. The prime mortgage homeowners were left with houses that were highly devalued relative to their mortgages and began to abandon their mortgage obligations. Mortgage lenders, investment bankers, and outside investors froze their activities, as they faced possible bankruptcy. Regulatory/Supervisory Inadequacies Deregulation is believed to be the underlying cause of all economic downturns, as its scope of responsibility reaches all markets. In the 1930s the United States experienced a bank crisis that sparked a widespread distrust in the banking system and people withdrew their money from the depository institutions overnight. The sudden retraction of the money supply from the economy caused many banks to close and the economy to suffer. The Banking Act of 1933, also known as the Glass-Steagall Act, was created to insure depositors’ savings and restore confidence through the limitation of bank security activities and the affiliations between commercial banks and securities firms(Wikipedia,2012). The Glass-Steagall Act was successful for many years, but grew to be disliked by the banking community. In the 1980s-90s the world experienced economic booms and recessions that fueled the banks preoccupation with regulation. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act was enacted in 1999, this removed barriers in the market among banking companies, securities companies and insurance companies that prohibited any one institution from acting as a combination of an investment bank, commercial bank, and an insurance company(Wikipedia, 2012). This act repealed part of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 and allowed banks to function with limited regulation. During the House of Representatives debate, Rep. John Dingell argued that the bill would result in banks becoming â€Å"too big to fail†, which will result in a bailout by the Federal government. In light of the most recent economic boom, investors demanded greater return yields from their investments. This search led many people and entities to invest in unregulated securities markets. In some securities markets there were no regulations available, because the securities were overly complex and dependent on the recently deregulated banking industry. Some examples of unregulated securities are credit default swap derivatives, collateralized debt obligations and predatory lending connected were tied to the housing bubble. This era of financial engineering and limited regulation could be the main cause for our financial crisis and its following recession. The financial crisis cost Americans trillions in investment losses, home equity declines, unemployment increases and lost wages. The broad spectrum of the global financial system is complex and involves almost everyone. It is difficult to isolate the causes of the financial crisis to a short list, but many economists and scholars commonly agree and a select few major contributors to the crisis. Whether it be deregulation, loose monetary policy, or global financial imbalances; the economy must return to some state of normalcy. In response to any mistake all participants should learn from the crisis and attempt to cultivate a plan for prevention and sustainability. References * http://news.investors.com/ibd-editorials-on-the-right/103012-631374-financial-crisis-was-caused-by-bad-policies.htm#ixzz2DLcCmbVd * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramm-Leach-Bliley_Act * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932008 * http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2012/fincrises/pdf/ch6.pdf * http://www.imf.org/external/np/res/seminars/2010/paris/pdf/obstfeld.pdf * http://www.investopedia.com/terms/m/monetarypolicy.asp * http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/collateralized-debt-obligations/index.html * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap * http://www.businessinsider.com/the-consequences-of-easy-monetary-policy-2012-9 * http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/09/06/the-clinton-recession.html * http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/09/13/846281/financial-crisis-lost-trillions/?mobile=nc

The Rethinking Of Public Spaces Cultural Studies Essay

The Rethinking Of Public Spaces Cultural Studies Essay Public Space seems like an obvious and straightforward term, denoting areas where anyone-the public- might go. Yet we use the term not so much to signify everything that is not private space; we use it to imply space that has been deliberately created as a public amenity, space that has some deliberate public use, be it ceremony, recreation, celebration, or commerce. Public space, in this sense, is functional. Understanding of public spaces, which is focused on the making of places for people. Moreover, it focuses on design as the process of making better places for people than would otherwise be produced. This definition asserts the importance of four themes; First, it stresses that design is for and about people. Second, it emphasises the value and significance of place. Third, it recognises that design operates in the real world, with its field of opportunities constrained and bounded by economic (market) and political (regulatory) forces. Fourth. It asserts the importance of design as a process. Peter Buchanan argued that urban design was essentially about place making, where places are not just a specific space, but all the activities and events that make it possible. The report demonstrates how a strategic approach can be developed to channel resources in a coherent way to transform the built environment. It shows how uncluttered and joined up public spaces can be built to promote civic values and commercial competitiveness, and how public space can bring people together for a positive, shared experience of urban living. Public spaces are those that derive a unique identity from the buildings, structures, and landscaping that encloses them and gives them form. Their identity is also derived from the people that occupy the buildings and spaces and the uses they put to them to. These spaces are of various shapes, sizes and functions. They often include trees and other landscaping, but crucially they are all an integral part of the built form of the city. They perform an architectural function because they relate to surrounding buildings through their design and use. As building density increases so too does the need for public open space and the need for considerate neighbours. Public spaces can provide visual relief and recreational open space with a density developed area, and it can also serve to promote standards in public behaviour. If people are to be aware of the complexity and variety of the society they are a part of, and if they are to appreciate notions of civic identity and respect for others, there must be a place where they can occasionally see and experience a diverse cross section of that society. When people can actively participate in life within the public realm, they learn how to conduct themselves within it. This is especially important for developing ideas about citizenship. By simply standing in a lively public space, where different age groups and different members of society are gathered together, there is a shared experience that evokes a positive sense of participation. If the design, implementation, and management of new public spaces are undertaken through a partnership approach that engages with local people, urban character and social cohesion can be strengthened. These spaces can then contribute to a richer mix of facilities that attract both local people and visitors, and can help to make a city more competitive in attracting mobile investment within the global marketplace. It is helpful to understand why these spaces have been developed by different communities through history, and to establish the demands that these spaces have been expected to satisfy. Historical analysis can help to establish a theme that such spaces have been developed to address through the ages, such as the need to provide a population with a place for festivals or with a symbolic focal point that reinforces their collective identity. An understanding of the past can often inform the present and indicate how the future mite unfolds. The people and markets in these vast urban areas are interconnected as never before, especially due to advances in information technology. The spread and mixing of peoples has resulted in cities with people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, ideologies, faiths, and income groups. The results have led to diversity and opportunity but also to tension and fear. A degree of acceptance between people has been necessary for peaceful coexistence in many cultural diverse urban areas. Perhaps a notion that we have more in common than separating us has supported this. It is often peoples identification with a city itself that helps to serve as a bridge between cultural differences. This can be seen in Beirut in Lebanon, where reconstruction works are providing new public places that are bringing together people who are previously separated by civil war. Such places reinforce a collective identity and sense of belonging throughout a diverse urban population. The design of public space is especially important in bringing people together and in creating a shared experience of a city. I write about the influence of public space on the cultural life and values of urban society. How well used public spaces can strengthen the collective consciousness of the urban population. The characters of such spaces are made up of the following design aspects: Character: a place with its own identity Continuity and enclosure: a place where public and private spaces are clearly distinguished Quality of the public reclaim: a place with attractive and successful outdoor areas (i.e. areas which are valued by people who use them or pass through them) Ease of movement: a place that is easy to get to and move through Legibility: a place that has clear image and is easy to understand Adaptability: a place that can change easily Diversity: a place with variety and choice The analysis can begin to show how spaces can be developed to model all of these aspects, especially because they contain intensive interactions between people, buildings, and surroundings. GLOBALIZATION AND INCREASED DIVERSITY: With increasing globalization this trend has intensified. Two countervailing processes are occurring. Large numbers of people are moving from developing countries to more developed regions to obtain better jobs and education and increasingly use the public spaces of the city. Yet while the macro environment is becoming more diverse because of increased flows of immigrants, differences in local population growth rates, local environments are experiencing increased vernacularization and homogeneity immigrant enclaves are growing in the city, and gated communities are developing in the suburbs and edge cities. One way, is to make sure that our urban parks, beaches, and heritage sites those large urban spaces where we all come together remain public, in the sense of providing a place for everyone to relax, learn, and recreate. CULTURAL DIVERSITY IS GOOD FOR: Ulf Hannerz (1996) suggests that the value of diversity is so entrenched in the contemporary discourse about culture that it is difficult to reflect clearly on it. So he offers what he calls his seven arguments for diversity to make the point that there are many basic reasons to consider cultural diversity important to our lives. He includes many of the points, arguing that cultural diversity is important because it provides: The moral right to ones culture, including ones cultural heritage and cultural identity; The ecological advantage of different orientations and adaptions to limited environmental resources; A form of cultural resistance to political and economic domination by elites and power asymmetries and a way to counteract relations of dependency; The aesthetic sense and pleasurable experience of different worldviews, ways of thinking, and of other cultures in their own rights; The possibility of confrontation between cultures that can generate new cultural processes; A source of creativity; and A fund of tested knowledge about ways of going about things. (Hannerz 1996, 56-57) Attention to cultural diversity also leads to community empowerment, expanded citizenship, and the involvement of people in the governance and maintenance of their neighbourhoods and workplaces. It expands the notion of individual rights of citizenship to include the survival of ones culture and/or cultural group, and the marking of its importance in the landscape. Also to add that creativity from cultural contact and interaction flows from cooperation as well as from working out solutions to conflicts and confrontation. Therefore, cultural diversity utilized effectively and honestly, leads to more democratic practises and peaceful relationships between people within a locality especially if all groups are treated equally with respect for their needs, desires, and adequate space and resources for work, home, and recreation. VALUE AND NATURE OF PUBLIC SPACES: Public space is the stage upon which the drama of communal life unfolds. The streets, squares, and parks of a city give form to the ebb and flow of human exchange. These dynamic spaces are an essential counterpart to the settled places and routines of work and home life, providing the channels for movement, the nodes of communication, and the common grounds for play and relaxation. There are pressing needs that public space can help people to satisfy, significant human rights that can be shaped to define and protect, and special cultural meanings that it can best convey. These themes to be explored and developed in this report, reveal the value of public space and lay the groundwork for improved design and encourage interactions. In all communal life there is a dynamic balance between public and private activities. Within this balance, different cultures place differing emphases on public space. How public spaces can be made to serve human needs, from passive relaxation, through active engagement with others, to discovery of unknown worlds. Public space will be seen to convey meanings, from those that reinforce personal and group life to those that challenge the accepted world view of the culture and open the mind to new insights. There are three primary values that guide the development of our perspective: we believe that public places should be responsive, democratic, and meaningful. Responsive spaces are those that are designed and managed to serve the needs of their users. The primary needs that people seek to satisfy in public space are those for comfort, relaxation, active and passive enagement, and discovery. Relaxation provides relief from the stresses of daily life and both active and passive engagement with others promote individual well-being and community. Public spaces can also be a setting for physically and mentally rewarding activity, such as exercise, gardening, or conversation. It can be a place for discovery of self or others, a step into the larger world. Visual and physical contact with nature and plants can also result in important health and restoration benefits for people. Democratic spaces protects the rights of user groups. They are accessible to all groups and provide for freedom of action but also for temporary claim and ownership.A public space can be a place to act more freely than when under constraints of home or workplace. In most settings one can temporarily lay claim to a piece of turf even when one does not own it. Ultimately, public space can be changed by public action, because it is owned by all. In such spaces, people learn to live together. Meaningful spaces are those that allow people to make strong connection between the place, their personal lives, and the larger world. They relate to their physical and social context. These connections may be to ones own history or future, to a valued group, to ones culture or relevant history, to biological and psychological realities, or even to other worlds. A continuously used public space with its many memories can help anchor ones sense of personal continuity in a rapidly changing world. By the build-up of overlapping memories of individual and shared experience, a place becomes sacred to a community. These values can incorporate the public space motivations. For instance, they define public interaction. visual and environmental motives come into play in satisfying peoples need for active engagement , discovery, and meaning. Public space values must grow out of an understanding of why people got o such spaces, how they actually use them, and what they mean to their users overtime. The existence of some form of public life is a prerequisite to the development of public spaces. Although every society has some mixture of public and private, the emphasis given to each one and the values they express help to explain the differences across settings, across cultures, and across times. The public spaces created by societies serve as a mirror of their public and private values as can be seen in the Greek agora, the roman forum, the new England common, and the contemporary plaza, as well as Canalettos scene of Venice. Throughout history, communities have developed public spaces that support their needs, whether these are markets, places for sacred celebrations, or sites for local rituals. Public spaces often come to symbolize the community and the larger society or culture in which it exists. Although there are vast differences in the forms of communal life across societies, public life has been an integral part of the formation and continuation of social groups. Public places afford casual encounters in the course of daily life that can bind people together and give their lives meaning and power. It also offers relief from the stresses of work, providing opportunities for relaxation, entertainment, and social contact. People can discover new things and learn from others. It has the potential of bringing diverse groups together so that they learn from each other, perhaps the richest quality of a multiclass, multicultural, heterogeneous society. It also serves as a social binder on the scale of a groups history and culture. We can take encouragement from the increasing consciousness of the value of positive public life experience and the efforts of many to ensure that such opportunities continue and increase. Many recent events have fostered their awareness the consumer movement, the work of public space activists, and the advocates for parks, local gardens, and other community spaces. It leads to increased beneficial contacts between different cultural groups and greater tolerance and understanding is much to be desired. It is towards a rich, diverse, and open public life that we should be striving. EVOLVING PUBLIC SPACE: Against the historical backdrop of public life, public spaces have arisen out of many different forces. Some were the consequences of the creeping encroachment of a society bent on finishing and filling up spaces, especially in urban areas. Some were the products of heterogeneous society with many different needs, interests, and aesthetics. Others were products of a desire for careful planning, whatever the priorities guiding their forms and functions. I define public spaces as open, publicly accessible places where people go for group or individual activities. While public spaces can take many forms and may assume various names such as plazas, malls, and playgrounds, they all share common ingredients. They are formed by at least two different processes. Some have developed naturally that is an ad hoc way without deliberate planning through appropriation, by repeated use in a particular way, or by the concentration of people because of an attraction. Each of these results in a plac e that accommodates people for specific purpose and becomes, over time, a site that people rely on to meet, relax or interact. These spaces also enable people to connect with others, to affiliate in some way with other people. Some users may seek specific activities hoping or certain that they will be available in a site. These may be bicyclers going to use paths in parks, people going to the beach to sun or swim, or the elderly in search of a bench. The intensity and nature of the activity may vary but there is an expectation that specific experiences will be possible in the place and that particular resources will be available. PUBLIC SPACE MEANINGS AND CONNECTIONS: People need links to the world, and some are provided by the spaces they inhabit and the activities occurring within these spaces. Public spaces experiences yield meanings that accrue over time, and if these are positive meanings they will lead to connections that go beyond the immediate experience of a setting. Links are established between that place and the life of an individual, links to a valued group, to a whole culture and its history, economics, and politics, or symbolically to the universe or other worlds through a persons biological and psychological reality, through nature, through growth. a interactive place is on which, in some way appropriate to the person and her culture, makes her aware of her community, her past, the web of life, and the universe of time and space in which these are contained. In order for people to see some positive meaning in a place it must resonate with their lives and evoke patterns of use that create bonds with the space. If people see possibilities and share goals with others, their connections to that place will be enhanced. The site will be an evocative one, a place that resounds with the memories and experiences of an individual, a family, a group, or a culture in ways that connect each one to a larger entity, a group memory, or experience. While important connections can derive from an individuals personal history, they may also stem from the history of a group from an area where connections to other members enhance and shape the experience of a place. Spatial identity is largely a product of social relationships with others. These others may be loosely affiliated groups or cultural, sub cultural, or national ones. Public space meanings develop when people are able to form root in an area, when settings become important parts of their lives. This occurs when space are well suited to their surroundings both physically and socially, when they support the kinds of activities users desire, and when they engender feelings of comfort, safety, and connections to other people. Individual connections emerge in a number of ways from a persons life and personal experience, from a tradition of use of an area, and from special events in a place. These bonds are enhanced by the presence of natural elements and design features suggesting connections to the larger universe. BOOKS: WEBSITES: Lownsbrough,H. Beunderman,J. (2007).  Equally Spaced? Public space and interaction between diverse communities.  Available: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=enq=The+authors+of+the+report+would+like+to+thank+the+Commission+for+Racial+Equality+for+their+support+for+the+realisation+of+this+report.+In+particular,+we+would+li. Last accessed 15 April 2010. Brand,J. (2009).  Physical Space and Social Interaction.  Available: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=enq=Physical+Space+and+Social+Interactionmeta=aq=faqi=aql=oq=gs_rfai=. Last accessed 20 April 2010.

The Mass Media and the Futile Search for Extraterrestrial Life Essay

Sure we've all seen movies and read books about extraterrestrial beings landing on the Earth and conquering the human race. And millions of us have viewed TV shows like "The X-files" and "Third Rock From the Sun." These forms of popular culture share a common thread -- extraterrestrial life. Yet the underlying question is, does the mass media take extraterrestrialism seriously? Or do they mock it? Or do they simply exaggerate its credibility? In the majority of these cases, the mass media not only takes on the third mode of exaggeration, it shifts focus from more important and serious issues such as extraterrestrial life at the cellular level. The media loves to play with the minds of viewers, making them believe in something which realistically is probably untrue. The early history of extraterrestrial life traces back to the 1940s and 1950s. Stories of alien abduction sprang up everywhere becoming a general trend. At the time, alien abduction was defined as the forced removal of a person from his /her physical location to another place. It may include an altered state of awareness for the purpose of physical, surgical or psychological procedures performed by non-humans. After the abduction, the person is returned to his or her physical location and frequently has little or no recollection of the experience. Where did this all begin? It began in 1898 when H.G. Welles published his book The War of The Worlds. The time period was one of huge tension and military armament. This was a marker that World War I was going to break out. Welles novel addressed that very dread. The aliens were from the future and were perceived as an evil threat to mankind. But books like these and TV shows like "The X-Files" are always a projection... ...Visitors?" Frank McConnell,Commonweal Volume 123 #20 Nov.22, 1996 Bibliography Books: Sagan, Carl. Cosmos; Contact. Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space. Kieffer, H.H. Mars University of Arizona Press 1992 Articles: Sagan, Carl. "The Search for Extraterrestrial Life." Scientific American. October 1994 "The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence: Scientific Quest of Hopeful Folly?" "Titan: A Laboratory for Prebiological Organic Chemistry." Accounts of Chemical Research. July 1992 "A Search for Life on Earth from the Galileo Spacecraft." Nature. October 21, 1993. McKay, David. "Evaluating the Evidence for Past Life on Mars." Web Sites: SETI Institute Web Site: http://www.seti-inst.edu/ http:// www.abduct.com/experien.htm http://ntdwwaab.compuserve.com/homepages/Andy page/abduction.htm http.//www.gtm.net/"geibdan"/

Colonialism and Africa Essay -- African Countries, Post Colonial Afric

Introduction Modern African states have several problems ranging from corruption, to armed conflict, to stunted structural development. The effects of colonialism have been offered as a starting point for much of the analysis on African states, but the question of why African states are particularly dysfunctional needs to be examined, given the extent to which they have lagged behind other former European colonies in many aspects. In the first section, I will consider the problems with African states from the level of the state. That is, the nature of the states' inceptions and the underlying flaws may explain some of the issues that have been associated with African states today. Next I examine the development of, or lack of, civil society and the institutions which took place across the continent in the colonial era. In particular, I consider the lack of education and judicial authority and how this affected the formation of the structures which exist in the post-colonial era. Lastly, the econ omic legacy of colonialism is analysed, and whether the failure of African states to prosper can be explained by colonial practices. State Formation Ever since the boundaries of Africa were drawn up in 1884/5, very little has changed in terms of the continent's territorial divisions. Much has been made of the fact that the post-colonial states which constitute Africa were the products of colonial demarcations, and whose territories are not congruent to existing political and ethnic organizations. Ethnic conflict within states is an unfortunate feature of several African states, and one which undoubtedly retards development of any kind. There has been debate surrounding the nature of African ethnicities and whether they were synt... ...provision of education in the colonial period affected the ability to develop from within. The civil institutions were weak, and the judiciary unable to provide a balancing role to the central power of the state. Indigenous Africans were typically not allowed to rise to meaningful levels in the industrial complex, and the infrastructure was built only enough to serve the extraction of wealth. The small number of educated bureaucrats who previously prospered in their positions, found themselves as a new elite class in the absence of the colonialists, and it was perhaps too difficult for them to change their behaviour after inheriting the state. In summary, it could be said that large portions of the inhabitants of the newly independent state had not entered into any sort of stable 'social contract' by the organic process which had been the case for other societies.

Assignment “Introduction to Leadership” Essay

Leadership styles: – When looking at leadership style I have to look at what as a manager I am good at and that has got me to the position as Manager and what I need to do to progress my team. Firstly I need to gain the respect of my team by treating everyone fairly. Leadership is defined as ‘the process in which an individual influences the group of individuals to attain a common goal’. The goal is attained by mutual cooperation and cohesive behaviour. A leader infuses a sense of positivity and directs others to reach the specified goal. A leader is someone who stands not only for his cause but takes responsibility and motivates other individuals also. There is a clear difference between being a manager and a leader. A leader is a motivation for others and inspires individuals to aim high and attain that aim. However a manager only supervises over his subordinates. Power naturally comes to a leader but that power is not a tool of leader. To be a good lead I have to look at the managers around me and what in my opinion makes them good or bad leaders and also if these are traits that I can adapt and use or ultimately will they be out of character for me and be counterproductive for me. Using the Paul and Kenneth Blanchard model of Situational Leadership:- Telling: – this is where a person has low ability and low willingness maybe a new starter. This is the style I would use for a new starter who does not yet have the skills to operate independently. Selling: – this is where a person would have low ability but high willingness. This style I would use on someone like Dave in the office he wants to do a good job but is of an age that he does not quite have the skills he needs but he more than makes up for that with his knowledge of the job. So I need to draw on his experience to help him achieve his goals. Participating: – this is for a person will high ability and low willingness. This leadership style I would use on Becca as she has the ability but when things are going against her tends to try and hide from difficult circumstances so i would have a discussion with her and give her the support needed to get the job done. Delegating: – this is for High ability and high willingness. This i am more than comfortable using on Ann and Mel as they have shown that they can comfortably do the tasks i set them. I have also set them individual tasks looking at how we can improve our day to day activities and ultimately make our lives easier in the long run. After doing the test I came down as someone who was fairly evenly spread of tell, selling and participating but who does not delegate this is something I have known about and my team has told me and something I can now begin to address Review of own leadership behaviour:- I am relatively new in the role of Sales office Manager. I have progressed from a role within the factory by doing an excellent job as a traffic planner. I took all the information gain by talking to people and being in the loop within the factory. I took in account what the factory could do and what our customer expectations were which allowed us to plan what was needed and by when to meet what the customer actually needed. Being new to the sales role I have had to take myself out the information loop and learn a new role. I have had to learn a new computer system and at the same time be the role model for my team. Whilst doing this I have made myself available for any problems the team has but have tried to show that I can do the job and also help team members who have been doing it for years. I currently have a team of five people all with varying abilities. I have two long serving members of staff one part time and two that started at the beginning of the year. With no two members of staff the same I have had to employ different leadership style i.e. with Dave he is coming up to retirement and I would say he was low on ability he has a high willingness to complete tasks set so with him I would employ the telling leadership style which was very similar with my two new starters but as the months progressed they both showed high ability but one was more willing to achieve than the other so with Becca I had to show a participating style of leadership and with Mel I am able to delegate more as she showed both high ability and high willingness. The factory as a whole is very unionised and whilst the majority of the staff are in the union they do generally like to get the job done and if this means working long stressful hours they do. When we are in these situations I will change my leadership style to match the situation where it be acting on their behalf to speak to people who they have issue with (maybe another member of staff or even customers) or by re-enforcing procedures that are there to make the lives easier or by finding courses that will ultimately give them the tools to make their jobs easier in the long run. I have spoken to members of the team and other managers around the office and all have said I try to do too much and that I need to â€Å"learn to delegate† and whilst this doesn’t come naturally to me (my preferred leadership style was telling and participating) I have taken their comments on board and have started to delegate a lot more around the team and focused on other areas within the team that would help them to improve and grow. I can improve myself as a leader by listening to others and taking advice and giving and receiving feedback and also by doing courses and re assessing myself to look at things from a different angle and point of view. Within the factory I am constantly being assessed and feedback given my goals are constantly moving but I personally need to delegate more to enable me to grow as a manager. I have also started to meet other Sales office managers within the group so I know that the job I have been doing whilst not exactly the same as other sites is very similar and I haven’t been doing that bad a job but perception is everything so I have to look at promoting myself with the site and also more importantly to other sites what I have to say has value and I can bring a lot to the table but I also have to look at the individuals within my team and look at their maturity levels and adapt my leadership to what is needed to each individual and also learn to delegate more.

African American Culture 5 Essay

Question# 4: African cultures, by and large, bring a similar world view to the relationship between man and the spiritual realm, one that is marked by an extremely personal interaction. In the broader African spiritual world human beings are seen to be under the constant influence of other people, their ancestors, minor deities, the Creator, and various forces of nature. As a result the African spiritual world can be described as interactive since all things are endowed with life-force. How is this idea expressed in ritual approaches to morality, wrongdoing, and spiritual empowerment? African American religion has always been heavily involved and influenced by the notion of morality, wrong doing and spiritual empowerment since the slave days if not earlier, African Americans came to embrace Protestant Christianity and adapted their own version of it which is consistent with evidence in the 19th century and a little bit of the 18th, at the time Christianity had little effect on slave society through the efforts of Anglicans, but it was not because African Americans rejected the gospel but because whites seized Christian brotherhood from blacks. As blacks in the South and in the British Caribbean struggled to develop individual and collective identities from the ideas and ways of African culture and their new conditions of life, the series of efforts by evangelicals to convert slaves eventually gave rise to a distinct African-American form of Christian theology, worship style, and religious community. The importance of religion and having their own take on it is among African Americans, as among all people, rests on fulfilling the human need for an understanding of one’s place in both the spiritual and temporal world. Although it was difficult, African Americans discovered in evangelical conversion requirements an opportunity to reassert personal authority based on their ability to communicate directly with God and to bring others to recognize the need for personal repentance and acceptance of Jesus. A perfect example that supports the connection between religious involvement and a sense of personal identity, is found in a slave woman who, back then it was not common for them to tell missionaries that her people have come from across the sea and lost their father and mother, and therefore want to know the Father. The displacement of Africans, for whom locality was critical to interactions with the spiritual world, did not strip them of their religious identity, but required them to learn the spiritual landscape of their new home and reshape their practices accordingly. â€Å"Come Shouting to Zion† details the many religious rituals that Africans preserved in the new world, especially those surrounding fundamental life events such as the birth and naming of children, marriage, burial ceremonies, and ritual dancing and singing to communicate with ancestors and deities. The influence of Africans with many diverse but fundamentally similar cultures in a strange new land encouraged slaves to form new pan-African cultures, which grew increasingly popular as later generations of slaves were born into bondage in America, establishing a distinct African-American culture. The pidgin African-English is a prime example of Africans in American creating a system of communication that was not traceable to a particular African ethnic origin, nor was it a perfect imitation of American English, but was instead shared by blacks in America. As slaves first encountered a foreign language that whites wished them to learn well enough to be more productive but not well enough to pose a threat to the race-based socioeconomic hierarchy, so they became acquainted with Christianity at the will of whites, but when given the opportunity, appropriated it for their own purposes. In the early encounters between slaves and Christianity it is without question that African, and particularly American-born slaves, sought a spirituality that would explain or show their temporal condition. Some salves looked to a theology of liberation and equality among Christians, which they could glean from 18th century evangelicals, mostly Anglicans, who tried to downplay these aspects of biblical teaching. The early period of evangelism was restricted by the fears of slave-owners that slaves who converted to Christianity would feel empowered to revolt against their bondage. Several conspired rebellions and many smaller incidents of black assertion were linked to blacks who had heard enough preaching to identify themselves with the enslaved nation of Israel. This fed the fears of whites, and Anglicans continued to complain that the planters who prohibited them from educating slaves on religious matters were the largest hindrance to saving African American souls. While racism was strengthened and slaves were unable to improve their social status by conforming to white European-American values, very few blacks found the Christian message Anglicans shared with them appealing . Anglican churches maintained strict separation of rich and poor, white and black, during services and sacraments. The high-church emphasized that learned men alone were authorized to teach and that blacks would listen without questioning and to accept the extension of their temporal message and isolation from whites into the religious sphere. Under these terms, it is I am not surprised that Christianity failed to take root as a meaningful religion, a spiritual world that Africans wanted to live in. But it is essential to recognize the role of whites in shaping the message that Africans were allowed to hear, and the role specifically of slaveholders in excluding blacks from access to Christianity. That blacks expressed their agency in rejecting this early version of Christianity offered to them. . At the same time Anglicans were confused over their lack of success in the Southern mainland, Moravians made a significant impact on blacks in the Caribbean by bringing a different vision of a Christian community. Moravians, Methodists, Separate Baptists, and a few other missionaries in the late 18th and early 19th centuries who sought out African Americans stressed spiritual, if not always worldly, equality. Africans identified with and embraced images of a savior who had suffered like they did, and joined these Christian images with African musical modes of expression to create spirituals that reminded: â€Å"Jesus been down to de mire/ You must bow low to de mire† (Stuckey, 139). However, you must finally accept Christianity as an affirmation of their lowly place in society and a divine exhortation to obedience and docility, as many white slaveholders had hoped they would. Rather, blacks found opportunities at biracial revival meetings which were meetings held at locations most often church, in which slaves and blacks were black would interpret what they heard and to share their divinely inspired interpretations of Christian faith, even from pulpits. During this critical period when a significant portion of blacks in the Caribbean and American South were first offered Christianity, they clearly adopted it and transformed it into something that was their own. After the period of revivals that first sparked wide-scale conversions in the South, many African-Americans focused on building a community in which they could support one another and worship in their own African-influenced style. Local black congregations extended their religious community, most notably with the founding of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in1816. As an institution spanning several states, the A. M. E. Church allowed blacks to take part at different levels in a collective, hierarchical social system as had never before been possible under American slavery. blacks continued to participate as minorities in biracial congregations (still with segregated seating) in most parts of the south and the expanding frontier, but found fewer opportunities to become ordained preachers or lay leaders in mixed parishes, where they were likely only to be allowed to â€Å"exercise the gift, provided they teach sound Doctrine sic† under the approval of whites (Frey & Wood, 166). In the creation of their own religious communities in which no whites were present to criticize â€Å"overemotional† black forms of religious expression and persisting practices, such as polygamy and dancing, African-Americans actively designed a spirituality that fulfilled their needs in the slave societies of the Americas. African-American religiosity was then, as it is now, â€Å"centered on extended and expanding families and households, the importance of self-determination and personal dignity, mutual aid, and shared responsibility for the progress of the race† (Hortons, xi). In my opinion, African agency is most clearly supported by evidence of Africans defining their faith, modes of worship, and religious ties as part of a larger emerging African-American culture. Change was a relentless fact of life for Africans in 18th and 19th century America, most tragically present in enslavement and removal from Africa and domestic trade within the Americas that broke up families as masters bought and sold property. Outside the personal struggles of individual slaves, the changes in ideology and society wrought by the era of the American Revolution exposed Africans and their descendents to evolving external ideas about their place within American society, their rights as humans, and their needs as spiritual beings. Religion was one of the few arenas in which African-Americans could control the changes in their individual lives and their culture as a whole. Evolving religious traditions provided individuals over generations with a source of spiritual renewal and a supportive community and prepared an institution that could serve future generations. The long and turbulent transition from African forms of religiosity to African-influenced forms of Protestantism shows that black Americans created, out of all religious ideas and structures available to them, a faith that was their own. Question#3 The musical selections in this section come from Africa and the Americas. Some are examples of the preservation of traditional musical styles; others are examples of the adaptation of traditional modes of expression to modern styles. Prevalent in each performance is the use of either percussion instruments such as drums or singing in groups or by soloists. How do these musical selections exemplify a common African musical aesthetic, i. e. rhythmic syncopation, call-and-response, melodic constructions, vocal colors, in both traditional and contemporary expressions? African dance has contributed many characteristics to dance in America. We see evidence of this in many aspects of dance today. Being such a diverse nation, America has the blessing of combining original dances from different cultures to create an amazing dance repertoire. American dance as we know would be completely different, if it weren’t for the Africans. African dance began with the different rhythms of the tribes. Its roots in America began with the slave trade. The American slave trade began in 1619, (However, Africans were imported as slaves to the West Indies staring almost a century before that) with the arrival of Dutch trading ships carrying a cargo of Africans to Virginia. They were first brought over by boat to places such as Brazil, Cuba, and Haiti. Eventually different countries end up taking over those nations and slaves fall under their rule. In Brazil, the Portuguese take over, in Cuba the Spanish take over, and in Haiti, the French take over. The retaining of African culture by those in slavery was stronger in the other nations than in America, as the Spanish and French rulers adhered to the more lenient view of dancing taken by the Catholic Church. In America, the Protestant church strongly disapproved of dance. Therefore, dances that occurred in the West Indies, Brazil, Haiti and Cuba retained more of the African dance structure, than those in America did. Those dances can be classified as recreational or sacred. An example of a recreational dance is the Juba, which was a competitive dance where opponents would outdo each other in feats of skill, sometimes while balancing something on their head. Sacred dances were based on the worship of religious gods. The goal of the dance was for the dancer to become â€Å"possessed† by the god so that it would speak through the dancer. Two examples are voodoo and Shango dances. Traces of the African religious practice of possession, or disengaging from reality through the combined effects of music and dance, can be detected in the appeal of some forms of jazz dance. In America, the dance movement of Africa was restrained mainly by two factors: the attitude of the church towards dancing as being immoral and the restricted use of the primary African instrument (the drum). Drumming was banned in 1739 following a slave insurrection. White plantation owners responded by banning all drums and that forced slaves to search for other percussion options. They substituted with banjos, clapping hands, stomping feet, and the fiddle. Dances that occurred on the Plantations were for recreation and religious reasons also. Because of the European influence in America, the movement gave a distinct American appearance, rather than a strictly African one. Many dances imitated animals. There were also circle dances and dances for celebrations. Another category that emerged was competitive dances. The most well known one was the cakewalk. The slaves had witnessed their owners’ dancing festivities and imitated their stiff upper bodies while contrasting it with loose leg movements. The owners enjoyed watching this and gave a cake to the best dancer. The observation of African dancing by the whites led to them stereotyping the dancing slave. They began to blacken their faces and imitate them using such indigenous movements as the ‘shuffle’. The imitation dances by whites started an era of American entertainment based on the stereotype on the dancing ‘Negro’. Before the Civil War, professional dancers were mostly white, with the exception of William Henry Lane. He was also known as â€Å"Master Juba† and was a freeborn slave thought to be the best dancer in the World. He had lived in Manhattan where the Irish immigrants also lived. His dancing was a combination of Irish jig dancing and African rhythm, just like the slaves who were forced to compete with the Irish migrant workers aboard the ships. Both his movements and the Nigerian slaves are said to be the start of tap dance. Minstrelsy was also a popular form of entertainment in America from 1845 –1900. The Minstrel show was a group of male performers that portrayed the Negro as either slow and shuffling or sharply dressed and quick moving. The minstrel show proved prominent in spreading vernacular dances like the cakewalk and jig dancing on a wide scale. The next major change after minstrelsy came with the birth of ragtime music and ballroom dancing after 1910. A bunch of animal dances were seen in white ballrooms. Examples were the Turkey Trot, and Chicken Scratch. The invasion of ballrooms with native inspired dances set the stage for the same process to occur on Broadway. Zeigfield borrowed some of these dances for his Follies. Social dance became introduced on the theatrical stage. The big aspect being borrowed wasn’t the actual dances, but their swinging qualities. In 1921, Shuffle Along featured a jazz inspired dance called the Charleston. It left the audience with a lot of energy and a new respect towards black dancing. Tap was now also brought to white audiences and the musical comedies took on a new, more rhythmic life. In the late 1920s, jazz inspired songs replaced the popular white standards and America accepted Jazz music as its own. Louis Armstrong was a big part of the creation of swing music. It was a style of jazz music that emphasized African influenced rhythm and was played by big bands. Faster and sharper footwork came about and the Lindy was the new dance craze. It incorporated the shuffle and glide and buck and wing movements from early African dances. The Lindy was significant for starting jazz dance styles used in later musicals. It also gave the opportunity for white choreographers to experience African swing. Jazz music and dancing slowed down in popularity after WWII. Technology and music were evolving. The beat became more complex and musicians like Charlie Parker and Dizie Gillespie explored more with improve. The overall result was, jazz music became something more to listen to rather than to dance socially. The advent of Television in the 1950s also kept people at home instead of on the dance floors. African American dance became more of an artistic expression than a social means. Professional companies and dancers restored early African rhythms and the beauty and emotion of their traditional songs, including Catherine Dunham’s â€Å"Shango†, Alvin Ailey’s â€Å"Revelations† and Bill T. Jones’ â€Å"Uncle Tom’s Cabin†. In the past 50 years, African American dance has been rich in innovations as well as connections with the past. The definition of professional dance has broadened beyond ballet, modern, and jazz. Popular and social dances, including the urban black dance forms of break dancing and hip-hop have been recognized for their artistry and expressiveness. Dance created and performed by African Americans has become a permanent part of American dance. Every dancer and almost every person in America, in one way or another has danced steps that resemble early African polyrhythmic movements. Personally, I think the dance World in America could no have flourished as well as it did without it’s African influences. since the slave trade the drum has been used all over the world as a means of communication and self expression. Its broad variety of users includes the early African tribes, using them for ceremonial purposes. The Africans brought drums with them to the Americas and helped to develop their popularity among American musicians. In the mid 1900’s drum sets were brought about. These revolutionary collaborations of percussive pieces started off with a pair of hi-hats, a bass and snare drum, and a couple of tom toms. Later as the music progressed, so did the drum kits, completely eliminating the need for an entire drum section. With the coming of the rock and roll movement the drum kits were changing, they needed to accommodate the new music styles. They became sonically diverse and even electronic drums were brought about; making them infinitely adjustable both ergonomically and musically. With every major drum manufacturer competing to have the best product on the market drums will always be evolving. African American musicians and early slaves choose to use drums as a common form of expression because of the deep bass that was used to duplicate heart beat and thunder. The sound waves for open ended and string instruments is fairly straight forward. However, for a closed end instrument, such as a drum, the sound waves are different. A lot of the energy is dissipated through the shell of the drum, which is the reason for the variance in drum construction these days. Many different kinds of wood are used to generate different sounds, or a different amount of energy absorption. For a warmer, deeper sound maple construction is used while birch is used to get a high, resonant tone full of vibration. The heaviest wood that dissipates the most amount of energy is oak, creating a lower, flat sound. Question#1 I believe that Egypt’s economic progress over the last decade is a great example of showing how They have come a long way and are still vastly improving. Egypt is the third-largest economy in the Middle East and North Africa region (after Saudi Arabia and Israel), as well as one of the strongest, with significant potential for future economic growth and diversification. With a real commitment to economic reform, which favors a large privatization program and the encouragement of private investment and growth. The improvement in Ghana is evident in how their country has such a diverse economy. The Gold Coast was renamed Ghana upon independence in 1957 because of indications that present-day inhabitants descended from migrants who moved south from the ancient kingdom of Ghana. By West African standards, Ghana has a relatively diverse and rich natural resource base Minerals–principally gold, diamonds, manganese ore, and bauxite–are produced and exported. Exploration for oil and gas resources is ongoing. Timber and marine resources are important but declining resources. Agriculture remains a mainstay of the economy, accounting for more than one-third of GDP and about 55% of formal employment. Cash crops consist primarily of cocoa and cocoa products, which typically provide about one-third of export revenue, timber products, coconuts and other palm products, shear nuts , and coffee. Ghana also has established a successful program of nontraditional agricultural products for export including pineapples, cashews, and peppers. Cassava, yams, plantains, corn, rice, peanuts, millet, and sorghum are the basic foodstuffs. Fish, poultry, and meat also are important dietary staples. Ghana’s industrial base is relatively advanced compared to many other African countries. Industries include textiles, apparel, steel (using scrap), tires, oil refining, flour milling, beverages, tobacco, simple consumer goods, and car, truck, and bus assembly. Industry, including mining, manufacturing, construction and electricity, accounts for about 25% of GDP. I strongly believe that since Ghana and Egypt have improved so vastly it is helping African Americans improve in general, the saying â€Å"We come from a long line of kings and queens is such a truthful statement if you look back on history. We have a lot of ancestry that lies within Ghana and Egypt. With the knowledge of the past it will help us to continue realize our past and bring us to terms with the future. We can reverse the process by not letting people hold us back and to not blame others. I also believe that strong knowledge of Ghana and Egypt and Mali, will also further our culture by being educated and not told how our past was. There are a lot of invention by many great African Americans that most people do not know that black inventors were behind the idea, not that is matters that a black or a white person constructed or came up with an idea for a patent, it is essential that we are have contributed just as many things if not more than any other culture. There have been so many contributions to society to western civilization and I feel it is so important that we surround our selves with knowledge of our ancestors because they worked hard to get us to the point today where we are able to vote and the possibility of a black president. The saying that we come from a long line kings and queens is so powerful because it shows you that black really is beautiful and if you retrace our ancestors you will find out that our people were just as important as kings and queens. Lewis Temple was the inventor of a whaling harpoon called the â€Å"Temple’s Toggle† and the â€Å"Temple’s Iron. † He was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1800 and arrived in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1829. He worked as a blacksmith and had lots of friends that were whaler’s who bought harpoons and had lots of conversations with them. Granville T. Wood was known as the black Edison. Woods was born in Columbus, Ohio on April 23,1856. He never finished elementary school and he worked in a machine shop at a very young age. He moved to Missouri in 1872 at the age of sixteen. By 1881 he opened a factory in Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactured telephone, telegraph and electrical equipment. He filed for his first application for a patent in 1884 for an improved steam-boiler furnace. Woods patented the† telographony ,† a combination of the telegraph and the telephone. He produced one of his most important inventions in 1887, it was called the Synchronous Multiplex Railway Telegraph. It enabled messages to be sent from moving trains and railways stations. In 1890 he set out to improve the lighting system by creating an efficient safe economical dimmer. It was safer and and resulted in 40% energy savings. Woods also created an overhead conducting system for electrical railways and the electrified third rail. By the time of his death in 1910 he had 150 patents awarded to him all together. Lewis H. L was a pioneer in the development of the electric light bulb. He was also the only black member of the Edison Pioneers, a group of inventors and scientists who worked with Thomas Edison. He was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1848 and was raised in Boston. He enlisted in the Navy and served as a cabin boy on the U. S. S Massaoitta the age of sixteen. Latimer was given the assignment to draw plans for Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone patent . In 1879 Latimer went to work as a draftsman for Hiram Maxim, who invented the machine gun and headed the electric lighting company. Latimer worked on improving the quality of the carbon filament used in the light bulb. In 1882 he received a patent for an improved process for manufacturing carbon filaments. Gerrett is best remembered for his invention of the gas mask and the three way traffic signal. Mogan was born on March 4,1875 in Paris, Kentucky. He left school after fifth grade at the age of fourteen. He left Kentucky and headed for Cincinnati, Ohio and got a job as a handy man in a sewing shop. Morgan directed his attention to the frequent instances of firemen being overcome by fumes and thick smoke when they went into burning buildings. He perfected breathing device which he patented in 1914. In 1923morgan patented an automatic traffic signal which he sold to the General Electric Company for four thousand dollars. In 1963 Garrett A. Morgan died at ht age of 88 in Cleveland, Ohio after he was ill for two years. Just to name a few ,those were a couple of major contributors to the African American culture and western civilization.

Fiela’s Child- Dalene Matthee Comparisons Essay

Throughout this thought-provoking novel, Matthee shows us how the environment where people are brought up, plays a strong part in who they become. She compares and contrasts the bright, open expanse of the Long Kloof with the darkness of the Forest, as well as the inhabitants of these areas. The novel tells us the story of a boy who struggles to understand who he is and where he belongs. This boy is Benjamin Komoetie. Despite spending his younger years in the care of Fiela Komoetie, a black woman, interference by white people upturns his life and sends Benjamin into the Forest to live with woodcutters. This transfer is confusing for a twelve-year-old, and even the insistence of his new white family that he has returned home, cannot quell his longing for the Kloof and his family there. Matthee frequently uses nature to describe events in the story and also connects shades of dark and light to the places. The people of the Forest are almost backwards in their ways; they have little or no education and their homes are ramshackle huts. However, some of the Forest dwellers are aware of their insignificance to the village people and other outsiders. During a conversation between Elias van Rooyen (Benjamin’s new father) and Malie (one of Benjamin’s aunts), Malie says: ‘ â€Å"I’m almost forty Elias, and I’ve been outside this Forest only twice in my life, and that was just as far as the village†¦.-I say again, if we should all die from a plague this very day, few would notice.’ (pg.135-136) The Forest affects its community in many ways: it is the life and death of the woodcutters and families. Yet, being from the Long Kloof, Benjamin (now called Lukas) struggles to escape from a feeling of confinement. The colossal trees that tower all around and block out the sun seem to imprison him further. This reference is just after he reaches his new home, deep in the bush: ‘ They were somewhere deep within the Forest, it was dark and he was very scared for he did not know how he would ever get out of there again. It was  like when you crawled into the crevices after rock rabbits to get at them with a stick and it got so narrow around you that you started sweating with fear.’ (pg.101) This claustrophobia is very difficult to cope with after the hot, white light Long Kloof. Even the plants are different and Matthee emphasises how strange the cool greenery is compared to low yellow scrubland across the veldt. The Forest people are uneducated and rely upon each other for many things. This is shown when the Van Rooyen family has to borrow scissors to cut Nina’s (Benjamin’s sister) hair. The family has very few possessions and when Fiela sends Benjamin his personal effects from the Long Kloof, they are immediately ‘snapped up’ by his new people. I think that the constant shade and shadow. Combined with always being confined to the Forest makes the inhabitants wary of the outside world and almost wild in their ways. The Long Kloof id hugely different from the Forest and the Komoetie household is independent from the rest of the local landowners. These differences influence those who live in whichever community and Benjamin becomes aware of this. One of the moments where we see how he recalls his former life is a Sunday in the Forest: ‘ On Sundays he longed for the openness of the Kloof, or anywhere where he could have looked into the distance; the Forest was so dense, the forest people never saw far; apparently they did not miss the open country for the Forest was their home.’ (pg. 210) Every reference to the surroundings that Matthee gives us, relates to the way the different people live their lives. This is an interesting viewpoint for the relationships within each community and as Benjamin interacts with either family, we are shown very different attitudes and characters.