Computing Research Projects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Computing Research Projects - Essay Example Introduction World Wide Web in our societies around the globe is now a common phenomenon and accessories that facilitate this phenomenon like a web browsers does not only carry an immense business scope but they have become the representatives of the technology itself. Web browsers are the vehicles that carry you along the fascinating world of the web while facilitating the use and eliminating the reliance on any additional software aids. Today’s web browsers are supposed to provide possibly all functionalities that a web site has to offer and a surfer may need to enjoy his web experience. More importantly, web browsers need to meet the requirements of fetching information from all around the globe while warranting a complex integrated security mechanism. 1.1 Scope of Research Design and development of a web browser in the backdrop of technological advancements of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the ever increasing support requirements is a serious underta king. It needs to support the cutting edge technologies, facilitate user while ensuring a pleasurable experience, playing and displaying nearly every possible format of information, securing browsing sessions, speeding up the task completions, adding ability to save sessions and user specific information, building abilities to recover from interruptions and breakups and the list goes on—it knows no limits. While discussing the scope of an explorer Godbole and Atul ( 2008) states, â€Å"It is the responsibility of the browser to display the document on the user’s screen when it receives it from the server. As a result, a browser consists of several large software components that work together that provide an abstracted view of seamless service.† Every day, there is a new change in technology, everyday there are new measures to be taken to ensure existence in the world of web browsing. The continued user support, maintenance and incorporation of updates are the ta sks that demand serious and sustainable project management approach to suit the enormity of task in hand. 1.2 History The history of web browsers is nearly as old as that of the Internet itself. Majority of historians of computer sciences have accepted Tim Berners-Lee as the founder of the explorer technology. However, the Mosaic explorer by Andreessen team in the year 1993 gave WWW technologies a real boost. Later on it was Andreessen who formed Netscape Company that launched first commercial explorer, the Netscape Navigator. It was not before 1995, when the Microsoft jumped into the explorer business with its first version of Internet Explorer to capture its market share. Since then the dominance in the market has been a tough fight among Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari and lately Google Chrome. (Cheshire, 2008). The history of web browsers’ development is a fast changing history because it had to keep pace with the technological innovations in the field of computers, software, communications and the Internet. Today, browser development requires not only a bunch of technological expertise but it also demands a methodical project management approach. 2. Literature Review The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the emerging

Egyptian Sculptures Essay Example for Free

Egyptian Sculptures Essay The Metropolitan museum of New York for Egyptian collection houses a wide array of Egyptian sculptures that carry with them the history of the Egyptian people that also reflect the background of ancient civilization. Examples of prominent Egyptian sculptures include the Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra and the Plaque with Greek dedication to Isis, Serapis and Apollo by Komon. The statue of the Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra is originally from Egypt and is reported to have been in existence around the Ptolemaic period or later. It dates between 170 B. C or later. It is made of medium limestone with a dimension of 62. 2cm in height, 19. 7cm in width and a breadth of 14. 6 cm. The statue is also credited by the museum to be a gift of Joseph W. Drexel in 1889 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010). The statue of the Ptolemaic Cleopatra embodies a queen, probably Cleopatra, holding a cornucopia. The third daughter of King Ptolemy the 12th Auletes, Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in January of 69 BC and died on the month of August 30 BC (Greek Bible Study, para. 1). She was the queen of ancient Egypt and the last member of the Ptolemy Dynasty who marked the last Hellenistic monarchy of Egypt. The Greek Bible Study explains that despite the fact that many other queens of Egypt were known by the same name, she is simply referred to as Cleopatra as the identities of her predecessors have been forgotten with time. Cleopatra is a Greek word that means â€Å"father’s glory†. On the other hand Cleopatra Thea Philopator stands for â€Å"The Goddess Cleopatra, Beloved of Her Father† (Greek Bible Study, para. 2). In the entire 300 year old dynasty that saw the rule of Cleopatra, she was the only one able to learn the Egyptian language (para. 4). Cleopatra ruled Egypt with her father and later on her brothers whom she ended up marrying before gaining sole leadership as Pharaoh (Greek Bible Study, para. 5). Together with Caesar, a Roman ruler, she bore a son, Caesarion who ended up being co-ruler. She took her own life when Caesar’s legal heir Octavian led Rome against Egypt (Greek Bible Study, para. 6). She clearly demonstrated great dedication towards leadership and created a lasting impact to not only Egypt but also the world. The Egyptian plaque containing Greek dedication to Isis, Apollo and Serapis by Komon is alleged to have come from the Macedonian and Ptolemaic period during the reign of Ptolemy the fourth and fifth between 210 and 204 BC. The plaque is made of marble and measures 27. 95 by 17. 5 cm. It is also claimed to have been a gift of Joseph Drexel in 1889 (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010). The Greek inscription on the plaque reads â€Å"In behalf of King Ptolemy, the great god, Philopator, savior and winner of victory, and his son Ptolemy, to Isis, Serapis, Apollo; Komon, son of Asklepiades, oeconomus at Naukratis (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2010). Cleopatra is a household name in the analysis of leadership in Egyptian dynasties. She lived her life as a tough ruler and was elevated to the position of Pharaoh despite being a woman which shows her great leadership abilities and the added zeal to rule over Egypt. This is seen by her becoming co-ruler beside her father despite having brothers. She is an icon of great leadership and bravery to Egyptian culture and the rest of the world. The existing short distance and apparent interactions between Greece and Egypt made it necessary for Ptolemy, a Greek King to create good relationships between the Greeks and the Egyptians (Norfleet, para. 1). The dedication of King Ptolemy through Komon to Isis, Apollo and Serapis by means of his writings of the marble plaque is an indication of good will around the Ptolemy reign between King Ptolemy and Isis, Serapis and Apollo. It can also be explained to be a declaration of power through his annunciation of his powers. Such initiatives may be claimed to have brought tranquility between the Ptolemy reign and other kingdoms. At around 120 AD, Ptolemy introduced the Serapis religion that improved the ties between Greek and Egypt. Works Cited: Greek Bible Study. A Brief History of Queen Cleopatra. (2010). Retrieved on 6th May 2010 from: http://www. biblestudy. org/biblepic/cleopatra. html Norfleet, Phil. Platonism, Paganism and Early Christianity. (2010). Retrieved on 6th May 2010 from: http://www. mozilla. com/en-US/firefox/central/ The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Works of Art, 2010. Retrieved on 6th May 2010 from:http://www. metmuseum. org/works_of_art/collection_database/egyptian_art/listview. aspx? page=2sort=0sortdir=asckeyword=fp=1dd1=10dd2=0

Essay --

Lovers stopped in time, unable to proceed to the lip locking trophy of affection. A simple four letter word that has changed the world by its beauty and awe. What are these interesting pictures of words and love? The Kiss, a dramatic scene unfolding before everyone created by Auguste Rodin, and LOVE, the simplistic sucker punch created by Robert Indiana, are wonderful creations that have both an impact and a meaning. These two sculptures have graced the art world with all their beauty leaving some breathless. They mean so many different things with different imagining, reside in separate parts of the world, but some sculptures are more well-known. In this case LOVE is more Known. To begin with, we all think of love as this beautiful, wondrous emotion that comes with a flood of hugs, and kisses. The Kiss, also identified as Francesca da Rimini, is a stunning picture of people in love. Auguste Rodin put everything he had into making this impressionist replica of the young, adulterous couple, Paolo and Francesca, from Dante's Inferno. Created in 1889, the figure is created in a way to symbolize that the lovers are focused on each other that you can hardly see their faces. The kiss that they are about to give each other is made to not have completely gone through, because Gianciotto Malatesta, Francesca's husband, killed both of them before they could finally achieve their kiss. It is a truly sensual piece due to the couple being nude, as well as, the smooth texture of the people compared to the roughness of the marble rock below them. This piece of eye candy has so much raw emotion behind it with such a depressing backstory to back it up. Love is apparently an e xtremely complicated subject for most people to comprehend. People someti... ...ferent wonderful artists and creations pop into people's minds. Indiana's worldwide popular phenomenon is known left and right. His creation appeared in the age when Warhol was painting cans of soup and people were making art to show points and movements. Different parts of the world know more about it than many other beautifully created sculptures. Something that hits a modern heartstring most likely would be remembered more than something that someone has never read or heard about before. All in all, even though The Kiss, a beautiful, well created masterpiece, put next to LOVE, a strong simple piece of work, has a deeper meaning with many differences in numerous areas. With people passing by and posing with a squared heart and people stunned at the simplistic design remember what Oscar Wilde once said, "A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament."

Conventional Machining vs Non-Conventional Machining

lConventional Machining VS Non-Conventional Machining Conventional machining usually involves changing the shape of a workpiece using an implement made of a harder material. Using conventional methods to machine hard metals and alloys means increased demand of time and energy and therefore increases in costs; in some cases conventional machining may not be feasible. Conventional machining also costs in terms of tool wear and in loss of quality in the product owing to induced residual stresses during manufacture.With ever increasing demand for manufactured goods of hard alloys and metals, such as Inconel 718 or titanium, more interest has gravitated to non-conventional machining methods. Conventional machining can be defined as a process using mechanical (motion) energy. Non-conventional machining utilises other forms of energy. The three main forms of energy used in non-conventional machining processes are as follows : †¢ †¢ †¢ Thermal energy Chemical energy Electrical energy One example of machining using thermal energy is laser. Thermal methods have many advantages over conventional machining, but there are a few of disadvantages. Inconel 718, titanium and other hard metals and alloys have a very high melting point. Using thermal methods will require high energy input for these materials. Concentrating heat onto any material greatly affects its microstructure and will normally cause cracking, which may not be desirable. Safety requirements for thermal methods, especially laser, are demanding in terms of time and cost. Machining large areas or many surfaces at the same time using thermal methods is not normally possible. †¢ †¢ †¢ The methods using electrical energy are electrodischarge machining (EDM) and nodic machining (AM), which are similar in practice. EDM, often refered to as spark erosion, uses pulsed voltage to remove material from a workpiece and a non-conductive medium to clear the debris. Because the medium is electrica lly inert the tool is a direct reverse of the workpiece and no complicated tool design criteria are required. But the shock of spark erosion can affect the microstructure on the surface of the workpiece. Also, EDM has a lower material removal rate than AM. The chemicals used in AM are non-toxic and the energy required is less than other nonconventional machining processes.It has no effect on the microstructure of the workpiece. The electrolyte can even be common sea water, enabling AM to be used in a sub-sea capacity. The hardness and thermal resistivity of the workpiece material do not matter therefore hard metals and alloys can be machined using tools made from softer materials. The only disadvantage is that tool design is a little more complex than that of EDM, but software is being developed to make this easier. The controllability, environmental versatility, speed, safety and absence of change in workpiece microstructure make AM a competitive manufacturing process.

Book of negroes essay

Hill uses effective Imagery to emphasize the fact that often loss Is worse than death itself. This is shown through the book when Amanita loses her parents, her child and her home. These losses are worse than death itself. Malta losing her own parents shows how losing them Is worse than dying herself. Watching her own baa die tears her world apart. She is still alive in this scene, but a little part of her died inside, along with the death of her mother. She might not be physically hurt but mentally, she Is dying.Amanita thinks, â€Å"But another man Intercepted her, raised high a big, thick club and brought It swinging down against he back of her head. Mama dropped. I saw her blood in the moonlight, angry and dark and spilling fast†¦ I struggled against the leash to look back over my shoulder, and saw that Mama was still on the ground, not moving† (26). The use of Imagery Is strong In this scene to emphasize what Malta endures while her baa Is killed. It paints a mental picture in the reader's head of all the emotions being exposed in this scene; fear, angry, and sadness.This part in the novel is an example of visual Imagery, allowing the reader to visualize the event Like they are actually there, seeing your own mother's. In this quote, the use of the words; blood in the moonlight, angry and dark and spilling fast, creates a very vivid picture. These words are striking to the reader and show how much detail there is in this scene, which causes the reader to have empathy for Amanita. Having to watch her own mother die will leave mental scars that will last her whole life.The reader can see that Malta is not severely hurt, but having to go through the pain of witnessing her mother's gruesome death is eating her on the inside. Effective imagery shows the loss of parents is worse than death itself. Malta losing Amanda hinders the fact that loss Is worse than dying herself. Her baby is taken from her without her consent. â€Å"And my baby disappeared into darkness as fast as a falling star†¦ Bring back my baby! I shouted. He laughed in my face. Bring him back! Too late. He's sold. Only got me five pounds†¦I never before wanted to kill a man. But I would have killed Robinson†¦ My heart and my body were screaming for Amanda. But my baby was gone. Sold, sold, sold. Appleby would not say where†¦ Appleby beat me, but I would 1 OFF due to the fact that Amanita wanted to kill Appleby if that is what it took to obtain her baby back. Amanita saying she would have killed Robinson shows how significant losing a child is since it is not like her to wish death upon someone. Hill creates this overwhelming scene to show what Amanita is going through.This scene causes the reader to feel sympathy for Amanita. At the same time, Amanita has already lost her parents and she does not want her baby to lose his. It is difficult enough for parents to send their child off to university or college, let alone having one's child stolen and sold. Having Appleby laugh in Mantis's face as her baby is taken, illustrates how the main Amanita when has inside her is as worse than death. As the reader envisions Appleby beating Amanita for not working, this shows how physical abuse is nothing compared to the pain of losing her son.The loss a child leads to pains that are worse than death. The loss of home causes an individual to feel like death would be easier to deal with. Amanita is captured and taken from her home. Not being able to return home is like having a part dying inside Amanita. â€Å"l knew in that moment that I would never make it back home†¦ I let go of my greatest desire. I would never go back home† (439 – 442). This is as worse as death because losing a home leads to depression and from the effects of depression can lead to death.Hill uses this situation to cause the reader to visualize how Amanita felt as she left her home, the place she grew up her entire life. At the same time, causes the reader to feel empathetic toward Amanita. It pains Amanita to think of having nowhere to go. If she did try to travel back, she would only be sold back to the slave market. People will say there is no place like home, but for Amanita, there is no place to call home anymore. Losing a place to call home is worse than death itself. In conclusion, personal losses have and always will have a huge impact on an individual's life.Hill's use of imagery throughout the novel keeps the reader occupied with visualizing all the losses that affect Amanita and making their own personal connection with every loss that Amanita experiences throughout the novel. The novel shows how personal losses like parents, one's child and home emphasize the fact these losses could be worse than dying. As a person loses things around or a part of them, they start to lose themselves, and once you lose who you are as a person a large piece of who you are dies as well

Mrsa Essays

Mrsa Essays Mrsa Essay Mrsa Essay MRSA: An evolving â€Å"super-bug† epidemic MRSA stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and is a bacterial infection that is highly resistant to some antibiotics. In short, antibiotics have been used since the 40s to stop the growth of bacteria. However, the more antibiotics are used, the quicker the bacteria become resistant to it while each year more types of bacteria adapt and become resistant to antibiotics. With MRSA being so resistant to many of the antibiotics, classifying it as a â€Å"super-bug†, it makes treatment of skin infections and invasive internal infections much more complicated. This leads to many yearly deaths. In fact, MRSA statistics show that more people die each year from MRSA infections than the AIDS virus. Etiology: MRSA is a strain of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which is also known as the staph infection. It is also medically known as S. aureus and is a common type of bacteria that normally live on the skin and sometimes in the nasal passages of healthy people. This S. aureus strain does not respond to some of the antibiotics used to treat staph infections. The bacteria can cause infection when they enter the body through a cut, sore, catheter, or breathing tube or simply when it comes into contact with the skin. The infection can be as minor as a cut or pimple or it can be more serious when it involves the heart or lungs. However, serious staph infections are more common in people with weak immune systems such as the elderly or those who are already sick and hospitalized. MRSA infections are grouped into two types based on their causative factors. In Healthcare-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA) infections, people who are or have recently been in a hospital or health-care facility are affected. A large percentage of hospital-acquired staph infections are related to MRSA bacteria. On the other hand, Community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) infections occur in people who have not recently been in the hospital within the past year. This type of infection has occurred among athletes who share equipment or personal items and children in daycare facilities. Members of the military and those who get tattoos are also at risk. A friend of mine acquired MRSA from a hot tub at a hotel resort while on vacation. This is also why it is important to cover toilet seats while using a public restroom or clean the gym equipment before and after you use it. Page 2 Epidemiology: MRSA has become a growing concern. Research indicates that this violent bacteria is evolving rapidly and cases even outside healthcare facilities are increasing. As many as 1. 2 million U. S. hospital patients are infected with MRSA each year, which is almost 10 times more than previously estimated. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in the year 2005, MRSA was responsible for an estimated 94,000 invasive life-threatening infections and close to 19,000 deaths. In the US alone, there were an estimated12 million doctor or hospital visits for skin and soft tissue infections suspected to be caused by staph aureus in the year 2003. The most recent statistics show that 20% of bloodstream infections in hospitals are now caused by MRSA. The common cause for this growing disease is that hospital staff who do not follow proper sanitary procedures transfer the bacteria from patient to patient. Some hospitals screen for MRSA and isolate such patients, but most US hospitals do not yet do this. On the other hand, statistics show that as hospital related MRSA is declining to due to improved precautions, community related MRSA is on the rise. Until recently, hospitals were the most likely place that people would get MRSA, but now the biggest MRSA health risk is related to community acquired MRSA. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, CA-MRSA has become the most frequent cause of skin and soft tissue infections in the United States. The CDC reports that in 2007, 14% of people with MRSA infections had CA-MRSA. Pathogenesis: The most common symptoms of MRSA start with a red, swollen, and painful area on the skin. It is advised to recognize these signs and consult a doctor as soon as these symptoms arise. You should keep an eye on minor skin problems such as pimples, insect bites, cuts and scrapes (especially in children) and see a doctor if the wounds become infected. Other symptoms and signs that the infection is developing include drainage of pus or other fluids from the site, fever, skin abscesses, and warmth around the infected area. Symptoms of more serious MRSA cases that indicate the infection has spread include chest pain, chills, cough, fatigue, general ill feeling (malaise), headache, muscle aches, rash, and shortness of breath. The risk factors for the two different strains of MRSA differ. In the healthcare associated MRSA, the risk is obviously increased for elderly patients and those who are sick with weakened immune systems. The risk of MRSA is also higher among patients who have an invasive medical device inserted such as IVs and catheters. These provide a pathway for MRSA to get into the body. MRSA is also more prevalent in nursing homes. Carriers of MRSA have the ability to Page 3 spread it even if theyre not sick or show symptoms of infection. In terms of community acquired MRSA, those at higher risk include people who participate in contact sports since it spreads easily through cuts and abrasions and skin-to-skin contact. Also, are those living in crowded or unsanitary conditions. Outbreaks of MRSA have occurred in military training camps, child care centers, and jails. It is also said that homosexual men are at higher risk of developing MRSA infections. Diagnostic tools and techniques: After a doctor suspects MRSA, they will send a sample of tissue or a culture from the wound area and/or nasal secretion to a lab. The sample is placed in a dish of nutrients that encourage bacterial growth. It takes about 48 hours for the bacteria to grow in order to screen the results. However, newer tests still in research stages, can detect staph DNA in a matter of hours are now becoming more widely available. These new methods test for a gene that confers resistance to the antibiotics Methicillin, Oxacillin, Nafcillin, and Dicloxacillin and other similar antibiotics. Molecular tests for MRSA screening have the potential to detect nasal or wound carriage within hours instead of days required by culture, which then educes the risk of MRSA related complications. If either a culture or a molecular test is positive for MRSA, then the person is diagnosed with MRSA at the site that was tested. There are several conditions that can mimic MRSA before the area is tested for the bacteria. Some of the symptoms associated with MRSA are also associated with a yeast infection, diaper rash, acne, dermatitis, an ingrown hai r, and bed sores. Treatment: As stated by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: First-line treatment for mild abscesses is incision and drainage. Doctors will drain the affected hair and/or cut out the skin area that is affected by MRSA. This prevents growth and spread. Fortunately, most MRSA still can also still be treated by certain antibiotics. The CDC also states: If antibiotic treatment is clinically indicated, it should be guided by the susceptibility profile of the organism. When the tests are run to determine that the Staph bacteria isolated from a given patient are Methicillin resistant, these tests also provide information about which antibiotics can successfully kill the bacteria (its susceptibility profile). Penicillin was once used as an effective antibiotic treatment against the staph bacteria, but after using it for just a Page 4 decade, half of the staph bacteria became resistant to the antibiotic. Now less than 10% of staph infections will respond t o the Penicillin. Today, doctors use Vancomycin, which is a much stronger and more toxic antibiotic. Most moderate to severe infections need to be treated by intravenous antibiotics, usually given in the hospital setting. Prognosis: Since the beginning of 2010, the average adult death rate was about 5% of MRSA infected patients. A study in 2009 shows that children under 18 years old are at less risk of dying from MRSA. Their mortality rate is currently about 1% of all infected patients. Community acquired MRSA has far less complications than hospital acquired as long as the patient adequately responds to treatment and does not require hospitalization. However, patients with complications generally are at greater risk for a far worse outcome. Complications of MRSA can occur in all organ systems and can lead to permanent organ damage or death. They include kidney or lung infection, heart disease, bone infection, tissue damage, and blood poisoning. Of course, early diagnosis and treatment usually results in better outcomes and the reduction of further complications. It could take up to several months to recover from MRSA depending how much of the body is infected, complications, and how antibiotics respond. People who are infected are tested until the lab tests come up negative. Preventive Methods: There are several ways to lower a persons risk of acquiring both hospital and community associated MRSA. In hospitals, people who are detected with MRSA bacteria are often placed in isolation. Visitors and healthcare workers in contact with people in isolation are required to wear protective garments and follow strict hygiene procedures. Contaminated materials are also disinfected. Hospitals are required to follow strict procedures to prevent MRSA from spreading. There are several preventative methods for community related MRSA. Washing hands with soap is a major factor in preventing infection. You should wash them several times a day, especially after using restrooms or touching public materials such as payphones, rails, money, and so on. It is also important to have hand sanitizer for when no soap or water is available. Another method is to keep cuts and sores covered by bandages. It will prevent MRSA from infecting a wound or prevents wounds already infected from spreading. Its also said to avoid sharing personal items such as towels, razors, sheets, athletic equipment, and more. Prevention also includes showering after athletic games and practices and to use soap Page 5 and water and not share towels. Finally, its important to sanitize linens. You should always wash athletic cloths in hot water after each use and regularly wash bed sheets and bath towels. There is currently no vaccine to guard against MRSA, but several public facilities offer educational materials to prevent it. Various school campuses, health facilities, athletic organizations, and so on offer classes, brochures, and other resources to guard against MRSA and reduce an outbreak. In conclusion, as this strain of staph related bacteria continues to evolve and become resistant to more and more antibiotics, the number of cases of those infected outside of hospitals is on the rise. This infectious disease known as MRSA has become an epidemic that has led to more deaths in recent years than the AIDS virus. Research for immunization is currently being conducted, but in the meantime, it is crucial to your health to be more aware of the preventative methods. References: Medicinenet- â€Å"MRSA Infections†(pgs1 to 6): www. medicinenet. com/mrsa_infection/article. htm Mayo Clinic- â€Å"MRSA Infection† (pgs 1 to 9): www. mayoclinic. com/health/mrsa/DS00735 Beers, M. H. Berkow, R. (Eds. ). (2005). The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy (17thed. ). Whitehouse Station, N. J. : Merck and Company.

Market for eco

Market for eco The hospitality industry is increasingly adopting green strategies as part of its corporate strategy. This need stems from the realization, among hotel owners, that they have a part to play in making the world more sustainable. Perhaps another key driver that is primarily responsible for this move is response to customer needs. Buyers, now more than ever before, are aware of man’s impact on the planet.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Market for ecos of the firms that have achieved this certification include Hotel Alantico in Portugal and Sunwing Resort in Greece. Several global brands are using the green strategy in huge proportions. One such organization is Marriot, which has a conglomerate of about 300 hotels worldwide. The hotel has established LEED certification for some of its hotel buildings. Here the hotels abide by strict sustainability standards. It plans on doing the same for the rest of its branches by 2015. Other relatively smalle r hotel chains have also embraced the strategy and are located in different parts of the world. For instance, Six senses is a hotel in Con Dao Vietnam. It is committed to environmental sustainability by purchasing building materials from sustainable sources. The hotel also changes its ventilation system in order to accommodate them. Hotel Tierra in Chile is yet another hotel that relies on local labor for all its furnishings. The building’s walls are made of wood so as to control internal temperature without using artificial heaters. In Puerto Rico, the country has a hotel called Hix island, which uses solar to power the facility.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Additionally, it collects rain waters and also tackles grey water. Kenya has a hotel known as Campi ya Kanzi. It is solar-powered, and all the parts of the building came from naturally-fallen trees (Petronzio 26). Options vary on how a hotel can choose to execute its eco strategy. Some competitors prefer to focus mostly on operational aspects while others take a more holistic approach. The building as well as the materials used to furnish the hotel may become the preferred option. Even interactions with locals can become part of one’s strategy. The more holistic a hotel is, the more marketable it becomes to eco-travelers. Statistics indicate that although several ecohotels exist, it is mostly the large hotel chains that appear to dominate this industry (Grigoras 3). Scientists explain that their propensity to go for eco-strategies stems from their economies of scale. Many large hotels buy supplies in bulk. Furthermore, some of the cost savings that stem from energy preservati on or water conservation are better-felt by large hotel chains. This advantage means that they are more likely to stick to the strategy, and this will lead to better marketing of the same. When an organization can boast of greater use of eco friendly products, it is likely that it will impress more eco-conscious travelers than those that only use green strategies to a smaller degree. Large hotel chains may be the dominating party in the eco-hotel industry. However, not all consumers are interested in large chains. Environmental travelers want family-friendly and cozy atmospheres that do not replicate images of large-scale hotel chains. They prize facilities that are as close to the environment as possible. Therefore, if an independent hotel can commit to environmental principles, but still stay small and comfortable, then it will provide added advantages to buyers. This combination of qualities will make an impact in the eco-hotel industry. The marketing plan will fulfill the gap in the competitive landscape. It will be a refreshing alternative to the modern hotel designs that have crowded the hotel industry. Travelers want intimate locations that are as close to nature as possible. Therefore, these qualities will make the proposal a tangible solution to the current environment. Grigoras, Oana. Chain hotels go green easier than independent competitors. 2013. Web. Orams, Mark. Types of Ecotourism. Wallingford: CABI Publishing, 2001. Print. Petronzio, Matt. 30 gorgeous eco-friendly hotels. 2013. Web. Wall, Geofrey. â€Å"Ecotourism: Change, impacts and opportunities.† Bulletin 5(2007): 108 -118. Print. Weaver, David and Laura Lawton. â€Å"Twenty years on: the state of contemporary ecotourism research.† Tourism Management 28(2007): 1168–1179. Print.

Pliopithecus - Facts and Figures

Pliopithecus - Facts and Figures Name: Pliopithecus (Greek for Pliocene ape); pronounced PLY-oh-pith-ECK-us Habitat: Woodlands of Eurasia Historical Epoch: Middle Miocene (15-10 million years ago) Size and Weight: About three feet tall and 50 pounds Diet: Leaves Distinguishing Characteristics: Short face with large eyes; long arms and legs    About Pliopithecus One of the first prehistoric primates ever to be identifiednaturalists were studying its fossilized teeth as far back as the early 19th centuryPliopithecus is also one of the least well understood (as can be inferred from its namethis Pliocene ape actually lived in the earlier Miocene epoch). Pliopithecus was once thought to be directly ancestral to modern gibbons, and hence one of the earliest true apes, but the discovery of the even earlier Propliopithecus (before Pliopithecus) has rendered that theory moot. Further complicating matters, Pliopithecus was only one of more than two dozen similar-looking apes of Miocene Eurasia, and its far from clear how they were all related to each other. Thanks to later fossil discoveries from the 1960s, we know a lot more about Pliopithecus than the shape of its jaws and teeth. This prehistoric ape possessed very long, equally sized arms and legs, which makes it unclear whether it brachiated (i.e., swung from branch to branch), and its large eyes didnt quite face fully forward, casting doubts on the extent of its stereoscopic vision. We do know (thanks to those ubiquitous teeth) that Pliopithecus was a relatively gentle herbivore, subsisting on the leaves of its favorite trees and probably spurning the occasional insects and small animals enjoyed by its omnivorous relatives.

How HR can contribute to CSR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

How HR can contribute to CSR - Essay Example Current paper aims to highlight the main aspects of the relationship between the human resources management and the corporate governance – especially regarding the role of HRM in the development of corporate social responsibility. Reference is made to Humphrey Group and specifically to the firm’s compensation ethics as used for evaluating the compensation of the firm’s top managers. The findings of relevant academic studies are presented and analysed aiming to show that HR can support the development of corporate social responsibility in Humphrey Group – as also in firms with different structural and operational characteristics. 2. Human Resources and Corporate Governance 2.1 Influence of HR on Corporate governance – modes, consequences The role of HR in corporate governance cannot be doubted. In fact, this role has many different aspects. In all organizations, HR department cooperates with the CEO in order to identify potential breaches of the firm ’s ethical rules. Beatty et al. ... The survey, which was conducted among focus groups, aimed to highlight the level at which ethical standards can interact or opposed with professional practices and rules within modern organizations. One of the most important findings of the above study has been the fact that, quite often, HR managers are asked to serve contradictory organizational needs, or else, to serve interests, which are opposed. These are the interests of stakeholders who are favoured by different organizational initiatives. On the other hand, it seems that HR professionals may not be always aware of their role. Instead, they are informed on the activities and decisions on which their power is justified, i.e. accepted by the Board of Directors (or the organization’s leader) but they are not aware of their actual capabilities regarding their role. At the next level, the study of Beatty et al. (2003) refers to a quite important issue: ‘the financial measurement and the rewarding systems’ (Beat ty et al. 2003, p.258) are often poor. In this case, executives need to identify a solution in order to ensure the fairness in their compensation. In most cases, the response of the firms to the claims for compensation, pension and so on, are expected to be negative – in case such claim is presented to the Board of Directors. In this context, the intervention of executives in the books of their organizations is often unavoidable, even if it is not legally justified. The most important finding of the survey conducted in the context of the study of Beatty et al. (2003) is the following one: in most organizations, ethical standards are highly promoted. However, in practice the limitation of violation of

Crisis and Expansion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Crisis and Expansion - Essay Example Critics have argued that the Manifest Destiny was a disputed concept that many famous Americans such as Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, as well as a majority of the Whigs rebuffed it. American expansionism did not signify an American consensus, but it aggravated bitter dispute in the national polity. Countrywide, perhaps most Democrats, people endorsed the Manifest Destiny, but a majority of the Whigs strongly rejected it. Manifest Destiny offered the rhetorical tone for the biggest acquisition of United States territory (Adams 35). It was utilized by Democrats in the mid-1800s to defend the Mexican war, and it was also applied to split the Oregon with Britain. However, the Manifest Destiny always crawled along due to its internal restrictions, as well as the issue of slavery. It never turned into a nationwide priority (Adams 35). By 1843, John Quincy Adams, formerly a key ally, had changed his view and rejected the Manifest Destiny since it meant the extension of slavery in Texas (Greenberg 97). From the onset of the Manifest Destiny—huge in the plan, in its sense of continentalism—is had a small number of supporters (Greenberg 98). It missed sectional, national or party following proportionate with its size. The basis was it did not echo the nationwide spirit (Greenberg 98). The idea that it reflected nationalism is supported by little evidence. The Manifest Destiny was, at all times, a very general idea instead of a precise policy (Adams 35). There was never any principle describing the manifest destiny. Nonspecific but intensely felt, the manifest destiny was a feeling of certainty in the decency and value of imperialism, which complemented other accepted thoughts of that period, including Romantic nationalism and American exceptionalism (Greenberg 98). Andrew Jackson, who talked of expanding the field of freedom, characterized the conflation of Americas likely greatness, the country’s

Analysis of Toys R Us Case in Japan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Analysis of Toys R Us Case in Japan - Term Paper Example As per Bank of Japan , the annual growth in the retail toy market in Japan grew 94% while GDP of Japan at an annual rate of 7% during 1970s. Further, toy market in Japan was ranked as the second largest in the globe trailing to U.S.A and in 1991; the worth of Japanese toy market was estimated at $7.1 billion. In 1991, about 29,413 stores were in operation in Japan and toy sales occupied a major share in their aggregate sales. Further, about 11,628 stores were exclusively dealt with toy, computer games and hobby specialty products. Further ,there were about 12,582 small general retail shops , about 2772 convenience stores , 1227 large toy specialty retail shops and there were about 500 bigger general stores, which had the significant share of their revenues comprised from the sale of toys. Toys R Us entry into Japan was well timed in corresponding with antisturctural restriction efforts by then Bush administration in U.S.A. Looking for positive PR , the Japanese government compelled t he regional government to soften the â€Å" Big Store â€Å" laws under which the present retailers in Japan could exercise the veto to the entry of a large retailer into their province. Toys R Us first store in Japan was established with an offer of more than 18,000 toy items as inventory located in 3,000 square meters, which was regarded as the best illustration of what has come to be labeled in U.S.A as a â€Å"category killer.†Ã‚   By establishing an awesome advantage, it was aimed to bar the competitors from establishing opposing stores before they started.... In 1989 , Toys â€Å" R† Us made its first attempt to enter into the Japanese toy market which was then controlled by small general retailers of tiny specialty stores .As per Bank of Japan , the annual growth in the retail toy market in Japan grew 94% while GDP of Japan at an annual rate of 7% during 1970s. Further, toy market in Japan was ranked as the second largest in the globe trailing to U.S.A and in 1991; the worth of Japanese toy market was estimated at $7.1 billion. In 1991, about 29,413 stores were in operation in Japan and toy sales occupied a major share in their aggregate sales. Further, about 11,628 stores were exclusively dealt with toy, computer games and hobby specialty products. Further ,there were about 12,582 small general retail shops , about 2772 convenience stores , 1227 large toy specialty retail shops and there were about 500 bigger general stores, which had the significant share of their revenues comprised from the sale of toys. Toys R Us entry into Ja pan was well timed in corresponding with antisturctural restriction efforts by then Bush administration in U.S.A. Looking for positive PR , the Japanese government compelled the regional government to soften the â€Å" Big Store â€Å" laws under which the present retailers in Japan could exercise the veto to the entry of a large retailer into their province. Toys R Us first store in Japan was established with an offer of more than 18,000 toy items as inventory located in 3,000 square meters, which was regarded as the best illustration of what has come to be labeled in U.S.A as a â€Å"category killer.† By establishing an awesome advantage, it was aimed to bar the competitors from establishing opposing stores before they started. (Johanson 2006:185).

Should the driving age be raised to 21 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Should the driving age be raised to 21 - Essay Example l communities started voicing out their apprehension regarding the issue of driving and there has been much debate on the decision of age limitations, by the government. Numerous road accidents have occurred and as a result many lives have been lost. Records show that more teens are involved in these catastrophes (BBC 2007). Although teens utilize their energy to meet the demands of their school and social activities, people in authority and other grown-ups have been concerned about the driving age, since every generation produces a more inflexible group of teenagers than before. Gwyneth Dunwoody, transport committee chairman speaks out rightly about a revolutionary process to take place because it is not a game of losing lives. The height of desensitization is such that a teen from Spalding, Lincolnshire demanded her license saying that she had lost two of her friends in the accidents but she does not want the rules on acquiring license to be changed. She thinks she is â€Å"in the middle of nowhere† without her license (BBC 2007). Teen driving or underage driving can be a threat to other passengers of the vehicle also. Studies and researches inform of reduced number of deaths if teens drive at a later stage. Some argue that by getting driving education, this issue can be resolved. There has been, however, no change observed even after that, according to several investigations done in different parts of the USA and Great Britain. Some states allow driving from the age of 14 such as in South Dakota. New Jersey, Britain and almost the entire European U nion was sticking to 17 and 18 respectively. These variations arise due to the diverse nature and setup of each locality. The public turns to the rulers of the state to make a reasonable move so that the same is maintained throughout the nation (D’Amico & Alex 2006). Until 2008, news articles were debating over the increase of age to 18 all over the region. There was a keen response from the media and general public.

Sword Manufacturing of the Early, High, and Late Medieval Period Essay

Sword Manufacturing of the Early, High, and Late Medieval Period - Essay Example This symbolic importance was even shown in the Medieval swords design as the cross guard was framed over the handle of the sword to resemble a Christian cross. This gave the Knight the privilege to utilize the sword to protect the Christian religion. Medieval swords additionally highlighted some type of engravings. The engravings on Medieval Swords could incorporate the sword owners name and prayers to God. Engravings could likewise be simply decorations. Enhanced sword designs occurred around 1,300 and 1,500 A.D. Striking inventive sword designs had a longer grip, which permitted swordsmen to utilize two hands in battle. Long swords began to be generally utilized during the Late Middle Ages. The fame of the long sword developed because of enhanced functionality in cutting and thrusting as well as its far reaching ability (Wigelsworth, 2006). Sword smiths in northern Europe found a strategy for sword making whereby different bits of iron as well as steel bars of diverse hardness were joined by bending and folding them together. This was the method used in Europe during the early middle Ages. The capacity to work metal along these lines to make high quality swords depended on the quality of the metal used. This process was quite long and the sword smiths could take a substantial amount of time before completing one sword. This meant that the production of swords was quite slow According to Nelson & Theuws (2000), high middle age was a period of great innovation in sword making. It is during this period that sword smiths tried out different processes to acquire the best raw materials for sword making. During this period, the sword smith got to understand the processes of acquiring high quality swords without using unnecessary processes. It is during this period that the production of swords began to increase. During the late middle age, the sword smiths had perfected their skills in sword making and were aware of the important processes needed to

Should the driving age be raised to 21 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Should the driving age be raised to 21 - Essay Example l communities started voicing out their apprehension regarding the issue of driving and there has been much debate on the decision of age limitations, by the government. Numerous road accidents have occurred and as a result many lives have been lost. Records show that more teens are involved in these catastrophes (BBC 2007). Although teens utilize their energy to meet the demands of their school and social activities, people in authority and other grown-ups have been concerned about the driving age, since every generation produces a more inflexible group of teenagers than before. Gwyneth Dunwoody, transport committee chairman speaks out rightly about a revolutionary process to take place because it is not a game of losing lives. The height of desensitization is such that a teen from Spalding, Lincolnshire demanded her license saying that she had lost two of her friends in the accidents but she does not want the rules on acquiring license to be changed. She thinks she is â€Å"in the middle of nowhere† without her license (BBC 2007). Teen driving or underage driving can be a threat to other passengers of the vehicle also. Studies and researches inform of reduced number of deaths if teens drive at a later stage. Some argue that by getting driving education, this issue can be resolved. There has been, however, no change observed even after that, according to several investigations done in different parts of the USA and Great Britain. Some states allow driving from the age of 14 such as in South Dakota. New Jersey, Britain and almost the entire European U nion was sticking to 17 and 18 respectively. These variations arise due to the diverse nature and setup of each locality. The public turns to the rulers of the state to make a reasonable move so that the same is maintained throughout the nation (D’Amico & Alex 2006). Until 2008, news articles were debating over the increase of age to 18 all over the region. There was a keen response from the media and general public.

Split at the Root by Adrienne Rich Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Split at the Root by Adrienne Rich - Essay Example The author also traces a large amount of influence on her identity stemming from the shadows of her father. These influences not only affected her social persona but also her literary persona as well. Rich claims that her mother was gentile in comparison to her father and that she has her â€Å"Jewishness from him and not from my gentile mother†. The author sees the influence of her father as pervasive and even overwhelming at times in terms of his influence on her identity. Given the backdrop of the Second World War and the years leading up to it, the author is seen beginning to reflect on life as a growing adult. Her father can be seen as a person caught in limbo. On the one hand he is Jewish but he rejects his Jewish roots in order to claim greater breathing space in life. The author claims that her father does not complain of any anti Semitic attitudes diverted towards him. Moreover he rejects institutionalized religion and this can be seen when he asks Rich to read from T homas Paine’s The Age of Reason after she comes back from church. He explains that this would provide her with â€Å"a balanced view of these things, a choice†. ... â€Å"†pushy† Jews of New York, the â€Å"loud, hysterical† refugees from Eastern Europe, the â€Å"overdressed† Jews of the urban South† all contributed to the author’s image of distancing herself from a Jewish identity. Her visit to the immigrant old woman proves that the author just wanted to keep her distance from being Jewish. When asked by the old woman if the author was Jewish, the author immediately replied in negative and this reaction can be seen as more or less of an impulse than a calculated move. The influence of Rich’s father can be seen as acting prominently in this event. His disassociation from his Jewish identity can be seen as an overwhelming influence on the author’s life and identity. However the influence of the author’s mother can be seen as very prominent too. The author’s mother can be seen as exerting Christian values and identity onto the author. For example when the author is filling out h er forms for admission to college her mother stresses that she should list her Christian sect rather than answering as none to the question of religion. Furthermore the author relates that her mother used to take her to church which can also be seen as a method to indoctrinate Christian values in children. In her later life, the author visits a synagogue for the first time in Baltimore which signifies that her Jewish identity had been severed at the expense of her Christian identity. Moreover the author was influenced by her mother to display a very â€Å"gentile† social behavior. Rich was told to dress as simply as possible and to be as well spoken as possible by her mother to display the â€Å"good breeding† instilled in her. She also relates that there was much talk of â€Å"ancestry† and â€Å"background† in the â€Å"southern talk of the family†

African American Culture Essay Example for Free

African American Culture Essay African American culture in the United States includes the various cultural traditions of African ethnic groups. It is both part of and distinct from American culture. The U. S. Census Bureau defines African Americans as people having origins in any of the Black race groups of Africa. [1] African American culture is indigenous to the descendants in the U. S. of survivors of the Middle Passage. It is rooted in Africa and is an amalgam of chiefly sub-Saharan African and Sahelean cultures. Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of Africans in America to practice their cultural traditions, many practices, values and beliefs survived and over time have incorporated elements of European American culture. There are even certain facets of African American culture that were brought into being or made more prominent as a result of slavery; an example of this is how drumming became used as a means of communication and establishing a community identity during that time. The result is a dynamic, creative culture that has had and continues to have a profound impact on mainstream American culture and on world culture as well. After Emancipation, these uniquely African American traditions continued to grow. They developed into distinctive traditions in music, art, literature, religion, food, holidays, amongst others. While for some time sociologists, such as Gunnar Myrdal and Patrick Moynihan, believed that African Americans had lost most cultural ties with Africa, anthropological field research by Melville Hersovits and others demonstrated that there is a continuum of African traditions among Africans in the New World from the West Indies to the United States. The greatest influence of African cultural practices on European cultures is found below the Mason-Dixon in the southeastern United States, especially in the Carolinas among the Gullah people and in Louisiana. African American culture often developed separately from mainstream American culture because of African Americans desire to practice their own traditions, as well as the persistence of racial segregation in America. Consequently African American culture has become a significant part of American culture and yet, at the same time, remains a distinct culture apart from it. History From the earliest days of slavery, slave owners sought to exercise control over their slaves by attempting to strip them of their African culture. The physical isolation and societal marginalization of African slaves and, later, of their free progeny, however, actually facilitated the retention of significant elements of traditional culture among Africans in the New World generally, and in the U. S. in particular. Slave owners deliberately tried to repress political organization in order to deal with the many slave rebellions that took place in the southern United States, Brazil, Haiti, and the Dutch Guyanas. African cultures,slavery,slave rebellions,and the civil rights movements(circa 1800s-160s)have shaped African American religious, familial, political and economic behaviors. The imprint of Africa is evident in myriad ways, in politics, economics, language, music, hairstyles, fashion, dance, religion and worldview, and food preparation methods. In the United States, the very legislation that was designed to strip slaves of culture and deny them education served in many ways to strengthen it. In turn, African American culture has had a pervasive, transformative impact on myriad elements of mainstream American culture, among them language, music, dance, religion, cuisine, and agriculture. This process of mutual creative exchange is called creolization. Over time, the culture of African slaves and their descendants has been ubiquitous in its impact on not only the dominant American culture, but on world culture as well. Oral tradition Slaveholders limited or prohibited education of enslaved African Americans because they believed it might lead to revolts or escape plans. Hence, African-based oral traditions became the primary means of preserving history, morals, and other cultural information among the people. This was consistent with the griot practices of oral history in many African and other cultures that did not rely on the written word. Many of these cultural elements have been passed from generation to generation through storytelling. The folktales provided African Americans the opportunity to inspire and educate one another. Examples of African American folktales include trickster tales of Brer Rabbit and heroic tales such as that of John Henry. The Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris helped to bring African American folk tales into mainstream adoption. Harris did not appreciate the complexity of the stories nor their potential for a lasting impact on society. Characteristics of the African American oral tradition present themselves in a number of forms. African American preachers tend to perform rather than simply speak. The emotion of the subject is carried through the speakers tone, volume, and movement, which tend to mirror the rising action, climax, and descending action of the sermon. Often song, dance, verse and structured pauses are placed throughout the sermon. Techniques such as call-and-response are used to bring the audience into the presentation. In direct contrast to recent tradition in other American and Western cultures, it is an acceptable and common audience reaction to interrupt and affirm the speaker. Spoken word is another example of how the African American oral tradition influences modern American popular culture. Spoken word artists employ the same techniques as African American preachers including movement, rhythm, and audience participation. Rap music from the 1980s and beyond has been seen as an extension of oral culture. Harlem Renaissance [pic] Zora Neale Hurston was a prominent literary figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Main article: Harlem Renaissance The first major public recognition of African American culture occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1920s and 1930s, African American music, literature, and art gained wide notice. Authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen and poets such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen wrote works describing the African American experience. Jazz, swing, blues and other musical forms entered American popular music. African American artists such as William H. Johnson and Palmer Hayden created unique works of art featuring African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time of increased political involvement for African Americans. Among the notable African American political movements founded in the early 20th century are the United Negro Improvement Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Nation of Islam, a notable Islamic religious movement, also began in the early 1930s. African American cultural movement The Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s followed in the wake of the non-violent American Civil Rights Movement. The movement promoted racial pride and ethnic cohesion in contrast to the focus on integration of the Civil Rights Movement, and adopted a more militant posture in the face of racism. It also inspired a new renaissance in African American literary and artistic expression generally referred to as the African American or Black Arts Movement. The works of popular recording artists such as Nina Simone (Young, Gifted and Black) and The Impressions (Keep On Pushin), as well as the poetry, fine arts and literature of the time, shaped and reflected the growing racial and political consciousness. Among the most prominent writers of the African American Arts Movement were poet Nikki Giovanni; poet and publisher Don L. Lee, who later became known as Haki Madhubuti; poet and playwright Leroi Jones, later known as Amiri Baraka; and Sonia Sanchez. Other influential writers were Ed Bullins, Dudley Randall, Mari Evans, June Jordan, Larry Neal and Ahmos Zu-Bolton. Another major aspect of the African American Arts Movement was the infusion of the African aesthetic, a return to a collective cultural sensibility and ethnic pride that was much in evidence during the Harlem Renaissance and in the celebration of Negritude among the artistic and literary circles in the U. S. , Caribbean and the African continent nearly four decades earlier: the idea that black is beautiful. During this time, there was a resurgence of interest in, and an embrace of, elements of African culture within African American culture that had been suppressed or devalued to conform to Eurocentric America. Natural hairstyles, such as the afro, and African clothing, such as the dashiki, gained popularity. More importantly, the African American aesthetic encouraged personal pride and political awareness among African Americans. Music [pic] Men playing the djembe, a traditional West African drum adopted into African American and American culture. The bags and the clothing of the man on the right are printed with traditional kente cloth patterns. African American music is rooted in the typically polyrhythmic music of the ethnic groups of Africa, specifically those in the Western, Sahelean, and Sub-Saharan regions. African oral traditions, nurtured in slavery, encouraged the use of music to pass on history, teach lessons, ease suffering, and relay messages. The African pedigree of African American music is evident in some common elements: call and response, syncopation, percussion, improvisation, swung notes, blue notes, the use of falsetto, melisma, and complex multi-part harmony. During slavery, Africans in America blended traditional European hymns with African elements to create spirituals. Many African Americans sing Lift Evry Voice and Sing in addition to the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, or in lieu of it. Written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson in 1900 to be performed for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the song was, and continues to be, a popular way for African Americans to recall past struggles and express ethnic solidarity, faith and hope for the future. The song was adopted as the Negro National Anthem by the NAACP in 1919. African American children are taught the song at school, church or by their families. Lift Evry Voice and Sing traditionally is sung immediately following, or instead of, The Star-Spangled Banner at events hosted by African American churches, schools, and other organizations. In the 1800s, as the result of the blackface minstrel show, African American music entered mainstream American society. By the early twentieth century, several musical forms with origins in the African American community had transformed American popular music. Aided by the technological innovations of radio and phonograph records, ragtime, jazz, blues, and swing also became popular overseas, and the 1920s became known as the Jazz Age. The early 20th century also saw the creation of the first African American Broadway shows, films such as King Vidors Hallelujah!, and operas such as George Gershwins Porgy and Bess. Rock and roll, doo wop, soul, and RB developed in the mid 20th century. These genres became very popular in white audiences and were influences for other genres such as surf. The dozens, an urban African American tradition of using rhyming slang to put down your enemies (or friends) developed through the smart-ass street jive of the early Seventies into a new form of music. In the South Bronx, the half speaking, half singing rhythmic street talk of rapping grew into the hugely successful cultural force known as Hip Hop. Hip Hop would become a multicultural movement. However, it is still important to many African Americans. The African American Cultural Movement of the 1960s and 1970s also fueled the growth of funk and later hip-hop forms such as rap, hip house, new jack swing and go go. African American music has experienced far more widespread acceptance in American popular music in the 21st century than ever before. In addition to continuing to develop newer musical forms, modern artists have also started a rebirth of older genres in the form of genres such as neo soul and modern funk-inspired groups. Dance [pic]. The Cakewalk was the first African American dance to gain widespread popularity in the United States. [pic] African American dance, like other aspects of African American culture, finds its earliest roots in the dances of the hundreds of African ethnic groups that made up African slaves in the Americas as well as influences from European sources in the United States. Dance in the African tradition, and thus in the tradition of slaves, was a part of both every day life and special occasions. Many of these traditions such as get down, ring shouts, and other elements of African body language survive as elements of modern dance. In the 1800s, African American dance began to appear in minstrel shows. These shows often presented African Americans as caricatures for ridicule to large audiences. The first African American dance to become popular with White dancers was the cakewalk in 1891. Later dances to follow in this tradition include the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, and the Jitterbug. During the Harlem Renaissance, all African American Broadway shows such as Shuffle Along helped to establish and legitimize African American dancers. African American dance forms such as tap, a combination of African and European influences, gained widespread popularity thanks to dancers such as Bill Robinson and were used by leading White choreographers who often hired African American dancers. Contemporary African American dance is descended from these earlier forms and also draws influence from African and Caribbean dance forms. Groups such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have continued to contribute to the growth of this form. Modern popular dance in America is also greatly influenced by African American dance. American popular dance has also drawn many influences from African American dance most notably in the hip hop genre. Art [pic] Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859-1937 From its early origins in slave communities, through the end of the twentieth century, African-American art has made a vital contribution to the art of the United States. During the period between the 1600s and the early 1800s, art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. These artifacts have similarities with comparable crafts in West and Central Africa. In contrast, African American artisans like the New England–based engraver Scipio Moorhead and the Baltimore portrait painter Joshua Johnson created art that was conceived in a thoroughly western European fashion. During the 1800s, Harriet Powers made quilts in rural Georgia, United States that are now considered among the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting. Later in the 20th century, the women of Gee’s Bend developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional African American quilts with a geometric simplicity that developed separately but was like that of Amish quilts and modern art. After the American Civil War, museums and galleries began more frequently to display the work of African American artists. Cultural expression in mainstream venues was still limited by the dominant European aesthetic and by racial prejudice. To increase the visibility of their work, many African American artists traveled to Europe where they had greater freedom. It was not until the Harlem Renaissance that more whites began to pay attention to African American art in America. [pic] Kara Walker, Cut, Cut paper and adhesive on wall, Brent Sikkema NYC. During the 1920s, artists such as Raymond Barthe, Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, and photographer James Van Der Zee became well known for their work. During the Great Depression, new opportunities arose for these and other African American artists under the WPA. In later years, other programs and institutions, such as the New York City-based Harmon Foundation, helped to foster African American artistic talent. Augusta Savage, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and others exhibited in museums and juried art shows, and built reputations and followings for themselves. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were very few widely accepted African American artists. Despite this, The Highwaymen, a loose association of 27 African American artists from Ft. Pierce, Florida, created idyllic, quickly realized images of the Florida landscape and peddled some 50,000 of them from the trunks of their cars. They sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents, thus receiving the name The Highwaymen. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history. Their artwork is widely collected by enthusiasts and original pieces can easily fetch thousands of dollars in auctions and sales. The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was another period of resurgent interest in African American art. During this period, several African-American artists gained national prominence, among them Lou Stovall, Ed Love, Charles White, and Jeff Donaldson. Donaldson and a group of African-American artists formed the Afrocentric collective AFRICOBRA, which remains in existence today. The sculptor Martin Puryear, whose work has been acclaimed for years, is being honored with a 30-year retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York starting November 2007. Notable contemporary African American artists include David Hammons, Eugene J. Martin, Charles Tolliver, and Kara Walker. Literature [pic] Langston Hughes, a notable African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance. African American literature has its roots in the oral traditions of African slaves in America. The slaves used stories and fables in much the same way as they used music. These stories influenced the earliest African American writers and poets in the 18thcentury such as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano. These authors reached early high points by telling slave narratives. During the early 20th century Harlem Renaissance, numerous authors and poets, such as Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Dubois, and Booker T. Washington, grappled with how to respond to discrimination in America. Authors during the Civil Rights era, such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about issues of racial segregation, oppression and other aspects of African American life. This tradition continues today with authors who have been accepted as an integral part of American literature, with works such as Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Beloved by Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison, and series by Octavia Butler and Walter Mosley that have achieved both best-selling and/or award-winning status. Museums The African American Museum Movement emerged during the 1950s and 1960s to preserve the heritage of the African American experience and to ensure its proper interpretation in American history. Museums devoted to African American history are found in many African American neighborhoods. Institutions such as the African American Museum and Library at Oakland and The African American Museum in Cleveland were created by African Americans to teach and investigate cultural history that, until recent decades was primarily preserved trough oral traditions. Language Generations of hardships imposed on the African American community created distinctive language patterns. Slave owners often intentionally mixed people who spoke different African languages to discourage communication in any language other than English. This, combined with prohibitions against education, led to the development of pidgins, simplified mixtures of two or more languages that speakers of different languages could use to communicate. Examples of pidgins that became fully developed languages include Creole, common to Haiti,and Gullah, common to the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. African American Vernacular English is a type variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language closely associated with the speech of but not exclusive to African Americans. While AAVE is academically considered a legitimate dialect because of its logical structure, some of both Caucasians and African Americans consider it slang or the result of a poor command of Standard American English. Inner city African American children who are isolated by speaking only AAVE have more difficulty with standardized testing and, after school, moving to the mainstream world for work. It is common for many speakers of AAVE to code switch between AAVE and Standard American English depending on the setting. Fashion and aesthetics [pic]. A man weaving kente cloth in Ghana. Attire The cultural explosion of the 1960s saw the incorporation of surviving cultural dress with elements from modern fashion and West African traditional clothing to create a uniquely African American traditional style. Kente cloth is the best known African textile. These festive woven patterns, which exist in numerous varieties, were originally made by the Ashanti and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo. Kente fabric also appears in a number of Western style fashions ranging from casual t-shirts to formal bow ties and cummerbunds. Kente strips are often sewn into liturgical and academic robes or worn as stoles. Since the Black Arts Movement, traditional African clothing has been popular amongst African Americans for both formal and informal occasions. Another common aspect of fashion in African American culture involves the appropriate dress for worship in the Black church. It is expected in most churches that an individual should present their best appearance for worship. African American women in particular are known for wearing vibrant dresses and suits. An interpretation of a passage from the Christian Bible, every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head , has led to the tradition of wearing elaborate Sunday hats, sometimes known as crowns. Hair Hair styling in African American culture is greatly varied. African American hair is typically composed of tightly coiled curls. The predominant styles for women involve the straightening of the hair through the application of heat or chemical processes. These treatments form the base for the most commonly socially acceptable hairstyles in the United States. Alternatively, the predominant and most socially acceptable practice for men is to leave ones hair natural. Often, as men age and begin to lose their hair, the hair is either closely cropped, or the head is shaved completely free of hair. However, since the 1960s, natural hairstyles, such as the afro, braids, and dreadlocks, have been growing in popularity. Although the association with radical political movements and their vast difference from mainstream Western hairstyles, the styles have not yet attained widespread social acceptance. Maintaining facial hair is more prevalent among African American men than in other male populations in the U. S. In fact, the soul patch is so named because African American men, particularly jazz musicians, popularized the style. The preference for facial hair among African American men is due partly to personal taste, but because they are more prone than other ethnic groups to develop a condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, commonly referred to as razor bumps, many prefer not to shave. Body image The European aesthetic and attendant mainstream concepts of beauty are often at odds with the African body form. Because of this, African American women often find themselves under pressure to conform to European standards of beauty. Still, there are individuals and groups who are working towards raising the standing of the African aesthetic among African Americans and internationally as well. This includes efforts toward promoting as models those with clearly defined African features; the mainstreaming of natural hairstyles; and, in women, fuller, more voluptuous body types. Religion While African Americans practice a number of religions, Protestant Christianity is by far the most popular. Additionally, 14% of Muslims in the United States and Canada are African American. Christianity [pic] A river baptism in New Bern, North Carolina near the turn of the 20th century. The religious institutions of African American Christians commonly are referred tocollectively as the black church. During slavery, many slaves were stripped of their African belief systems and typically denied free religious practice. Slaves managed, however, to hang on to some practices by integrating them into Christian worship in secret meetings. These practices, including dance, shouts, African rhythms, and enthusiastic singing, remain a large part of worship in the African American church. African American churches taught that all people were equal in Gods eyes and viewed the doctrine of obedience to ones master taught in white churches as hypocritical. Instead the African American church focused on the message of equality and hopes for a better future. Before and after emancipation, racial segregation in America prompted the development of organized African American denominations. The first of these was the AME Church founded by Richard Allen in 1787. An African American church is not necessarily a separate denomination. Several predominantly African American churches exist as members of predominantly white denominations. African American churches have served to provide African American people with leadership positions and opportunities to organize that were denied in mainstream American society. Because of this, African American pastors became the bridge between the African American and European American communities and thus played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement. Like many Christians, African American Christians sometimes participate in or attend a Christmas play. Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is a re-telling of the classic Nativity story with gospel music. Productions can be found a African American theaters and churches all over the country. Islam [pic] A member of the Nation of Islam selling merchandise on a city street corner. Despite the popular assumption that the Nation represents all or most African American Muslims, less than 2% are members. Generations before the advent of the Atlantic slave trade, Islam was a thriving religion in West Africa due to its peaceful introduction via the lucrative trans-Saharan trade between prominent tribes in the southern Sahara and the Berbers to the North. In his attesting to this fact the West African scholar Cheikh Anta Diop explained: The primary reason for the success of Islam in Black Africaconsequently stems from the fact that it was propagated peacefully at first by solitary Arabo-Berber travelers to certain Black kings and notables, who then spread it about them to those under their jurisdiction Many first-generation slaves were often able to retain their Muslim identity, their descendants were not. Slaves were either forcibly converted to Christianity as was the case in the Catholic lands or were besieged with gross inconviences to their religious practice such as in the case of the Protestant American mainland. In the decades after slavery and particularly during the depression era, Islam reemerged in the form of highly visible and sometimes controversial heterodox movements in the African American community. The first of these of note was the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded by Noble Drew Ali. Ali had a profound influence on Wallace Fard, who later founded the Black nationalist Nation of Islam in 1930. Elijah Muhammad became head of the organization in 1934. Much like Malcolm X, who left the Nation of Islam in 1964, many African American Muslims now follow traditional Islam. A survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows that 30% of Sunni Mosque attendees are African Americans. African American orthodox Muslims are often the victims of stereotypes, most notably the assumption that an African American Muslim is a member of the Nation of Islam. They are often viewed by the uneducated African-American community in general as less authentic than Muslims from the Middle East or South Asia while credibility is less of an issue with immigrant Muslims and Muslim world in general. Other religions. Aside from Christianity and Islam, there are also African Americans who follow Judaism, Buddhism, and a number of other religions. The Black Hebrew Israelites are a collection of African American Jewish religious organizations. Among their varied teachings, they often include that African Americans are descended from the Biblical Hebrews (sometimes with the paradoxical claim that the Jewish people are not). There is a small but growing number of African Americans who participate in African traditional religions, such as Vodou and Santeria or Ifa and diasporic traditions like Rastafarianism. Many of them are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean and South America, where these are practiced. Because of religious practices, such as animal sacrifice, which are no longer common among American religions and are often legally prohibited, these groups may be viewed negatively and are sometimes the victims of harassment. Life events For most African Americans, the observance of life events follows the pattern of mainstream American culture. There are some traditions which are unique to African Americans. Some African Americans have created new rites of passage that are linked to African traditions. Pre-teen and teenage boys and girls take classes to prepare them for adulthood. They are typically taught spirituality, responsibility, and leadership. Most of these programs are modeled after traditional African ceremonies, with the focus largely on embracing African ideologies rather than specific rituals. To this day, some African American couples choose to jump the broom as a part of their wedding ceremony. Although the practice, which can be traced back to Ghana, fell out of favor in the African American community after the end of slavery, it has experienced a slight resurgence in recent years as some couples seek to reaffirm their African heritage. Funeral traditions tend to vary based on a number of factors, including religion and location, but there are a number of commonalities. Probably the most important part of death and dying in the African American culture is the gathering of family and friends. Either in the last days before death or shortly after death, typically any friends and family members that can be reached are notified. This gathering helps to provide spiritual and emotional support, as well as assistance in making decisions and accomplishing everyday tasks. The spirituality of death is very important in African American culture. A member of the clergy or members of the religious community, or both, are typically present with the family through the entire process. Death is often viewed as transitory rather than final. Many services are called homegoings, instead of funerals, based on the belief that the person is going home to the afterlife. The entire end of life process is generally treated as a celebration of life rather than a mourning of loss. This is most notably demonstrated in the New Orleans Jazz Funeral tradition where upbeat music, dancing, and food encourage those gathered to be happy and celebrate the homegoing of a beloved friend. Cuisine [pic] A traditional soul food dinner consisting of fried chicken, candied yams, collard greens, cornbread, and macaroni and cheese. The cultivation and use of many agricultural products in the United States, such as yams, peanuts, rice, okra, sorghum, grits, watermelon, indigo dyes, and cotton, can be traced to African influences. African American foods reflect creative responses to racial and economic oppression and poverty. Under slavery, African Americans were not allowed to eat better cuts of meat, and after emancipation many often were too poor to afford them. Soul food, a hearty cuisine commonly associated with African Americans in the South (but also common to African Americans nationwide), makes creative use of inexpensive products procured through farming and subsistence hunting and fishing.

Personal Identity Defining Yourself Philosophy Essay

Personal Identity Defining Yourself Philosophy Essay Trying to define yourself is like trying to bite your own teeth Alan Watts. Personal Identity play its role as to define human with quality of its own which makes him or her a unique one. The identity of a person that is in question must be able to realize them, and he must be identified by other people. In short, what makes John unique from Felicia? Both internal (mind) and external (body) views are the two essential aspects that have to be differentiated by one. There are several general philosophical theories of this identity problem. Body theory, Soul theory and Conscious Theory will come to fit into the missing piece of the puzzle of personal identity. The body theory is one of the theories that define personal identity. It can be defined as when Person A has a personal identity if and only if they have the same body X. However, two problems can be found in this definition. Qualitatively, it is right to own the same body, but if changes happened to the body, can we still define that person as the same one? Everyones body is definitely different if we were to compare at the age of 60 and 4. Another problem popped out on the matter of body alteration. If Felicia becomes injured by a mine at war, and then her legs have to be amputated, is she not the same person, Felicia? Therefore, the definition of the theory is insufficient as the same body alteration is not accounted for. On the other hand, numerically, if a person lost his finger due to an accident, does that finger is counted as a different body? What if a scientist decided to use another persons DNA to clone another person with the exact same DNA? Two people with identical body surely cannot be the same person because they are still two different people with identical body. Both of them would be living totally different lives. Hence, in defining personal identity, the body theory by itself had failed to make it valid. The Soul theory will be the next common theory in defining personal identity. Similarly to the body theory: Person A has a personal identity if and only if they have the same soul. The idea became a lot more complicated when we are trying to define a rather controversial term soul. In the religion aspect, it is thought to be spirit of a person that passes through ones body into another realm (eg. Heaven or hell). However, it is still a mysterious phenomenon since there is no proof that can prove its existence. For instance, when a cloud changes to grayish puffy substance, we will still say, the cloud had turned gray. In short, we still recognized it as a cloud. It is just many souls in one body. Therefore, the soul theory is also not valid as it fails in that the definiens is insufficient to define personal identity.   The truest and most recognized philosophy theories about personal identity are the consciousness theory. However, this theory is interpreted differently in three ways: the experiential content, conscious self, and connected stream of consciousness theories. First on the list, the conscious self-theory: he or she is said to have personal identity if they have the same self-conscious. In another words, if there is a different conscious in two people, then both of them has personal identity. At first sight, it seems like a good theory to prove personal identity. It is analogous to Descartes cogito, I think therefore I am. Secondly, the consciousness of experiences theory is the common derivatives to the theory of consciousness. It is more easily known as the experiential content. This theory comes from the Lockes theory of having the mind blank, and accumulation from experiences. One is to have personal identity because only one person can experience at one finite space. We take twins f or instance. Although they have identical bodies, the moment they were born, they are already experiencing different moments. Therefore, both of them have personal identity because they experience different surroundings and see things in a different manner. The major problem is that we do not have the ability to remember every single experience in our life consciously. For instance, one can still tell another person what they have eaten three days ago but it is impossible for a person to tell another what they ate today after 10 years. In another example, one cannot be define as having different personal identity because they were drunk and acted like another person. In other words, because the human mind has failed to consciously remember every single moment of their lives, this theory eventually is invalid. The connected stream of consciousness will be the last theory about personal identity. With its definition of a persons identity is made out of a stream of connected conscious experiences, this theory eventually had solved the problem of human being unable to remember about their experience consciously. With this theory, we will still be the same person although we are unable to remember what we have done at the age of 4 when we are 60 years old. Generally with a finite mind, conscious is affiliated in a chronological pattern. In short, we will take the river as a metaphor. If you see a river flowing every day, you will not be looking at the same part of the river (representing body or experiences), however you will not be able to dispute that is not a river. Hence, let say the river is personal identity. This theory almost had it all right then. Thomas Reid which is also my preferred option to the idea of personal identity disagreed with Lockes memory theory by reducing it to absurdity. Lockes theory was criticized for a few irrelevancies. First of all, I strongly agree with what Reid hold on to. He thinks that personal identity should be determined with something that cannot be divided into parts indivisible but not by determining by operations. He, too, stated the main problem of Lockes is his ideas are of confusing proves of another thing with itself. Officer paradox was introduced by Reid at his attempt to Lockes theory to absurdity. Memory is the best evidence for identity, says Locke. If Felicia was able to remember what she had done, hence, she will be the same person with the same identity. But if Felicia happened to be a forgetful person, will that means she loses her personal identity? Reids idea can further support my point where he believes that to be able to prove something for its constituents and its existence, an evidence of a particular matter is relatively irrelevant. It was argued that if I were to believe the world is created, it does not mean that the creation of the world is valid. This argument is similar to someone who remember doing something but that does not mean he will the same person who did that something. I personally think that the memory and personal identity are both affiliated. They are related not in the sense of determining who a person is but they are related in a sense where one existed over time instead. Therefore, it was concluded by Reid that Lockes memory theory is a presup position of personal identity by memory rather than the creation of it. A U.S. author, James Baldwin once quoted, An identity seemed like it has arrived by the way when a person faces and uses his experience. Assuming that we will not be able to put everything into a complete puzzle, we are left with one choice. Pluck a rose, separate the petals one by one which each petals represents one idea. Whatever came out at the end, it is your call by your very own intuition. But for me, I would choose to go for Reids philosophical views about personal identity.

My Journey to College Essay -- Personal Narratives

My Journey to College I first came to the university during spring break of my junior year of high school. At the time I was just visiting the three main universities in Arizona so that I would be able to make an educated decision as to where I wanted to get my college education. There were many events showing me the way to this university and little did I know that these events would come upon me and that they would show me the doors to the place where I was truly meant to be. I had a small thought in mind of becoming a chef or something else in the hospitality field. My mom had heard about NAU’s hospitality college and informed me that it was within the top ten. During our visit to NAU we met with and administrator in the HRM program just to get some information about the program. Some time passed and all of the information that I had gathered from the three universities kept running through my head. In the beginning NAU was not my first choice because my boyfriend at the time was in Tucson at U of A so naturally I wanted to attend school with him. Some more time passed and my boyfriend and I broke it off. I was all of a sudden lost because I realized immediately that the only reason U of A was appealing to me at all was because he was there. So my mind went back to thinking about what career I wanted to pursue. I was almost sure that hospitality was still the field for me so of course NAU popped back into my head. I discussed my new thoughts with my mom and we decided that I should apply and wait see what happened. I sent in my application. This was the only application I sent in despite all of the advice given by my high school teachers and administrators: â€Å"Make sure you send in as many a... ...l friends and she is still just right down the hall. My roommate and I became very close after the first few weeks of not knowing exactly how to act around one another and now we are the best of friends as well. Now, in my second semester at NAU, I have gained a great deal of independence, knowledge, and friends. I feel like NAU is my home away from home. I have great classes and I feel that NAU is going to prepare me very well for my life and career in the future. The events that led me to NAU were very inspirational and I feel that these events brought me to where I am really meant to be. I have been shown the path to NAU and now, NAU is showing me the path into my future. I have gone through great journeys to get here and have experienced great ones while being here and I am sure I will continue to experience many marvelous times in Flagstaff at NAU.

The Case of the Lightning Strike

In forwarded e-mails across the country are many stories of frivolous lawsuits with huge payouts.   First, there is the story of Kathleen Roberson who won $780,000 after breaking her ankle tripping over her own son in a furniture store.   Carl Truman of Los Angeles won $74,000 when a neighbor reversed over his hand with a Honda Accord.   The court knew that he had sustained this injury in his attempt to steal the hubcaps, yet ruled in his favor anyway.   The case that I am about to present to you is almost as silly as the first two, but the tone of the article is perfectly serious one in a national publication (Reader’s Digest). Van Maussner and three of his friends went golfing at a country club in Atlantic City.   The skies were dark with rain clouds, but the sports enthusiasts would not allow it to put a damper on their time.   After they reached the 12th hole, Maussner was struck by lightning and nearly died of his injuries.   Later, he sued the course for negligence, as they did not have the â€Å"proper safety procedures in place to protect patrons from lighting†(Gerber, 152). He lost at the lower court, but won at the Superior Court who ruled, â€Å"injuries through acts of God don’t exempt courses from liability†(Gerber, 153).   Is it any wonder why frivolous lawsuits flourish when companies are liable for events beyond their control?   Whatever happened to checking the weather report before going out and a little thing called personal responsibility? This paper will examine the case of the plaintiff and isolate the flaws in his argument. First, the article mentions that the men â€Å"prided themselves on hitting the links throughout the year, regardless of the weather†(p. 151).  Ã‚  Ã‚   This point is relevant because it would imply that it did not matter what the weather channel or club personnel warned—they would have gone about their business regardless.   In fact, the club checked the reports before allowing them on the course in the first place since there was no mention of lightning in the forecast. In a similar case (Ned P. Harris v. United States of America) the plaintiff was going rock climbing when he was struck by lightning.   When it came to court, the judge dismissed the case because, â€Å"He saw no power in the plaintiff’s argument that the National Park Service was to blame for his current situation†(Percelay, 68). The second argument the plaintiff made was that there was no system in place to protect players from inclement weather.   In fact, the club had an evacuation process for more than 40 years: at the first sign of bad weather, employees would cart around the golf course and warn players off.   In fact, two caddies tried to get the group to seek shelter, â€Å"but the men decided against it†(Gerber, 152). Third, it was further argued that â€Å"the country club did not have signs posted about its evacuation plan, nor did it begin telling players to seek shelter at neighboring houses until after his accident.   If the club had proper precautions in place, he would not have suffered the injuries†(Gerber, 153).   Under U.S. Law, if a corporation has an evacuation procedure in place but does not utilize it correctly, it may be held liable. Under scrutiny was â€Å"whether the club [promoted safety] in the way it posted evacuation notices and monitored dangerous conditions, and if it should have built shelters and provided and audible signal†(Gerber, 153).   Would such a system truly prevent lighting strikes in the future?   History has shown a large number of people knowingly venture out in spite of unfavorable weather conditions, i.e. storm trackers, scientists, the curious, and the careless.   Anyone that exposes themselves willingly to extreme weather takes his own life in his hands. In sum, the article tried to achieve balance by including both sides of the story.   However, in creating sympathy for Maussner by implying the negligence of the country club, Gerber tacitly encourages the abdication of personal responsibility for universal liability if it includes the possibility of safety for everyone.   Also, frivolous lawsuits give rise to more frivolous lawsuits. Five years ago, (9 years after Maussner’s case was settled) obese teenagers sued McDonald’s for making them fat. â€Å"McDonald's is responsible for their obesity because it did not provide the necessary information about the health risks associated with its meals†(Santora).   This was the first case of its kind heard in court.   In order for society to get back on track, people need to assume responsibility for their own choices and accept the consequences, whatever they may be. Works Cited Gerber, Robin. â€Å"You Be the Judge: When lightning strikes a golfer, is the country club at fault?† Reader’s Digest. August 2007, pp. 151-153 Percelay, James. Whiplash!: America’s Most Frivolous Lawsuits. Riverside, NJ: Andrews McMeel Publishing Santora, Marc. â€Å"Teenagers’ Suit Says McDonald’s Made Them Obese.† The New York Times. 21 Nov. 2002 Accessed 20 Aug. 2007 at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health;res=9A0DE7DC1439F932A15752C1A9649C8B63 ;