Knowledge workers Essay

Knowledge workers are the valuable asset of the company and their management is known as knowledge management. They contribute towards improved productivity and management that leads to success of the organization therefore their role is very important and new organizations should implement it in their culture. There is no limit or boundaries to acquire knowledge or to explore it and knowledge management is one of its kinds. The interview with Karl-Erik Sveiby indicates his familiarization with this concept and his role in the promotion of knowledge management. Karl came across this term when he started working in his own publishing company. It was at this time that his urge to know more about the term knowledge management developed when he saw knowledge workers in his own company. It is a knowledge based strategy some what close to the concept of learning organization. , it improves the functioning of the business therefore it is also known as the competence based strategy. Karl’s interest in it grew over the years especially in the 1990’s as he had passion for creativity and creating value at work through people and environment, moreover the trend was changing from IT towards the people. His urge for tacit knowledge has led him to work on aboriginal knowledge creation for the time being. He believed computers can also play a role in this work as well through the development of tools that contribute towards creativity such as simulations and educational tools. Knowledge management helps in formulating strategies, development of tools and engagement of people into work. Karl has been inspired by new ideas through interaction with the people around him apart from the formal network of people which is a usual way and various thought leaders too such as Marshall McLuhan. He wrote a book named Invisible balance sheet in the year 1989 which got overwhelming response from people who imitated it and used it as their work but a lot of people don’t know that Karl was the original source of these new ideas introduced such as four power players and intangible resources like customer capital, structural capital, and human capital. He believed in sharing the knowledge in humanity and has given access to his work online free of charge to download for everyone including his books, he has got a lot of appreciation from the people for his work and ideas though there are people who have copied his work. Karl has got intangible value in return as a reward of working with gifted people for the benefit of everyone and he is satisfied with this opportunity to learn as a reward. These tools and ideas are to be used to improve people and their thinking. Organizations should implement this in their work to make it a better place. Knowledge and technology should be used to have better control over people rather than it taking over people completely. People exploit the concepts by copying them for their own benefit rather than humanity. Finland is one of the countries which is working on knowledge based policies far ahead than any other country and has embraced it but yet again it needs to be done widely in order to see results. This concept does not change any organization, it depends on the top management that they realize its potential and ingrain in into the business in order to use knowledge as a tool for better management of resources and the organization as a whole.

Discussion About Multimeter Essay

Discussion. 1. When we want to measure voltage reading, the multimeter must be parallel with the component that we want to measured. The red on the high voltage side, and black on the lower. When measuring current, amperes, the multimeter must be in series with the component. Remove one side of the component and connect the black multimeter lead to the board where the component was plugged in and the red lead connects to the loose component. The difference between the two is that if we measure the voltage, the internal resistance of the multimeter is set to what is essentially infinity. If it was anything less then it would be acting as a resistor and drawing its own current which would reduce the current on the component being tested, which would in turn reduce the voltage reading we get. When we measured current, the internal resistance of the multimeter is set to almost 0. This is to ensure that it does not contribute to the resistance of the series it is in. Increasing the resistance of a series of components can cause current further â€Å"upstream† to flow into other branches which throws off our current reading.In short, for voltage tests the mm is placed in parallel with the components and acts as an open line to take a reading. For current readings the multimeter is placed in series with the component and it acts as a simple piece of wire with zero resistance. 2. There are many types of errors that maybe encountered in the measurement process and measures to minimize it. For examples random error, systematic error and gross error are static error (i) random errors Random errors are ones that are easier to deal with because they cause the measurements to fluctuate around the true value. If we are trying to measure some parameter X, greater random errors cause a greater dispersion of values, but the mean of X still represents the true value for that instrument. (ii) systematic error A systematic error can be more tricky to track down and is often unknown. This error is often called a bias in the measurement. In chemistry a teacher tells the student to read the volume of liquid in a graduated cylinder by looking at the meniscus. A student may make an error by reading the volume by looking at the liquid level near the edge of the glass. Thus this student will always be off by a certain amount for every reading he makes. Systematic error can be classed by three different error such as: -instrument error -environment error -observational error (iii) gross error Gross error is usually made by human mistakes. As example, error when taking measurement reading, incorrect recording and improper use of instrumentation. We can minimize this error by taking at least three separate readings and take proper care in reading and recording. 3. The significance of using the correct range for measurement are to get the more accurate and precise reading and to reduce the percentage of error when taking a reading.

Working mothers

Instead traditional feminism has always focused on white middle-class needs. Traditional values fall to recognize how women's different identities such as race, class, and sexuality shape our views and beliefs about family and motherhood. Many believe that shared social issues such as women rights bring women together, but what many do not see are the different Identities such as class, race, and sexuality within gender, that can cause conflicting views. The quote above by Joan Williams Is a testament In understanding how these deferent identities within women can become a delving factor In their beliefs.Specifically women's beliefs and roles In the family are Influenced by their Individual Identities. These Intersections of identities play an important role in women's beliefs on motherhood. Through the course readings I will show how the notions of motherhood changes through these different identities. Women's participation in the labor, education, domestic duties as well as views o n marital status and child rearing will show the division within women's notions of motherhood. America underwent a change in 1945 that had never been seen before.Despite representation there was a conflict from WI in the ass'. There was a shift from reduction to consumption, where America was seen as ‘living the good life'. By 1960 America's Income had Increased, and by the end of the decade Americans were moving up In prosperity. What history falls to acknowledge are the women who feel disorientated and discontent. The ass's and ass's was also a time filled with anxiety and alienation. As Betty Friedman puts it there was a vague uneasiness' that is the mark of this period. The sass's was an odd period of time, where many social issues were taking place.Nevertheless women continued to enter the labor force, which suggested the growing antinomy for women after the war. In the 1 ass's as Friedman suggest people were politically and culturally conservative, particularly regardin g gender and family issues, which made exploring new opportunities difficult for women due to restrictive gender norms. Through the lives of middle-class white women Friedman uses labor force participation to show their beliefs of motherhood. The role of a housewife to some may seem simple, as If they have nothing to do but to take care of the children and domestic duties.But what many fall to see are that these women are well educated and hold traditional ideologies of the family in which women sacrifice ones fulfillment ender role expectations. Women's behaviors and beliefs were in relation to men, which created a lack of fulfillment amongst women. Friedman argues these housewives needed competition and should make contributions to society. Friedman's argues that middle-class white women needed to find something fulfilling in society to feel a since of purpose. To get away of what society tells them to do, and start living for what they would want to do.Surprisingly women's action s did not reflect their beliefs. Though these women were educated enough to have careers but, many found it best eatable to become a housewife because it was the gender norm for women to stay at home and be the caregivers while men should become the breadwinners outside the home. These beliefs countered women's fulfillment as a woman but filled their beliefs on motherhood. Friedman titles masculine ideologies of motherhood that creates feelings of emptiness as ‘The Feminine Mystique'. Its overpowering, hegemonic dynamic in the work place and in the homes, where men carry the power enforce gender roles.These women adopt the Feminine Mystique, for the purposes of appeasing to societies expectations, but Friedman clearly shows how the traditional views of others are not holding strong in these women's beliefs. Women were becoming board and tired of being a housewife. This shows the view of motherhood for these women would be to have a more active part in the community, take care of the domestic duties and fulfill the husbands needs but their fear of going against men's ideologies of motherhood keeps them confined.The intersecting identities of class, education status and gender played a role in how these women view their roles in the family. Becoming a stay at home mom may have not always been by choice but by sacrifice. Gender roles have proven to be influential on women's beliefs on others. Despite Friedman pushing for women to become contributing factors in society, Bart Laundry in â€Å"Black Working Wives† offers a counterpoint to the norms of white middle- class families. Black women are usually excluded from white framework of motherhood.He incorporates race unlike Friedman as a contributing identity that shapes black middle-class women's notions of motherhood. Participants were black middle-class two parent families. The black women in these families took care of domestic duties, cared for the children and had an active part in the community, which allowed black women more freedom. Black women in most cases did not have the option of staying home. They pursued careers outside the home because they believed a true woman' could do both. The notion of mother hood was achievement in both public and private spears.The black community held a different standard then their white counterparts. The black community appreciated women's intelligence and their independence. Women's in Friedman's book looked to their husbands for the decision making rather then formatting and expressing their own views. There is a big divide in how women in Friedman's reading and Landers book viewed womanhood partially due to the racial preference and also because of class. For white families you could be middle-class solely on the husband's income.Black families did not share the same experience, to Laundry challenges domesticity as she focuses on African American women. Looking at black families we can see a transition of the traditional family to a more radical modern family. The male ideologies of motherhood were also different as unlike there white counterparts black husbands had the expectation for their wife's to work outside of the home, which allowed black women to become more active in the community. The egalitarian mindset of black families combined the public and irate spear.Working outside of the home gave black women more respect inside of the home. Race has played a significant difference in expectations of working wives. Black women did more because there family needed both incomes to be middle class. They face more criticism in the work place and carry the burden of isolation from the male counterparts coming home from an oppressed workplace. On the other hand white women stayed at home because they had stronger beliefs in ideologies. Catering to the household and their husbands were put over their own needs.Women in both readings lacked fulfillment. Men shared unequal responsibilities in doing housework, which is an issue that has been solved. The power dynamic of who is responsible for the domestic duties, stems from male ideologies. Men in both readings are the primary breadwinners therefore lack the obligating in helping with domestic duties. Friedman and Laundry take on two different perspectives on motherhood. While Friedman is pushing women to become active contributors in their communities Laundry is showing how black women have been working for year to support their families.Here we can see how identities such as class and race can create a division amongst gender and also shape beliefs on motherhood. Women who participate in labor both inside and outside of the home have contradicting beliefs on motherhood. In Mary Blair-Loss book â€Å"Competing Devotions† she looks at how women in both spears view labor and family schemas. Work devoted women in the reading were well education and help high power position Jobs. They worked full time which became time demanding and had to sacrifice their extracurricular time for work. They felt their Job was important and more like dynamic work.Women wanted to become more economically independent from men UT at the same time their high-end Jobs meant working long hours, which left them tired and facing discrimination from male dominance in the work place. Women felt that they were providing a better life for themselves and their children. Their beliefs of motherhood was not to fulfill domestic duties like cleaning and cooking every day but to provide the economic needs for their children so they would always have what they needed. The family devoted women sought marriage and child rearing as their primary devotion.Some women worked part time but still took care of the domestic duties. Families believed their roles to be biologically destined, where men should work full time outside the home. Family devoted mother criticized work devoted mother for not spending more time with their family and work devoted women critic ized stay at home mothers by saying they are lacking fulfillment and depended on men. Like the women in Friedman's reading these women held a more traditional view of womanhood. Like all mothers both schemas came with their sacrifices, which they people for support and shunned the opposite schema.The notions of motherhood aligned with the schema these women adopted. It is interesting to see the role education played in choosing which schema to adopt. Women's views on motherhood relied not only schemas but also their beliefs on marriage. Kathleen Eden and Andrew Cheering search to find the problems as to why low income white and black single mothers are not getting married. The study finds five reasons to why women are reluctant to enter or reenter into a marriage. The same five reasons are also how they define womanhood.Women sought having children before marriage fulfilling, but did not count on being single. Women saw affordability, respectability, control, trust and domestic viol ence as important measures when looking into marriage. These women felt if they were to be in another relationship it would be with a man that would uplift her status. These women wanted a man that they could trust and count on to support them and a child. Class, race and previous experiences shaped these low-income single women notion of motherhood. Due to their low social economic status they wanted a man that could take care of their family.Because they claimed there was a scarcity of black decent men, they looked for affordability and respectability and because of their previous experience they wanted someone they could trust. These women had their own economic stability but anted to gain upward mobility and believed having a decent trustworthy man will fulfill their notion of motherhood. Lastly through Mignon Moor's chapter â€Å"Lesbian Motherhood and Discourses of Respectability' we can see the ways in which lesbian women form motherhood through women's sexual autonomy, and an emphasis in strength and resilience.The reading discusses a lesbian woman named Jackie who has adopted her sister's child. Jackie overcame a massive struggle with social services in finalizing her adoptive rights to Andrew. Her refusal to hide her sexuality supports the notion of black womanhood that communicates a sense of sexual autonomy. Jackass's beliefs of what it meant to be a good mother derived from her childhood past. What she never had as a child she gave to Andrew and she made it her personal responsibility to see that he was safe, and stayed out of trouble.For women like Jackie challenges such as race, family structure and poverty influenced how she defined motherhood. Lesbian mothers have accepted a social responsibility based on family obligations, and have looked into their upbringing and personal experience for defining lesbian One woman named Athena had difficulty with telling her child from a previous heterosexual relationship that she was a lesbian. Athena did not feel comfortable identifying herself as a lesbian because she not only felt stigmatize from the community and family but she felt it was best to keep her sexuality unexposed to protect her child.By Athena not coming into terms with her lesbian identity it ruined her relationship and her chances to gain fulfillment in life. With the ending of her relationship with her partner we can see her understanding of motherhood. She defines motherhood as self-sacrificing for the good of the child. The move toward sexual autonomy is a struggle for women who are reluctant about their identity. Drawing a division between the two identities becomes difficult for women who are heterosexual lens and absorb cultural understandings of good motherhood in ways that make it difficult for them to view their lesbian sexuality in a positive light† (130).There is a constant battle when one is forced to choose between who they are and what is best for their child. Unfortunately the one parallel betw een all women are the sacrifices they endure for their families. We can she a range of mothers living in traditional families to more radical contemporary families, and all define motherhood differently. Women re forced to navigate motherhood through tough circumstances, which can become difficult.As seen in the reading women's roles are stretched so thin it becomes inevitable to find a suitable balance for themselves within the family needs. We can see that motherhood can vary through the different identities such as class, race and sexuality. No women's identities and experiences are the same, which make ‘motherhood' hard to generalize and allows motherhood to also divide gender. It becomes a forced decision rather then a choice that women struggle with in their daily life. Motherhood has become an internal battle between selfish and selfless.

Answer the questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Answer the questions - Essay Example Private sector norms on the other hand imply that the ethical standards existing in the government sector originated from the private sector, as the former does not have complex bureaucracies therefore upholds high ethical standards than their counterpart2. I particularly find the two ideas interesting because they reflect on the reality that most people tend to disregard. Conflict of interest is prevalent especially in highly politicized working environments while private sector norms have a tendency to infiltrate government agencies and in the process creating more conflicts of authority. Therefore, it would be appropriate to insinuate that the two ethical issues have a strong correlation in that one precedes the other thereby creating a vicious cycle of ethical dilemma. This is because conflicts of authority normally erode the private sector norms that have infiltrated the government and in the process leading to more crisis3. Certainly, conflict of authority and private sector no rms are fundamental concepts that have a wide variety of application in my professional work. During my everyday undertaking of my professional work, I may find myself in a conflict of authority situation and the best method to get out of this ethical dilemma is to act in accordance with the private sector norms that highly regard the incorporation of ethical codes of conduct in resolving ethical dilemmas4. Question Two Although the book ‘Ethics, The Ethics Edge’ presents several strong ethical concepts and arguments, I find two ideas namely, ethical leaders respect others and corruption as the major interesting factors. Ethical leaders ought to show respect to their peers as well as their subordinates as this motivates people in addition to promoting the inherent dignity of other persons. Corruption on the other hand, may have several meanings ranging from the moral sense of corruption to the technical aspects of the same5. In my view, the two aspects are interesting i n the sense that each presents a unique perspective of ethical conducts. For example, the suggestion that ethical leaders normally respect others appears as a hypothetical phrase as more often than not, I find people in leadership positions blatantly disregarding their juniors. This could mean that ethical leadership and leaders for that matter is a rare asset in the contemporary organization settings. Corruption in contrast takes a different ethical route in that it may imply the moral sense of corruption whereby individuals have the mindset of non-accountability deeply rooted in them. The technical sense of corruption is surprisingly the most mundane one because it is the database type of corruption consisting mainly of the physical aspect. These two ideas are curiously opposite because lack of ethical respect by leaders may erode the ethical values within the organization and corruption may ensue6. Both ideas are applicable in my professional work in that as a professional who is honing my leadership skills I have an obligation to respect others irrespective of the positions they hold in society or within the organization. This will include believing in them and their personal values and in the process enhancing my skills as an ethical leader. I also learn that the vice of corruption has many facets ranging from moral to physical aspects and that only ethical leadership

Practical Dementia Care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Practical Dementia Care - Research Paper Example The researcher states that considering patient’s physique and cerebral impairment, the following NANDA nursing diagnoses were formulated: 1. Nutritional insufficiency related to cognitive impairment (dementia) as demonstrated by weight of 45 kilograms, poor consumption of food and drinks, and emaciated appearance. 2. Impaired physical mobility related to cognitive impairment as demonstrated by unsteady gait. 3. Alteration of protective mechanisms related to malnutrition as evidenced by paper thin skin and recurrence of urinary tract infection. 4. Risk of infection in urinary tract related to poor hygiene as demonstrated by very red and sore genitalia and history of urinary tract infections. 5. Risk of injury to skin related to malnutrition as demonstrated by emaciated appearance and paper-thin skin. 6. Risk of accident related to cognitive impairment (dementia) as evidenced by unsteady gait. Other nursing diagnoses that may be derived related to dementia are: (1) Impaired Verb al Communication related to cerebral impairment as demonstrated by altered memory, judgment, and word finding; (2) Bathing or Hygiene Self-Care Deficit related to cognitive impairment as demonstrated by inability to complete ADLs; and (3) Impaired Social Interaction related to cognitive impairment. Justification This study cited several identified nursing diagnosis, both actual and risk problems, taking into higher priority the actual problems related to nutrition and safety. Nutritional insufficiency related to cognitive impairment (dementia) is on the top of the list as it is under the basic physiologic needs of human. According to Maslow, the basic physiologic needs related to survival must be met first. This includes oxygen, water, food, sleep, shelter. Therefore, as Mrs. Archer fails to eat and drink adequately, she is depriving herself on the fulfilment of.   The author of the essay "Clinical reasoning case study" begins with the description of the case study and short overv iew of the ddementia "In the given situation, several problems regarding Mrs. Archer’s health status arise. The height was not mentioned to have a clearer view on the patient’s body mass index but the photo shows a dishevelled thin woman with sunken eyelids who appears weak and cold. It was stated that she is currently suffering from early stage of dementia manifesting her inability to perform basic activities of daily living such as eating and maintaining personal hygiene". The author discusses justification and sets the goals of the treatment. In the end he evaluates outcomes and gives his recommendations and prognosis. By the end of the six weeks nursing care, Mrs. Archer will be able to demonstrate progressive weight gain or stable body weight. Evaluation criteria will include some if not all of the following: 1. Complete six weeks weight monitoring record showing progress on patient’s weight heavier than 45 kilograms. 2. Creation of a meal plan according to patient’s preference and in congruence with her energy expenditure and metabolic rate.

Training & Development of Fire & Rescue Staff Dissertation

Training & Development of Fire & Rescue Staff - Dissertation Example This proves that training evaluation can be influenced by training content and design, observable changes in learners, as well as transfer climate, job performance and end results. As organizations must make sure that their programmes and activities for training are consistent to their requirements, it is of great importance that they carry out a comprehensive assessment of training needs that will identify the job tasks for which training and development is needed. Consequently, they will be able to develop training plans for carrying out the necessary training. Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction 4 Research Aims 6 Chapter 2 Review of Related Literature 7 Skills for Justice: An Overview 7 Training Needs Assessment 8 Application of Training 10 Training Evaluation and Effectiveness 12 Training and Motivation 16 Conclusion 18 Chapter 3 Methodology 13 Research Approach 19 Research Design 21 Data Gathering Procedures 21 Ethical Considerations 22 Conclusion 22 Chapter 4 Results and D iscussion 24 Learner Readiness 24 Motivation to Transfer 25 Positive and Negative Personal Outcomes 25 Personal Capacity for Transfer 26 Peer Support 26 Supervisory Support and Sanctions 27 Perceived Content Validity 27 Transfer Design 28 Opportunity to Use 28 Transfer Effort-Performance Expectations 29 Resistance/Openness to Change 29 Performance Self-Efficacy 30 Performance Coaching 30 Analysis 31 Chapter 5 Conclusions and Recommendations 33 Conclusion 33 Recommendations 34 References 35 Chapter 1 Introduction Introduction The significance of providing opportunities for training and development for public sector workers is evident through the implementation of different policies as well as the substantial amount of money that the government invests. For an effective and valuable training system to be provided, its effectiveness should be measured as well (Moats, Chermak, and Dooley 2008). Due to financial constraints, agencies and organisations cannot afford the provision of train ing which are not assessed for its importance or contribution to the accomplishment of organisational goals. Training and development should always be congruent with the organisational mission to achieve long-term objectives (Brinkerhoff 2005). Effectiveness is the main component for training and development in any organisation as it allows workers to acquire and develop the skills and knowledge necessary to successfully perform their tasks. For organisations to initiate efficient training for their workers, it is necessary that such systems are evaluated to determine whether these are consistent with the organisation’s overall strategy; moreover, examining the processes and decisions made to ensure the effectiveness of training is also of great importance (Mitroff 2005). Organisations in the public sector have also spent a considerable amount of money to generate a knowledge-based workforce that can be capable of providing efficient services that the community expects. At pr esent, however, numerous complaints and issues have been aimed toward the public sector’s inefficiency in delivering such services. Hence, the current study focuses on the training programmes of the fire and rescue services and how such activities can create

Mechanism and the Rationality of Human Behaviour and Mind Essay

Mechanism and the Rationality of Human Behaviour and Mind - Essay Example In B. Jack Copeland’s paper entitled, Narrow versus Wide Mechanism: Including a Re-examination of Turing’s Views on the Mind-Machine Issue (Copeland, 2000), he examines the previous work by Alan Turing on the similarities between his Turing Machine and its similarities to the human brain. Also, the misinterpretations of Turing’s ideas by other theorists were presented in the paper, as well as other theories that either support or debunk them. On the other hand, the rationality of human behaviour in terms of choices and the products of such in the eyes of economists, behavioural analysts and social scientists were presented by Herbert A. Simon in his paper entitled, Bounded Rationality in Social Science: Today and Tomorrow (Simon, 2000). Changes in the trends concerning human choices over several decades as the effect of evolving cultures and ideas was explained and mulled over by seeing human behaviour as the result of decisions, along with theories and models th at could possibly explain why recurrences are possible in places where people are expected to be thinking differently from one another. The first paper is Copeland’s views on the connection between the human mind and Alan Turing’s computing machines, as well as the views of narrow and wide mechanisms’ school of thought. ... can do numerous tasks at the same time, several connections were made: The theory of mechanism is that the human body is made up of several parts that function as a whole, and much like machines such as clocks, each part has the task of contributing to the movement of the body. However, the human body is capable of self-repair and movement afterwards, while machines such as clocks do not have such capacity (Copeland, 2000, p. 6). The human mind and body are governed by sets of rules that allow it to move accordingly to what is needed, and that the selection of actions is determined by the pre-selected options in the mind, which are in the forms of memories. Much like in computers, problems are solvable only by what functions and options are available in their stored memories (Copeland, 2000, p. 8). Narrow mechanism believes that the mind is a machine that can be strictly simulated by a Turing machine, however, wide mechanism states that there is a strong possibility that although the human mind is indeed a machine, it cannot be imitated by a Turing machine thoroughly, thus dynamic and cognitive behavioural systems of the human mind cannot be calculated by the universal Turing machine (Copeland, 2000, p. 10). The creation of the computer was to make a machine capable of doing the computing work of hundreds to thousands of humans at the same time, proving the notion that similar to humans following a specific set of guidelines, logical computing machines when programmed with the appropriate procedures to do can also do anything that is within the set of instructions, making the process mechanical in nature (Copeland, 2000, pp. 13-14). However, several theorists proposed ideas that not all machines can be programmed to compute everything, and a time may come that some

Financial accounting Math Problem Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Financial accounting - Math Problem Example You should not provide impairment losses in the financial statement as these will decrease our reported profit and may be misleading for tax authorities and shareholder. We have a responsibility of disclosing fair and accurate information, therefore we should not provide for impairment losses until we want to close our operations. Our business investment buildings will be included at their fair value according to the judgment of auditors in the balance under long-term leases head. This will be done according to IAS 16 principles which calls for fair-value to be include in the balance sheet. Fair value consists of costs less depreciation less impairment losses. Since, we are not charging any depreciation, we can simply state these building at their NRV that according to you come around $2.5 Million. You have also asked me about how to treat grants. You are right about the fact that we can treat it as deferred income. IAS 20 allows us to treat it as deferred income. However, this option may increase will increase our profit and will also result in more tax payments. So, it is better to not treat it as tax income and instead amortize it completely by adjusting it with the purchase of fixed assets.

Individual or Issue Related to Africana Studies Essay

Individual or Issue Related to Africana Studies - Essay Example Similar to the arts of all individuals in the world, African art illustrate thought, attitudes, and values which are a result of African experiences in the past. Therefore, the study of African art gives an avenue for learning about the history of Africa. Through the study of African Art, individuals can find answers to the questions which have been engrossing the continent for long. Nonetheless, it is not only African art that can assist people get information on the past of Africa. Other elements, for example, lifestyle and stage of African development can also assist people gain additional information on the status of Africa in the globe. As individuals search information on Africa and its past, they must also take into consideration how Western view of racial and race differences has had an impact on views of the African history (Said 8). This paper will look at the impact of slavery and the slave trade era on the development of Africa. The ideas of race and racial differences ha ve always assumed, black people are inferior compared to their white counterparts. This notion begun in Western regions as the people from these regions attempted to rationalize their enslavement of Africans and the consequent colonization of the African continent. Historians and other professional studying African issues have now established that views of racial inadequacy have led to the conviction that African people in the past existed in a condition of primitive barbarism (Said 11). In addition, these professionals have also recognized that a large number of European works on the past of Africa, for example, stories by 19thcentury travelers and missionaries are stained by the similar view points of African inadequacy. This recognition has made historian and other experts studying the past of Africa to search for different sources of information that is less or not inspired by European or foreign concern with racial disparity. These different resources comprise oral traditions f ound in Africa, works by Africans, the physical evidence unearthed by archeologists, African art, and structures and vocabularies of the African language. These different sources, unlike European or foreign sources, will assist individuals comprehend the history of Africa from the African point of view.

Reflective technique of listening Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflective technique of listening - Essay Example The writer then goes on to explain empathy as the listener’s desire to understand the internal frame of mind of the speaker. The author explains the concept very well by giving examples of how empathy can be shown by saying phrases like â€Å"I follow you†; â€Å"I am with you†. He explains acceptance as accepting the person for what he is and not trying to judge him. It is closely related to empathy. When a person doesn’t try to judge the speaker; the speaker is encouraged to speak freely and discuss all aspects of the problem that he has been facing. Congruence is explained as being in the same external frame as you are internal. If you are angry, the writer feels it is better to tell the speaker than to show false sympathy as the speaker can always guess whether your concern is genuine or not. Concreteness is defined as the ability of the listener to focus on specifics rather than vague generalities and ideas. The listener should encourage the speaker t o be more specific in order to help him reach the root cause of this problem. The speaker may be trying to avoid it.In reflection, the listener should attempt to clarify and restate what the speaker is saying. I will not only assure the speaker that you are paying attention to what you are saying but will also clear your thoughts and help you to understand the speaker in a better way. Listening orientation and reflective listening are said to be mutually re-enforcing by the writer. One feeds on the other and helps the other to grow.... Congruence is explained as being in same external frame as you are internally. If you are angry , the writer feels it is better to tell the speaker than to show false sympathy as the speaker can always guess whether your concern is genuine or not. Concreteness is defined as the ability of the listener to focus on specifics rather than vague generalities and ideas. The listener should encourage the speaker to be more specific in order to help him reach the root cause of his problem. The speaker may be trying to avoid it. In reflection the listener should attempt to clarify and restate what the speaker is saying. I will not only assure the speaker that you are paying attention to what you are saying but will also clear your thoughts and help you to understand the speaker in a better way. Listening orientation and reflective listening are said to be mutually re-enforcing by the writer. One feeds on the other and helps the other to grow. The listener should try to react to only personal comments made by the speaker such as â€Å"I am worried about the job†. Instead of focusing on how is job is; reflective listening encourages the listener to focus on the worried part. Reflective listening basically lets the speaker take ownership of the problem. So the writer says that the listener should never try to lead the conversation but should only respond whenever necessary. These responses should be limited and should only be there to encourage the speaker to continue speaking. The most important aspect of reflective listening mentioned by the writer is to acknowledge; understand and respond to the feelings of the speaker rather than the actual content of what he is

Group work British Airline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Group work British Airline - Essay Example British Airways: Vision and Strategies The vision of British Airways is to emerge as the leading international premium airline throughout the globe. British airways has come up with several strategies towards the fulfilment of this long term vision. The organisation is committed to achieve the same through efficient cost base and its focus on the excellent customer service (UBS, n.d., p.2). All these would decide how quickly the airline would be able to revive from the recent economic downturn. Moreover, these significant strategies would help the organisation to establish a sustainable as well as profitable future for its business by benefiting its employees, partners, customers, shareholders and other stakeholders. In the coming years, the airline company would remain its focus on the aviation industry. The core business would remain on moving people and cargo. The airline company would offer to attract the customers from across the globe. They want the people across the globe to w ish to fly with British Airways whenever it is possible. The company has come up with few significant strategic goals which the organisation would strive to attain and wish to be. British Airways aims to be desired carrier for the long haul premium customers. The organisation has identified the long-haul premium customers, key to its profitability. The organisation tries to align its product, service and network according to customers’ requirements. Furthermore, the carrier would also keep its strong presence in cargo service and short-haul segments. All these sectors play a crucial role to support the core business of this organisation. British Airways is looking forward to its extension in other cuties. However, at the same time, the company works to gain and sustain its leading position in London. The city is seemed to be its financial centre of its business as this is one of the biggest airline industry across the globe. It is very crucial for British Airways to ensure th at Heathrow remains as a crucial global hub. As a consequence, the airline company has been influential to influence the government decisions regarding the relevant policies as well as works along with the airport owners to continue on the infrastructural development activities (British Airways, 2010). The drive for extension worked out well with the merging of British Airways and Iberia. Joining with Iberia would fetch total revenue of $ 18.5 billion placing it third across the Europe. With this consolidation, the group has given a tight competition to Air France –KLM and Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG (Rothwell, 2011). British Airways would continue to satisfy the requirements of its customers and enhance the margins through the introduction of new revenue streams in the business. The group would be introducing profitable additional services to the customers which would add value and strengthen this leading brand. The new products and services would be introduced to utilize its assets and organisational capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the core customers, which would, in turn, enhance the customers’ loyalty. British Airways also communicates with the travel agents to understand the new services offered by the competitors (Perreault, 2006, p.284). Analysis of Internal Environment Financial Analysis The

Art on Japanese Art History Essay Example for Free

Art on Japanese Art History Essay How can the artistic medium one chooses to use to express oneself determine whether or not it is truly art? While digital artists’ artistic ability is often questioned and the credit is given to the computer being used, the art itself springs from the mind of the digital artist. I can say this with personal fervor: Digital art is truly in essence a form of art that merely takes advantage of the innovations of modern technology. Digital Art isn’t computer-generated. While it might involve using tools offered by specialized computer programs a computer doesn’t do the thinking for you, and the creative ideas put forth are of the artist’s mind. Digital artist’s only use computer tools to convey their designs, all of the creative credibility should be given to the artist himself. Should the canvas the Mona Lisa was painted on be considered the creator of the masterpiece or rather Leonardo Da Vinci? Painters that stick to canvas are limiting themselves to the paint they use and the cotton woven fibers of their canvas. Why purposely choose to ignore the modern day tools that are given to you and condescendingly look down upon those who choose to utilize them? Over the years, I have spent a lot of my own time experimenting in the depths of digital art. Many times, I have used the computer as a medium for self expression; from creating to pictures on Microsoft paint as a child to experimenting with specialized software such as Adobe Photoshop. I have a deep and passionate love for creating and expressing myself through artwork on the computer. I one day aspire to have a profession in the field of digital art, such as a Graphic Designer. Because of this, I am very offended by the comments I hear from â€Å"traditional artists† that condescend digital art for its use of the computer as the artistic medium. When I hear comments that degrade digital artwork to computer-generated images, as though the computer itself designed the art I feel enraged and cheated. The other day a friend of mine ignorantly explained to me that she could, given the proper software, create her own masterpiece without any prior experience in digital art, as though anyone if given the proper software could instantaneously create masterpieces, when really there is so much more to digital art than computer software or the computer itself. It’s about one’s individual artistic talents. To me that would be the equivalent of saying that if I were given a canvas and a paintbrush I could instantaneously create a masterpiece, which I know is false and ignorant. Art is â€Å"the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others† (Britannica). Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process. There are many different employment fields in digital art. A couple of examples are graphic design and web design. Graphic design is the process and art of combining text and graphics and communicating an effective message in the design of logos, graphics, brochures, newsletters, posters, signs, and any other type of visual communication. Famous Graphic Designer, Milton Glaser, says â€Å"to design is to communicate clearly by whatever means you can control or master. † A graphic designer would meet with his/her clients and discuss the type of visual communication the client is interested in. The client may provide a general idea for the design, but the creative options are left for the designer to decide how to best portray the message of the client. The designer would then either sketch out a design to scan on to the computer for further alterations or go directly to the computer software in order to design the desired product. The designer would then verify with the client for satisfaction of the product. Web Design is the art and process of creating a single Web page or entire Web sites and may involve both the aesthetics and the mechanics of a Web site’s operation although primarily it focuses on the look and feel of the Web site the design elements. â€Å"To be effective, the interfaces for online information systems must be as rich and flexible as the physical environments they replace. They must not only supply a direct path to reach the users goals, but must be able to accommodate different approaches to the task. This means that the interface design must not only organize the content for easy access, but must incorporate the right combination of technologies and interaction techniques to allow the user to work in their own style† (Quesenbery). A Web Designer would be sought out by a client in need of assistance in designing a website or website layout, usually for advertising and communicative purposes of the client. Like in Graphic design, the client may provide the designer with a general idea or guideline for the product, however, web designers must understand the dynamics of coding and html. Traditional art is understood to include things such as paintings, sculptures, and hand-drawings; basically any art which involves physical activity, usually of the hands. Famous Traditional Artists include: Leonardo DaVinci, Vincent Van Gough, and Andy Warhol. These artists use drawings and paintings as their forms of self expression which led to their innovative masterpieces: the Mona Lisa, Starry Night, and Pop Art, respectively. Traditional artists often look down upon the usage of the computer as the creative medium utilized when expressing oneself in art. Some believe that using a computer negates the creative ability of the artist and is the less credible form of art. Using computers in order to create art is sometimes seen as the easier method involving little artistic ability. â€Å"For artists diving into a new technology, it is a triple short-cut to mastery: you get a free ride on the novelty of the medium; there are no previous masters to surpass; and after a few weeks, you are the master† (Brand). There is a certain type of beauty in a hand-painted piece of art. The same is true for a masterfully drawn illustration. For this there is no substitute. Traditional art is the oldest form of art and could be considered the foundation of art. Many people consider this form of art to require the highest level of skill and creative ability, and that there is no other type of art form that can surpass it. There are a large number of people that believe this form of art is most vital, and that digital art simply shouldn’t be considered art due to the use of technology rather than their hands. Opponents of digital art argue that there is no skill in â€Å"pointing and clicking† on a computer screen. â€Å"I would rather choose the painting of a monkey over anything generated electronically, because I am more fascinated by the direct evidence of a mind at work than I am by the output of machines† (Glenn). Because of this belief, there is a good bit of animosity between the two different sects. Traditional artists feel as if they are protecting art in its truest form, whereas digital artists feel as if they are exposing the world to a newer and more advanced form of art infinitely full of possibilities. While traditional art is the older and more revered art form, that doesn’t mean that digital art is any less of an art. Both art forms require talent, precision, technique, and creativity from the artist. Digital artists are just as legitimate of artists as traditional artists. It is simply ignorant and petty to distinguish digital art as separate from true art in essence. Yes, computers are used as the medium for expression, however, like previously stated, that doesn’t mean that the computer creates the ideas and designs. The designs and creativity come from the artist and the computer is simply another way to release the idea from the artist’s mind, similar to a piece of paper or canvas. Digital art should be just as revered as traditional art because the amount of creativity and artistic ability is equal in both forms.

What Is The Propaganda Model?

What Is The Propaganda Model? When Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky discussed the propaganda model in the book called Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media  from the political economy viewpoint. They pointed out that money and power can filter some of the information, allowing the government and politicians to spread their words to the public. Although the purpose of media is not for propaganda only, the main proportion of it is used for propaganda (Herman Chomsky, 1988). They argue that every piece of original daily news in America is under strict checking before they can be published, the news gatekeepers including ownership, advertiser and sources. From this point, the media are totally lost in serving those who can control and support them, representing the interest of the wealthy and powerful class in the society. They called the checking process as five filters of the news, which is also the central notion of the propaganda model. The newsfilters are ranging from money dominators , advertisers, sources, to flak and anticommunism. Through analysing the five filters, they are dividing the propaganda model into two types: the first pattern is characterized as checked through the official censorship to serve those who are the dominant class in the society. While the latter propaganda type is difficult to be noticed, the media always discloses scandal by the authorities and criticized the government to convince the public. Once the general public have trusted the media, they will naturally follow the media and support those government policies that media is advocating. That is publicity gambit played between the media and the dominant class. The latter type is more important in Chomskys opinion. The first filter illustrates that the investors monopolized the media. Take the newspaper for example, fierce competition in the profit driven free market result in emphasizing more about the readers. Moreover, the progress of technique means the cost is increasing, for the working class newspaper, the cost is relatively low, thus then, and they have to quit the competitive market. Since the media entered the profit-driven market, the capital of the giant media firms are generally controlled by the large enterprise, the board, the stockholders and the bankers in the enterprise are caring more about the profit rather than the quality of the news. Thereby, it is not surprising that the media giants are tied up with wealthy circles. The media are highly reliance on the advertisers in the profit-driven market, which means the choosing of the advertisers, will influence the media profoundly. On one hand, the considerable revenue from advertising will naturally increase the popular media product. In other word, it is impossible to get the support from the advertisers without the ratings guarantee. As Herman and Chomsky (Herman Chomsky, 1988.) argued in their book that it was the buying power from the audience attracting the media most. As a result, it is not difficult to understand why the newspaper is going backwards and in crisis while the society is developing. On the other hand, Advertisers often discriminate both the working class and radical media politically (Herman Chomsky, 1988), in which the advertisers would rather consider more about those who have great purchasing power than the poor. News source is the third filter. Sources form the government and the company can meet the need of media organization: using the reliable sources from the government and the company, can ensure the objective of news reporting; on the other hand, through getting the news sources from the government and the giant company, the publications can cut out a great deal of unnecessary expenditure spending on investigating other unreliable sources. Herman and Chomsky called the fourth filter as flak and the enforces (Herman Chomsky, 1988, p.26.), that is, the government and the major corporation are able to put pressure on the media. Here, flak means bad feedback of a media programme. The media will pay great price for the negative response; they have to defend themselves in or out of the institution, even in the court. Moreover, the advertisers will pull the advertisement as well. According to Chomsky, the flak is generally from the person in authority. Under such pressures, the media can only represent the interest of the investors. The fifth filter is called anticommunism as a control mechanism. In here, they are referring to the media are advocating communism policies (policies that are threatening the property profit, especially the America property profit) as a threat to the bourgeoisie. As stated above, the first three filters are more important in the propaganda theory. Essentially speaking, the methodology of the propaganda model is the same as other theories; they are beginning with loads of hypotheses, and then go back to the assumption through personal experience (Klaehn, 2003). Although Jeffery (2003) argues that the propaganda model is a concept result from the analysis on the relation of media and the authorities systematically and logically. However, different from other research, Chomskys evidences seem to be lacking of persuasion. In addition, this model is mainly focusing on the newsroom structure, it cannot be used to analyse the general journalism practice. Besides, although Klaehn has explained some criticism about the difference between gatekeeper theory and propaganda model, and argued the propaganda model is only used for the analysis of the framework but not the psychological process of the media (Klaehn, 2005). There are some similarities still can be found between them: the aim of the news agency is to satisfy the advertisers rather than attract the audiences under the profit-driven market; every piece of news need to be revised step by step before being printed; in order to reduce the cost, a large number of news agencies are trying to decrease the investigative content in order to avoid being criticized or lawsuits. Obviously, Chomskys propaganda model is largely focusing on the American journalism in the Cold War period. He argues that the propaganda model played an important role during the Cold War period; the media is surly the core of the model. He is not only suspecting that the media is stifling public criticism of the government, keeping the public away from the truth; but even considering that the media is responsible for protracting the Cold War. The propaganda model is widely applicable in America because of the news culture in the US (Chomsky, 2007).Most of the media group in the US are belonging to the private ownership and not subsidized by the government, almost financially independent. Large amounts of the media are controlled by a limited number of big companies, who are also getting on well with the government through the political donations on the trade of weapons. Consequently, they are sometimes involving in the national policy making as well. Meanwhile, the sources of news are required to be obtained through the official channels, such as the press conference or the personal interview. In order to get the first hand information, the journalists need to be getting on well with the government agencies, which will also affect the media attitude towards the politics. From the Chomskys propaganda model it can be seen that in order to strengthen the objective image to the public, the media ownership are using the way of conglomeration and merger of small media companies to make grater in power, influence, stature, or reputation. Sometimes, the government played an accomplice role in this process, charging some small media companies to let them bankruptcy because of the heavily cost of the lawsuit, while the giant media is benefit from the influence and power. Thus it can be seen that the media and the government in the US are closely connected. Because of that, media in the US are always exercising self-censorship. Although Chomsky uses the propaganda model to criticize the media in the Europe, it is lacking of generalizability after all. Klaehn has written on her article that there was a common criticism on the propaganda model: the propaganda model is to be analyzed under the hypothesized condition that there is no difference among the internal the ruling class, but that will never happen in the reality (Klaehn, J. 2002). As Chomsky and Herman have explained in their book, it is similar to the emphasis within the book, the propaganda of some authoritative country is different to the media of the U.S. In fact, spirited debates is allowed and encouraged in the U.S., only when it does not cross the line. (Herman Chomsky, 1988). Moreover, they have made another further explanation that we used the concepts of worthy and unworthy victims to describe this dichotomization, with a trace of irony as the varying treatment was clearly related to political and economic advantage rather than anything like actual worth (Herman, 2000). Talking about this, Colin Sparks, from the University of Westminster has suspected whether this model can be used to explain every context of the media in the UK. Colin Sparks (Sparks, 2007) took the example of the Iraq War reporting in the UK and argued there were lots of researches showing that many media in the UK doubted the legitimacy and appropriateness of the Iraq war. He believes propaganda model neglect the complication of capitalist society. From the economical aspects, the conflicting interests among the different department within the capitalism will be everlasting. It is well known that the US media nearly monopolize the media industry in the world. The propaganda model has archived the largest utility during the international news communication. However, media in other countries are not always following what the Americans want. When the reporting does harm the interest of the country or the reporting is iniquitously unjust, each media organization in the single country will put up resistance. UK is not an exception. 20th March, 2003, the allied forces of US and Britain started the Iraq war without the authorization of the United Nations Security Council. During the prewar and postwar time, the US media has made every attempt to advocate the propaganda model, controlling and intervening the news reporting, in order to ask for support. Although both the United Kingdom and the United States is the staunchest ally during the war, the way of reporting the war was very different because of their different attitude towards the Iraq war. Comparing with the patriotism reporting in the America, news in the UK was obviously impartial. Not only reporting the British and American forces attacked the Iraq forces, but also relayed the civilian casualties,Moreover,they also made some independent comment on the war, even some criticism were totally different from the America announcement. Brookes and Lewis has analyzed the British Television Media; they choose the four main News channels as a sample of how they reported the Iraqi War, including BBC 1, ITV News, Channel4News and Sky channels. They were mainly focusing on three aspects. Whether Iraq owned weapons of mass destruction, the viewpoint of whether Iraqi civilians wish to be liberate from the governance of Saddam and whether the nature of Saddams politics was vicious. The result showed 86% of report tends to agree that Iraq does own weapons of mass destruction (Lewis Brookes, 2004). Those who believe warfare can liberate Iraq are double of the amount of the reports of attack Iraq. More than half of the reports believe that Saddams policies makes Iraq civilian feels they are under pressure and pain. Even channel4 news report seems to have a fair opinion; Brookes and Lewis still give a conclusion of British Television is biased towards the government. In addition, Couldry and Doweny (Allan Zelizer, 2004) analyzed seven newspapers report before the Iraq War started (2003 January to Mid February). They mainly focus on whether media should investigate of the reason of starting a war. Result shown that the right-wing newspaper like The Times, The Sun, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail might or might not support the starting of the war. Newspapers such as Daily Mirror, Independence, Guardiance is considered to be focus on the benefit of the nation and is opposite to the west-ring newspaper is doubting the reason and moral standard on the reason of starting a war towards Iraq. Robertson (Robertson, 2004) chose two Scotland papers The Herald and The Scotsman as the subject of the study and analyses on the report that have been done on the Iraqi war. Its purpose is to analyzing whether the Scotland newspaper is playing a role of watchdog or lapdog. The study shows that both newspaper report the action have been taken in the Iraqi war and the result they have achieve during the war. In comparison, the reports related to the destruction of the facilities in Iraq, the impact towards the public hygiene, environment and social order is relatively less covered within the reports. There are also 2775 cases in total mention about the victims, even those who have rarely cover the death of Iraqi civilian, Arabs and Muslim people. Based on the research from the scholars, there are some specific antiwar news. For example, Daily Mirror in the UK has published two pictures in the front page, which is George Bush with a smile in one picture with a crying Iraq woman on the war wrecks in another picture, with the title he likes it; moreover, Daily Mirror criticized that the Iraq war was pointless, horrible, and appealed to the UK government to stop the war. In addition, The Independent and other newspaper in the UK had replied to Bushs announcement about the war will last for no matter how long it will require on the 28th, March, and it was widely accepted that the longer the war lasts, the heavier the economic losses will be suffering, the more political price will be paid as well. Besides, on the 25th April, the former president of BBC Greg Dyke had delivered a speech in the University of London, he criticized that the news from the America media was over impartial and could not illustrate all the truth from the battlefield, which Greg Dyke was called distorted patriotism. During the war time, the propaganda model was not applicable to explain the media in the UK; on the contrary, it works on few specific cases nowadays. In the 24th, November, 2009, a committee was set up in the UK to investigate the legality of the Iraq war. The result of the investigation will be put out after the election around the end of 2010. The investigation time and scope will be arranging from 2001 until the end of July, 2009, including every stage the British army prepare for the war, go to the war and pullout. Many former government high officers will involve in the inquiry as well. To all appearances, it is difficult to use the propaganda model to explain this. According to the propaganda model, in order to be trusted by the public, the media disclosures scandals of the authorities and criticized the government. Different from this time, once the commission has investigated that the Iraq war is illegal, most of the media organisations that had supported the war would be accused. Instead of gaining the belief from the public, there is no denying that the media are just digging their own graves. In my opinion, the news of Iraq war investigative commission just follows the propaganda mode, getting the trust from the public through criticising the government without being noticed. It is a fight among the political party results in setting the investigative commission. Firstly, talking about the announcement that the investigation result will be published after the election. On one hand, this timing will not diminish the effect of the political propaganda; on the other hand, an opened interrogation was conducted by an investigative group on the commanders and politicians who is involved in the Iraq war, the purpose of that is to advertise and to build up the publicity for Gordon Brown during the election. Secondly, the result of the investigation will make no sense. The Guardian (Sparrow, 2009) argued that the Iraq inquiry was not the responsibility for the investigative commission to judge whether the Iraq war is legal or not. In addition, there is no lawyer and judge in the commission team and all the team members are chosen by Gordon Brown, thus then the so called investigation is just conducting in a perfunctory way. If there is a real need to investigate in the lies and acts the British and the American government have done in the Iraq war, it is then necessary to be carry out by international organisations, such as UN Commission on Human Rights or International Criminal Tribunal. The commission will not dig out the crime that they have done, but in fact they cover up the facts from the public. To sum up the above arguments, it is not surprising that the propaganda model has been strongly criticized by some people. Herman and Chomskys Propaganda Model does not explain every media in every context; it is too rigid in its causal argument and lack of accurate support. Yet we live in a world, changes take place all the time, there is no adaptable news model that is suitable forever. Even in a country, as media in the UK, there would be a variety of news reporting towards one event. Although some of the news can be analysed by the propaganda model while others cannot. In a word, the propaganda model is lack of practicalness and general applicability.

The Cold War :: essays research papers

1. Name of President- Harry S. Truman 2. Dates in Office- 1945-1952 3. Political Party- Democrat 4. Presidential Cold War Philosophy President Truman’s philosophy was to come to the defense of those countries in danger of Soviet takeover, but the US would not start a war with the Soviet Union. He also made alliances with Europe through NATO, which was a contrast to the past because from the time of Washington’s Farewell Address, Americans have strongly favored avoiding all foreign entanglements. He also was taken over by the paranoia created by the Red Scare because he ordered investigations of 3 million federal employees for â€Å"security risks.† 5. Actions taken during presidency in regard to Cold War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  a. The Beginning of the Cold War- The end of World War II raised the issue of the shape of the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   new world and what new political alliances would be formed. This would become the major   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   source of contention between the world’s leading political-economic system, capitalism and   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   communism. The American economy was growing more dependent on exports, while American   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   industry needed to import metals. This required open trade and friendly relations with those   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   nations that provided metal. With many economies in shambles, competition for the few healthy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   economies became fierce. Germany, Japan, and Great Britain, who had been the strongest before   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   war had either been defeated or their influence was greatly reduced. The United States and the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Soviet Union became the world’s leading two powers, and they quickly became enemies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  b. The Truman Doctrine- After the Soviet Union had spread communism to Hungary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   and Czechoslovakia, it threatened to take over Greece and Turkey. Truman was intent on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   preventing this. The Truman Doctrine states that the US would support the free peoples who   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   were resisting the attempted subjugation of the Soviet Union. This was the cornerstone of a   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   larger policy called containment, which provided that while the US would not go to war with   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the Soviet Union, it would come to the defense of countries in danger of Soviet takeover.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  c. The Marshall Plan- This was a way to gain alliances. This plan sent more than $12 billion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   to Europe to help rebuild its cities and economy. In return for that money, those countries   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   were expected to become American allies. It was offered to Eastern Europe, but no country   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   participated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  d. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)- This was a mutual defense alliance

einstein Essay -- essays research papers

He was the embodiment of pure intellect, the bumbling professor with the German accent, a comic clichà © in a thousand films. Instantly recognizable, like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, Albert Einstein's shaggy-haired visage was as familiar to ordinary people as to the matrons who fluttered about him in salons from Berlin to Hollywood. Yet he was unfathomably profound — the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed. Even now scientists marvel at the daring of general relativity ("I still can't see how he thought of it," said the late Richard Feynman, no slouch himself). But the great physicist was also engagingly simple, trading ties and socks for mothy sweaters and sweatshirts. He tossed off pithy aphorisms ("Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it") and playful doggerel as easily as equations. Viewing the hoopla over him with humorous detachment, he variously referred to himself as the Jewish saint or artist's model. He was a cartoonist's dream come true. Much to his surprise, his ideas, like Darwin's, reverberated beyond science, influencing modern culture from painting to poetry. At first even many scientists didn't really grasp relativity, prompting Arthur Eddington's celebrated wisecrack (asked if it was true that only three people understood relativity, the witty British astrophysicist paused, then said, "I am trying to think who the third p... einstein Essay -- essays research papers He was the embodiment of pure intellect, the bumbling professor with the German accent, a comic clichà © in a thousand films. Instantly recognizable, like Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp, Albert Einstein's shaggy-haired visage was as familiar to ordinary people as to the matrons who fluttered about him in salons from Berlin to Hollywood. Yet he was unfathomably profound — the genius among geniuses who discovered, merely by thinking about it, that the universe was not as it seemed. Even now scientists marvel at the daring of general relativity ("I still can't see how he thought of it," said the late Richard Feynman, no slouch himself). But the great physicist was also engagingly simple, trading ties and socks for mothy sweaters and sweatshirts. He tossed off pithy aphorisms ("Science is a wonderful thing if one does not have to earn one's living at it") and playful doggerel as easily as equations. Viewing the hoopla over him with humorous detachment, he variously referred to himself as the Jewish saint or artist's model. He was a cartoonist's dream come true. Much to his surprise, his ideas, like Darwin's, reverberated beyond science, influencing modern culture from painting to poetry. At first even many scientists didn't really grasp relativity, prompting Arthur Eddington's celebrated wisecrack (asked if it was true that only three people understood relativity, the witty British astrophysicist paused, then said, "I am trying to think who the third p...

The Wife of Bath :: Essays Papers

The Wife of Bath In the "Wife of Bath's Prologue," she tells the other pilgrims that she has much experience since she has been married five times. She believes in experience rather than in writing. We can see this in the quotation: "Who painted the leon, tel me who? By God, if wommen hadden writen stories, As clerks han within hir oratories, They wolde had writen of men more wikkednesse Than al th merk of Adam may redresse." [Norton, 132] She is very upset about the painting of a man killing a lion. Her fifth husband always reads his book about wicked wives, and he amuses himself by telling her the stories; however, she doesn't like this. She is beautiful, powerful, energetic and relies on her experience, not on any writings or paintings. To highlight her strong and powerful appearance, she wears characteristic clothes. She puts strikingly big kerchiefs on her head, which seem to weigh about ten pounds, and she wears scarlet red stockings. She also wears a hat, and it is as broad as a buckler. Garters hold her red stockings, and her shoes are soft and new. There is a pair of sharpened spurs on her feet. This probably tells us that she has had many experiences with all husbands in her life. She wears a long wide skirt. Her face is as bold as her character is, fair complexioned, and red. On the journey, she walks slowly and sits down easily. Overall, she has been respectable throughout her life. Chaucer also describes her as being deaf in one ear with a gap tooth. It was very rare for a woman in the fourteenth century to travel as a pilgrim, talk about her experiences and thoughts in public and to be married five times. The Wife of Bath is an independent and powerful woman. She strongly believes in herself and in experience rather than in written authority, which are the texts written by men. She feels this way more after she marries her fifth husband. Her fifth husband always reads a book about wicked wives. He wants to control her; however, she doesn't like it. Therefore she takes a page out of his book that he always reads since the book affects him badly; then he hits her when he finds out about her disrespectful behavior. This is the reason for her deafness. She strongly believes she or women can write much better than men do.

Propaganda in indoctrinating Nazi ideals Essay

The Nazi propaganda after the consolidation of power featured many of the common characteristics associated with totalitarian propaganda; Twisted truths, stereotypical and distorted pictures of populace groups, simple messages repeated frequently and the use of a common enemy as a scapegoat. Also the Nazi propaganda featured many new methods of indoctrination, such as the mass rally meetings and the extensive radio propaganda. But how successful where these ways in conveying and convincing people of Nazi ideals? That is the question which I plan to investigate in my essay. The propaganda campaign launched by the Nazi government was headed by the brilliant orator Joseph Goebbels which was put as Reich Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda where he coordinated the seven different departments: administration and organization, propaganda, radio, press, films, theatre, and adult education. From the department Goebbels controlled all aspects of Nazi propaganda, and since he was such a skilful propagandist almost all parts of the propaganda campaign, especially the radio, became huge successes. Of all the medias available to Goebbels his unquestionable favourite was the radio- the peoples receiver. Goebbels wanted to ensure that every home in Germany was equipped with a â€Å"Volksempfà ¤nger† from which they could listen to propaganda at all times of day. Prices where slashed and in the late 1930 the Germans could boast having the cheapest radios in the world. Radios where even put up in working places and public areas to ensure a maximal amount of listeners. And due to the large effort put into the campaign it became one of the most successful, by 1940 16 million households in Germany listened to Nazi Propaganda via the radio. Another effective way of supplying propaganda to the German people, was ,in theory, by the use of the censored press. In the beginning the press remained relatively unchanged, propaganda message where inserted in some magazine and papers, but most of the press friendly towards the regime remained unchanged, at least in the beginning. Soon Nazis propaganda was found in every page in every paper and by 1945 the Nazis ran 82% of all the newspapers in print.

Ratio Analysis of Next Plc

Business Accounts – Assignment I Introduction Next plc is a retailer founded 1864 in the United Kingdom, that not only sells men’s, women’s and children’s wear but also has a home ware department. Their clothes wear are stylish but affordable. Throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland there are over 550 Next stores plus 50 franchises operating in Asia, Europe and The Middle East. This report will analyse and outline the company’s profitability, liquidity, solvency and investment potentials based on 15 ratios.All information is taken from the Next plc 2011 statement. Profitability and Performance The gross profit ratio indicates that Next plc was able to maintain their gross profit. It has decreased insignificantly by 0. 05%. In 2011 the revenue has increased by roughly 47 Million, hence the sales of costs increased proportionally to this. The reason for the increase could be either an introduction of a higher priced product line or merely a purchase of more goods. One reason could be that due to higher demands they had to stock up their inventories.This ratio indicates that the company was able to sustain the same level of costs in year 2011, but also that the trading department successfully negotiated better prices with suppliers. The operating margin has experienced an increase in numbers from 15. 55% to 16. 64%. It seems that Next plc found a way to control their costs more efficiently. On the income statement one can see that the administration costs and distribution costs have reduced. This could be due to cuts in wages or rent. In general, however, it can be said that Next plc improved their cost accounting.This could be an explanation for the increase in the operating margin ratio. The asset turnover ratio has fallen slightly by 0. 05. A reason for this could be slightly higher investments in fixed assets like plant or equipment. All in all though, they have managed to maintain leveraging their assets, but in future the y should try to use their existing assets more effectively. One can see that the return on capital employed ratio has experienced a growth of 3. 28%. Just as for the operating margin, a possible reason for this could be major cuts in administration expenses and distribution costs.This ratio indicates that the company has increased its efficiency at creating profits out of the money they have invested in and basically proves that Next plc knows how to use their funds successfully and control their costs effectively. In general, these ratios indicate that the profitability and performance of Next plc is very positive. Liquidity and Efficiency Liquidity ratios indicate how efficiently a company can pay off its short-term and long-term obligations. The inventory days have increased by 8 days. This shows that they keep hold of their stock for a longer period of time.It seems that the demand for their products has decreased. Trade receivables have increased by 2 days, which means that Nex t plc receives money from their customers slightly later than in year 2010. A possible reason for this is a general rise in unemployment and hence â€Å"limited growths of consumer credit† (Next Plc, 2011). However, receiving money from their customers later than before, the company has managed to pay back their creditors faster in 2011 than in 2010 (trade payable days have decreased by 2 days). This is likely to prove a higher efficiency of balancing costs and revenues on the company’s part.In a wider context approximately 80 days are a relatively long time to repay credits. This could on the one hand demonstrate the creditors’ trust in Next plc and their ability to pay back, but it is also possible that the company simply struggles to pay back credits any earlier. In this case though the trade payable days are probably high due to good negotiations of the purchase department with their suppliers. This assumption is based on the fact that Next Plc has a high am ount of cash. The current and quick ratios have slightly fallen.The current ratio is still above 1, meaning the company does not have any problems meeting their short-term obligations. A reason for this slight decline could be that there has been an increase in their short-term debt. In this case their current liabilities did actually increase. As long as the current ratio, which takes inventories into account, is higher than 1, they do not experience any problems repaying their short-term liabilities. However, the quick ratio is smaller than 1 and has marginally decreased in 2011. Due to this Next Plc might have problems paying off their short-term liabilities if sales decreases in the next years.In general though, they seem to have a rather good ability to generate cash and pay off their obligations. Solvency The gearing ratio seems to be immensely high. This could be due their major savings. It seems that they are buying their own shares back perhaps in order to save up for proje cts like reorganisations or investments. It has decreased by half from 2010 to 2011 probably because they reduced their non-current liabilities. High gearing is supposed to be risky and also results in paying higher interests. Their interest cover has risen by 2, possibly due to the fact that the interest figure has fallen by 1.This means they can pay off their interest roughly three times more than in the previous year. A possible reason for this could be a decline in interest. In general, Next’s interest payments seem to be very safe. They are generating enough revenues to meet interest expenses. Investors Ratios Investor ratios are usually used by investors in order to examine if it is worth investing their money in a company. They monitor these figures over years in order to make a â€Å"right† decision. The earnings per share ratio has increased from 188. 5p to 221. 9p.The reason for this is that the profit after tax has increased in 2011 and the number of ordinar y shares declined by 33. 4. This obliviously results in the earning per share being higher. A reason for the decline in numbers of ordinary shares could be that Next Plc bought back shares. The dividend yield has experienced a growth by 0. 46. This means that investors receive more money than in year 2010. A reason for this is that the current market has not changed over two years, the price remained stable. In 2011 the dividend cover has fallen slightly by 0. 26.A possible reason could be that they have decided to increase the dividends per share in relation to profit after tax. The price/earning ratio has experienced a decline by 0. 021. This shows that in 2011 investors receive their money back slightly quicker compared to 2010. This could be due the decline in numbers of shares; meaning Next Plc could afford to give out dividends faster. Economical position Debenhams plc is one of Next’s main competitors. It can be insightful to examine the economical state of relevant co mpetitors in order to judge a company’s success. Debenhams’ ROCE-ratio shows extremely lower figures than Next Plc. 010 the ROCE was 13. 94% and 2011 12. 34%. First of all, one can see that it has decreased in 2011 and compared to Next plc it is roughly 45% lower in both years. It is crucial to note here that Next plc increased their ROCE whereas Debenhams Plc’s decreased. This shows that Next plc is extremely more efficient in creating profits out of the money they have invested in. Based on the current ratio one can say that Debenhams plc would be struggling to pay off their short-term obligations since it is less than 1 whereas Next Plc would have no problems since theirs is above 1.The interest cover is also much lower compared to Next plc. However, Debenhams plc’s interest cover has increased by circa 3% it is still 17% lower than Next Plc’s. This indicates that Next plc either has greater profits or Debenhams plc has higher interests. All in all, it seems that Next plc was not badly affected by the recession compared to Debenhams plc. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that Next plc successfully managed to maintain and even reduce their costs and maximise their profit especially thanks to Next Directory, which has increased by 7. 1%.Although the economical environment is rather weak they could yet overcome these obstacles and make a profitable year in 2010 and even increase their profit in 2011. The general economic situation is likely to suffer from the worldwide consequences of the financial crisis as well as the European Euro crisis in particular. This means that Next plc has to find a way to become more competitive so as to maintain their high profits. For instance, they could invest in marketing to attract more customers and hence increase and sustain sales. The only ratio that they might have to worry slightly about is the quick ratio.But as long as they keep their sales up the current ratio does not seem to be any problem at all. All in all, most of the ratios indicate that Next plc is overall a successful growth company. They proved its competitiveness despite the economical decline in retail and in the consumer price index, which has decreased to 4. 2% from 5. 2%. Especially, when comparing Next plc to its main competitor one can see that they successfully kept their sales up. Generally, the ratios indicate that Next plc has a relatively strong and stable economic success, while controlling their costs effectively.All ratios, especially the dividend yield, prove that the company is a highly profitable company to invest in. Reference List http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-15344297 https://fame2. bvdep. com/version-2012113/Report. serv? _CID=63&context=2A6M7EI864H8BPQ&SeqNr=0 http://www. nextplc. co. uk/~/media/Files/N/Next-PLC/pdfs/reports-and-results/2010/2011-03-24a. pdf http://www. nextplc. co. uk/about-next/our-history. aspx http://www. nextplc. co. uk/about-next/business-ove rview. aspx http://www. retaileconomics. co. uk/outlook-for-the-uk-retail-sector-q3-2011/

A Maya Village: The Folk-Urban Continuum Essay

The â€Å"folk-urban continuum† model elaborated by Robert Redfield continues to reappear from time to time in various guises. The concept of the continuum has been attacked as being simplistic, and overgeneralized, not least because many geographers have detected village-type communities within large cities. Redfield’s speculations about what he saw as the significant changes from the folk to the urban end of the continuum are based on studies conducted in the Yucatan during the early 1930s. It’s essential elements focus on the fact that as a community moves from the folk to the urban end of the continuum, there occur shifts from cultural intimacy and organization to disorganization. Along with this there is collective or community orientation to individualization; and the sacred to the secular. Folk cultures are borne by small, closely-integrated social units or by aggregates of such units which have already worked out satisfactory mutual adjustments. Redfield characterized the folk societies he had been studying as traditional, spontaneous, and uncritical where men follow similar lifestyles. These patterns remain clear throughout the generations. In sum, the folk society holds its traditions to heart and doesn’t question their way of life. These lifestyles are practically sacred. In modern civilization, on the other hand, the small social units are being broken down, giving place to masses of individuals who are much more loosely interrelated than the members of the former local groups and classes. In modern civilizations, culture is being reduced. Our own civilization is simply a blend of differences which he must choose. The concepts of folk religion and folk belief–at least when filtered through Redfield’s categories–are descriptive anthropological categories meant to aid in the attempt to understand the conditions and development of certain kinds of society. In part, Redfield’s concept of folk or peasant culture was meant to provide an alternative to the division of societies into primitive and modern categories. The concept relied on a distinction between â€Å"an isolated primitive community, which has for context only that community and its local and immediate culture,† and the peasant community and its culture, where â€Å"the context is widened to include the elements of the great traditions that are or have been in interaction with what is local and immediate.† Folk beliefs referred to a body of belief and practice forming part of a community’s local knowledge. As a result, they tended to occupy a region close to the cosmology and common sense of the group, rather than the domain occupied by a consciously accepted creed. Redfield wants to look at cultural change, in the ways that varying degrees of contact with â€Å"civilization† differentially affects â€Å"folk culture† throughout the Yucatan. The Chan Kom study was the first step in a project funded by the Carnegie Institution to look at the question of culture change. The project was to begin by studying † a community where folk culture was complete†. This is Chan Kom. Then, for comparison, the study was to go on to look at â€Å"communities where that culture is in disorganization or conversion into something else†. Eventually, this project would encompass four towns and would place them in a â€Å"folk-urban continuum†.

Apollo Theatre

Jose 1 Janelle Jose Professor Pappas AAS 254 16 April 2008 â€Å"Our Theater: The Hey Dey of the Apollo Theatre† Apollo was the Greek God of music, Poetry and the arts. His temple was at Delphi and was known to be a place of purification. There is a temple of a different that bears the name of the Greek god and its at 253 West 125th Street Harlem in New York City. The Apollo Theater would become as famous as the temple at Delphi. The Apollo Theaters home was in Harlem. Harlem is known worldwide as a major African-American cultural and business neighborhood.It wasn’t always the Harlem we know today. Harlem didn’t become an African American neighborhood until the Great Migration. During the first decade of the 20th century, Growing unemployment and increasing racial violence encouraged blacks to leave the South. The way they came up north was by working for northern manufacturers who had recruited the southern black workers to fill factory jobs. So from 1910 to 193 0 between 1. 5 million and 2 million African Americans left the South for the industrial cities of the North.By 1930 more than 200,000 blacks had moved to New York. As black communities in Northern cities grew, black working people became the patrons for an expanding black professional and business class, gaining in political and economic power. As more and more educated and socially conscious blacks settled in New York’s neighborhood of Harlem, it developed into the political and cultural center of black America. During the 1910s a Jose 2 new political agenda advocating racial equality arose in the African American community, particularly in its growing middle class.A black middle class had developed by the turn of the century, fostered by increased education and employment opportunities. There was something emerging in the midst of social and intellectual up rise in the African American community in the early 20th century. Harlem Renaissance was the name of the African Amer ican cultural movement of the 1920s and early 1930s that was centered in the Harlem. The Apollo Theater has been the most lasting legacy of the Harlem Renaissance. The Apollo grew to prominence during the Harlem Renaissance of the pre-World War II years.By the time the Apollo had open its doors the Harlem Renaissance was coming to a close. The Apollo Theater that we know today didn’t start out that way. It began as a all white music hall and burlesque theatre. It gained fame a Hurtig and Seamon’s Burlesque in the twenties and early thirties. The 125th street Apollo Theater didn’t open until January 1934. This is when they started showcasing black entertainment. The Apollo theatre was originally owned by Sidney Cohen. After Sydney S. Cohen's death, Morris Sussman and Frank Schiffman got together.Schiffman ran the Harlem Opera House and a merger between the two theaters was formed. Schiffman is credited with guiding the Apollo Theater to greatness. Schiffman's mot ivation for featuring black talent and entertainment was not only because the neighborhood had become black over a two hundred year period of gradual migration, but because black entertainers were cheaper to hire, and Schiffman could offer quality shows for reasonable rates. For many years Apollo was the only theater in New York City to hire black talent. Jose 3With black performers as the main entertainment in the Apollo came an important facet of American life that has been dominated by blacks. That is jazz. In jazz the black man stands supreme. The products of his creative energies are sought after by musicians and listeners of every background. Jazz didn’t start in the Apollo theatre. It didn’t start in Harlem either. The roots of jazz lie deep in the history of New Orleans, Kansas City, Chicago, and New York. The true ancestral roots are buried even deep in the music traditions of West Africa and Latin countries.But the Apollo was one of the places that provided a home and a receptive atmosphere in which jazz practitioners felt at ease, where their art could thrive and flourish. Although jazz was a true American genre of music it was formerly held in relatively low class by certain intellectual. Many believe the reason for the low appraisal of jazz’ value was made because most of the jazz practitioners were black and the critics were white. Although the Apollo Theater was essentially a black theater, the main interest was always in quality rather than color.Even though jazz was predominantly the creation of black musicians, the amount of interracial jazz was relatively small thought the history of early jazz. It wasn’t because of discrimination from the performers but rather the performers were keeping up with the climate of the times. Many white musicians were accepted with respect and affection by Apollo audience. The first show was called â€Å"Jazz a la Carte†. All the proceeds of this show were donated to the Harlem Children's Fresh Air Fund. Since then the Apollo Theater is known for starting careers of many music pioneers. In 1934, it introduced its regular Amateur Night shows.Billing itself as a place â€Å"where stars are born and legends are made,† the Apollo became famous for launching the careers of artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Diana Ross ; The Supremes, Gladys Knight ; The Pips, The Jackson 5, Patti LaBelle, Marvin Gaye, Luther Jose 4 Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ben E. King, Mariah Carey, The Isley Brothers, Lauryn Hill, and Sarah Vaughan. The Apollo also featured the performances of old-time vaudeville favorites like Tim Moore, Stepin Fetchit, Godfrey Cambridge, Dewey â€Å"Pigmeat† Markham, Moms Mabley, Marshall â€Å"Garbage† Rogers, and Johnny Lee.The Apollo didn’t only make careers but they also had big name artist. By the mid-thirties, the era of the big band was in full swing. Of all the personalities we ever played at the Apollo, none were as vibrant as Fats Waller. There was never any question about Fats playing the Apollo. It was a semi-annual engagement, which he never missed. The Luis Russell Band was a band that was put together to showcase the talent of Louis Armstrong. They played a 1937 engagement at the Apollo without Louis, who had left the band by then.They band did include clarinetist Barney Bigard, who later starred with Ellington; Big Sid Catlett, who also played with Hines, on drums; and trumpeter Henry â€Å"Red’ Allen. Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong are probably two of the most influential men in the history of jazz. Louis Armstrong played with them all because they all wanted to play with the master. In 1949, Louis’ band in an Apollo show included such legendary figures as trombonist and vocalist Jack Teagarden, drummer Cozy Cole, clarinetist Barney Bigard, pianist Earl Hines, and bassist Arvel Shaw.A jazz lover could only be at awe at this line up. Louis influences everyone, even the singers. Billie Holiday once spoke about how she wanted to sing exactly as Louis played his horn. The fun-loving genius had vocal trick of finishing his songs with â€Å"Oh Yeah†. In 1939 Duke Ellington played the Apollo. He had played there and at the Harlem Opera House and the Lafayette and, of course, was legendary figure at the old Cotton Club. He played the Apollo again, again, and again. He was one of the Jose 5 giants and one of the transcending figures in jazz history.You can’t talk about Duke Ellington musical genius without talking about the incredible number of compositions that he penned. Probably in the whole history of music no one has composed more songs the Ellington. There is said to be over two thousand songs. Women were also very popular in the Apollo Theater. Most of the women were singers, the major exceptions being pianists Mary Lou Williams and Hazel Scott. They were the International Sweethearts of Rhythm . Another talented jazzwoman was Blanche Calloway, sister of Cab Calloway.Although she frequently copied Cab’s style as a leader, she was a serious musician. Later Blanche ran a club in Washington and brought us Ruth Brown, who became a major Apollo attraction. In addition to introducing a vast number of rising stars, the Apollo quickly became a vital stop for any black entertainer, and virtually every major African American musical act performed there at least once as did several white acts, who often were booked because they were assumed to be black. The management maintained a policy of alternating live stage shows with B movies.The Apollo was the pinnacle of the â€Å"classic circuit† of venues including the Regal Theater in Chicago and the Howard Theater in Washington, D. C. that catered to African American audiences. As a show of respect for its legacy, the building was left untouched during the riots of the 1960s. In 1977 the shows were discontinued, and the the atre was operated as a movie theatre. A year later the building was closed. Purchased by investors in 1981, the Apollo received landmark status in 1983, was renovated, and was reopened to the public in 1985. | | | | | | | |