African-American music Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

African-American music - Research Paper Example Based on Burton Peretti’s Lift Every Voice, African-American music is indeed â€Å"one of the treasures of the United States† whether it be in the form of â€Å"spirituals, ragtime, the blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, gospel, soul and hip hop† African-American music, with its rich African roots, is a showcase of the connection of Africans with the natural and soothing power of music even during the era of slavery (Perreti 7-8). In fact, in as early as 1796, the British physician Mungo Park noticed that among the walking groups of African slaves and free men, there are actually jillikeas, or singing men, known for their â€Å"musical talents [that] were frequently exerted either to divert [the walkers’] fatigue or obtain [them] a welcome from strangers† (8). The presence of the jillikeas actually indicates one thing – music has long been used by Africans to freely transcend their physical suffering. It is true that they were slaves and that as slaves, they worked very hard indeed. Nevertheless, music was always there to help them cope with the hardships of slavery and for them to have the mental and emotional freedom to feel what they wanted to feel, and to think about what they wanted to think about, regardless of the physical constraints they were experiencing at that time. Moreover, due to archeological findings and pictorial evidence, one would know that African music was already a rich aspect of the African culture in West Africa. Aside from the fact that prehistoric Africans integrated the sounds of animals and nature into their musical compendium, they also integrated music into their daily life, especially in their most significant rituals (8). The richness of the African culture and their tendency to embed the musical aspect of their culture with their spiritual life somehow gave African music a certain mystical quality that characterizes the depth of contemporary African-American music. Moreover, considering tha t the first groups of Africans were hunter-gatherers, African music freely evolved from its deep roots and eventually flourished as a result of migration and trading (10). This means that African music was actually more elaborate and richer in nature for it was a combination of the many cultures that the once hunter gatherer Africans absorbed. This richness was also somehow instrumental in showing the whole world how free African-American music is, for whatever was accepted by many parts of the world must certainly have a freedom of flow and movement. Other details of traditional African music also speak of the freedom of the common people. There is, for example, freedom of access to history. The drum-like pots unearthed in Nigeria and dating from the 1100s and the 1200s are still used by the Yoruba peoples at present (10). Also, there is freedom from age, gender and class barriers. For example, tribal African music, from which African-American music was derived, was demonstrative o f communal freedom for they are employed in numerous â€Å"elaborate singing and playing rituals†¦that invited all village residents to participate,† and â€Å"which gave all the singers a more equal stature in performances† (10). Such performances indeed somehow teach the western world what equality truly means. African-American music is also about the liberation of the sexualized body. As proclaimed during the Renaissance and during the Modern Era, the term â€Å"African,† which was used by Nietzsche in his description of Bizet’s Carmen, or of civilization itself as well as of the nature of the Viennese psychiatrist Sigmund Freud, is actually a synonym of â€Å"

Batesvile Casket Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Batesvile Casket Company - Essay Example They held the opinion that handling their customer’s needs was the path to success. They placed the utmost importance on customer satisfaction and consistently introduced improvement in their processes through technological innovation to provide speedy and better service to their customers. How New Technology Can Build Competitive Position The revolution in information technology is causing significant reduction in the cost of getting, processing and transmitting information. Information technology involves not just computers but encompasses the entire information that is used and created in a business, and the interlinked and convergent technologies that carry out processing of the information. The company faces a wide array of questions, namely how the technology can help them gain competitive advantage, what strategies can be used to obtain the maximum benefit of the technology and out of many options investment in which technology would yield the maximum benefit. The revol ution in information system has changed the structure of the industry and impacted competition. It has shown ways to companies to outperform their rivals; it creates the opportunity for businesses to realize the scope of new businesses from their existing ones (Porter & Miller, 1985). The implementation of new technology helps an organization to achieve competitive advantage over their competitors. James J. Kuisel, the MIS Director of Batesville Casket Company believed that the implementation of new technology would help them to gain leadership in the market. They were able to achieve remarkable cost reduction through the use of client/server network at the PC of the customer service center rather than the mainframe computer. The data was transferred from the client server to the mainframe. They were the pioneers in adopting a new PC development tool known as Knowledge-Man in the 1980s which helped them to reduce the cycle time. It was implemented by them faster than their competito rs. The MIS and the logistics department worked in conjunction and were able to reduce paperwork and thus serve customers faster. They did this at a time when competitors were still using paper based system. Initially, in 1990 the hardware that was used for customer service center was an early IBM PC. The system was obsolete and needed to be replaced. The software was required to be upgraded to the latest version of Knowledge –Man. The logistic department expected upgrade of the distribution and manufacturing system. Bar coding of the model number of each casket helped in automated tracking and identification of caskets. A bar code reader was placed at the loading dock of the customer service center that was connected via radio frequency link to the PC of the customer service center. A system for maintaining records of orders, maintaining inventory based on model number was established to serve customers better. Batesville continuously upgraded their technology to provide bet ter service to customers. They replaced their hardware, decided on operating systems and revised their software. They introduced IBM PS/2 Model A16 which had a memory of 4 megabytes, colored monitor, math coprocessor, mouse and hard disc of 160 megabyte. They installed Epson LQ1170 and Hayes 9600 Ultra external modem.

305T, Process Description Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

305T, Process Description - Essay Example Blair maintains in his paper that trying to manage time begins with ‘the three Eff words’. â€Å"The three "Eff" words are Effective - having a definite or desired effect; Efficient - productive with minimum waste or effort; Effortless - seemingly without effort; natural, easy.† (Blair) If any company embraces this and passes it on to its workers, then a culture of time management can be inculcated effortlessly. Clemmer lays emphasis on personal organization. True to his work, time management is greatly affected by personal prioritization and scheduling. Lack of these two on personal levels could lead to a highly disorganized work area hence more inefficiency. He has a customized approach abbreviated as PODS. P reflects prioritization, O for organization, D for disciplines and S for systems (Clemmer). The approach he advices, is bound to run only if there are set goals and targets. Organization just like multitasking is not common for many. Therefore one needs dis cipline to manage time and systemization of tasks. Downs holds it that time management is a five step process. â€Å"It generally involves a five-step process: setting priorities, analyzing, filtering, scheduling, and executing† (Downs 1). The suggestion by Downs is interlinked with that of Clemmer. They are all about planning. Both scholars give a step by step rationale for time management hence the notion that time management is all about planning creeps in. This is further supported by another author; Hellsten whose rationale has seven important steps. According to Hellsten, â€Å"Time management is most commonly defined by: (a) time analysis, (b) planning, (c) goal setting, (d) prioritizing, (e) scheduling, (f) organizing, and (g) establishing new and improved time habits†( Hellsten 21). Hellstens approach is broader but it culminates to the same school of thought. In light of all these scholarly contributions, institutions should put in place measures that aim at time management and focus on

Considering the Most Comprehensive Method of Handling Information Research Paper

Considering the Most Comprehensive Method of Handling Information Security - Research Paper Example There are numerous businesses today that place most of their information in computer systems. Hospitals, the military, the government and many other small enterprises use them. This information could be detrimental to the company if it was accessed by the public hence the need for information security. It is quite common to find that certain businesses usually have the names of their employees, their salaries, bank account details in their computer systems. On top of this, one may find that other firms place their client details, sales information and marketing information in their database. In the event that some of this information is lost, destroyed or compromised in any way, then the given company will be hampered from going about their daily operations.   It should be noted that software protection through virus protection or through the imposition of firewalls alone cannot be enough to solve the information security problem. There should be set procedures and systems within any one given organisation that will facilitate the process of efficient data protection.   Information systems are distributed in three main parts. These are; software, hardware and communications. This implies that any sort of information security systems must be applied in the three realms. It must also be made in such a way that it cuts across the physical, organisational and the personal. Procedures and policies normally used for these systems are those ones that apply to computer operators, users and administrators. It should be noted that information security applies to all types of data; it may be electronic data, print data or even other forms. Because of the wide aspect of information security, it has now become a career field on its own.

What is aggression Does watching violence in television, film and Essay

What is aggression Does watching violence in television, film and video games ake people more aggressive and more likely to commit violent acts in society - Essay Example The resulting changes in everyday social relations may lead to steady escalation in aggressive actions. Because of the powerful way in which the television media has focused on violent and antisocial behavior, the media deliberately misinforms, making the viewers fearful, suspicious and cynical. Because of its bias toward bad news, the media feeds a perception that the world is a violent, dangerous place. As a result, the viewers come to overestimate the rate of violence. With these images flashing in their minds every evening, the viewers become negative, mistrustful of others and withdrawn, and cease to believe in progress. Children, who are not mature enough to distinguish fantasy from real life, television from life on the street, come to assume that acts of violence are acceptable in real life and become incapable of making appropriate judgment calls in times of conflict. Children who are repeatedly exposed to entertainment violence are also more likely to see violence as an effective way of settling conflict. However, playing violent video games may be more detrimental than view ing violent television shows or movies because they are especially enthralling, interactive, and necessitate the player to associate on a personal level with the violent character of the game. Infamous events have generated extensive debate regarding the effects of video game violence. For example, a nationwide conversation ensued regarding what connection video games had to the 1999 Columbine High School (Littleton, Colorado, U.S.) massacre where two students murdered 13 and wounded 23 before killing themselves. While many motivations were likely involved, it is not possible to identify precisely what provoked these teenagers to shoot their classmates and teachers but violent video games have been mentioned as one possible contributing factor. The two students had often played

Muste and the Logic of Christian Nonviolence Essay

Muste and the Logic of Christian Nonviolence - Essay Example Muste further argued that human beings are vulnerable to evil actions and inequities. Significantly, only an insignificant number is able to rebel inequities, and they do it rarely. However, he postulated that, for those who have cramped life, they have nothing noble for acquiescence, even the mere submission to a deity (Zinn, 1959). Argument It is worthwhile noting that; Muste has confessionary emphasized on the role of being upright in all endeavours. He has persuaded people to abide by right deeds and keep off the wrongdoers for each shall receive according to his efforts. Consequently, for one to engage, tolerate, or trade in pacifism he significantly not connected to passivism. Consequently, he has clearly provided a flourishing confessional approach on nonviolent confessions. Concisely, he has confessionary justified nonviolent revolutions by activists. Therefore, in a world based on violence, an individual must portray revolutionary aspects prior to pacifist qualities (Zinn, 1 959). Counter-argument My argument is that, based on a confessional approach, the author that Muste has not inspiring addressed the issue nonviolence. Significantly, he has demeaned those individuals who would feel sorry for their deeds and would wish to decline their evil lives. For instance, he has argued that the evildoers do not have a right to access superior forces. Therefore, he has implied that the righteous have an enhanced right of access to the deities. Concisely, Muste has confessionary, provided divergent insights on the nonviolence revolution, due to his incredible remarks on the fate of individuals who are acquiescent. Thesis statement Though A.J. Muste follows the logic of Christian nonviolence extremely carefully, the advantage of hindsight, this module explores the argument in pacifism as naive when adapted to the political realities of Muste’s time. Current research has revealed that, once the certain war is over the challenge, is always based on the victor . Significantly, the above crisis erupts from the friction where there is a problem to identify the agent of teaching the victor. Consequently, there is hardly any other way towards peaceful coexistence apart from the peace itself. Additionally, the current confessional approach on nonviolent revolution has revealed that human beings possess some indolence, which makes them not ready to accept disturbances. Therefore, they presume that, whenever there are no skirmishes or unrests, peace is also prevailing. Significantly, they often subconsciously prefer social peace, although it is merely apparent. The above scenario is engineered by their feeling of fear over the security of their lives, as well as, properties (Zinn, 1959). It is evident that disarming people is hardly possible and a war cannot be resolved unless there is a corporation of profound changes in the economy and the society’s social arena. Significantly, human beings must denounce violent activities in accordance with existing systems. In addition, they must denounce evil activities such as material, as well as, spiritual evils. Accordingly, those who accept to denounce wealth and power, which is gotten from violent activities and puts a premium on acquisitiveness, by identifying themselves with the struggling masses, may significantly fight violence.

Charles Chocolate case Essay Example for Free

Charles Chocolate case Essay Traelene beals â€Å"9am Friday† First, a formal case analysis This should be written in a business style format using short paragraphs and sentences, self-explanatory headings, and any figures/tables that would facilitate reading. Reports are to be no longer than 2000 words (excluding appendices Issues to be addressed – No measures of productivity or efficiaency in the plant- no way of telling if the plant was doing a good job. Difficult demand forcasting due to seasonality of sales. 2 new stores had ok type sales. Best clients of Wholesale sales changed focus on cheaper items and also own products. Sales agents could be fired with 90 days notice. Other parts of US haven’t heard of us. Of the 221 wholesale customers purchase just $1000 worth of products. Other 125 purchase between 1000 and 2000 per year. Sales agents, don’t know how to represent the all products. Speculating future orders from wholesale clients to customize boxes and logos-waste of capital. 60% of the total online/phone orders were from existing customers. Online sales haven’t grown – orders processed within 3-4 days. Why ship internationaly(only 5%)—Antartica Really Summer problem at Sandwich heaven – why did staff leave? How to get new staff in this tight labour market. Marketing service – old fashioned — Undefined Target market? Packaging ? (tourists publicatins, seasonal print media and radio spots) How to increase awareness without diluting the brand. Leverage on solid search engine raankings to promote online sales Basic website, reminder service to customers-good/bad? Sales agents dint provide links to top accounts. Companies revenues had grown because of Sandwich heaven(franchising) High reliability on tourism. Corporate gift marketing – 25% discount – market was good – Explore boston ? ice cream sales Increase retail penetration? Acquire a niche chocolate company? What about the tradiotnal brand name? Internal capacity? Relocate factory? Background Charles produced high-quality, hand wrapped chocolates, Portland creams. Best quality, many loyal customers across the world. Huge factory(24000 sq foot)-owned-. Only 75 retail and 35 production employees, 20 in management. Working hours 7am-4pm(each day). Leverage long shelf life Wholesale production required early planning and online sales required late production†¦ Production planning was completed by data distortions arising from out-of stock and over stock issues. – out of stock-over production – killed the pricing – by discount pricing. Special orders put the whole order on a stand still Retail stores provided 50% of sales. – Wholesale had 30% of sales – Charles is just used as an add on product. Online and phone – online 4% of total sales. –phone is 6% of total sales60% of all these orders were from regular orders.. Avg sales $138 by phone and $91 from website†¦High growth industry†¦ Sandwich heaven – 10% of sales Industry High demand for organic/dark chocolate- anti oxidant properties.