Manage diversity in the workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Manage diversity in the workplace - Essay Example Maintaining a diverse base of customers so that the organization doesn’t get identified as a niche firm, offering products to only a certain set of people. The company follows a recruitment policy that includes people from several regions of the world. This policy helps the organization to address the needs of the customers belonging to the various parts of the international market. The organization puts much emphasis on the welfare of women and the under-privileged section of the society which assigns a social purpose for their functioning. The organization doesn’t support any kind of discrimination and thus considers racism, sexism, ageism etc as problems for both the organization and the society as a whole. The diversity champions of the organization range from the top level positions to the shop floor employees. A diversity committee has been formed by the company that ensures the implementation of the diversity policy in the day to day operations of the business an d also in the strategic planning of the organization. Training and development facilities are provided to the employees where they learn to cope with the people belonging to the various diversified backgrounds. The organization offers other services like flexible working hours, employee education assistance, open communication, childcare assistance and the mentor programmes. The weakness of the policy- As we can see that the organization has introduced several policies supporting the diversity within the workplace therefore it is must for them to maintain a conflict resolution system. The organization has to deal with people and it’s very common that where there are individuals coming from diverse backgrounds, there are high chances that conflicts can arise at any time. Different people with different culture and point of views could be confused, threatened or even annoyed by each other in the team, from views and background different from their own. It could create disagreem ents and disturbed political atmosphere that might slow down project advancements. The organization should create an environment of tolerance and understanding in the team. They should also encourage the employees to adopt this mindset, to challenge their belief system and to be open-minded enough to hear each of the members’ view. It will help members realize that there isn’t only one way of thinking. The managers need to accept that they can’t make everyone think and act like they do. They need to be attentive to verbal and nonverbal cues that might course tension. For example, â€Å"Pointing with one finger is considered to be rude in some cultures and Asians typically use their entire hand to point to something.† And In Western culture, eye contact means you’re attentive and honest; yet for a Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, or Native American, eye contact is thought to be disrespectful or rude. Managers should be aware of this kind of things a nd get people in team to understand different cultures in order to make the team run well without struggles (Universim, 2012). Also the organization lacks proper human resource staffs that will be looking after the employee grievance system, address their personal and professional issues, focus on the employee engagement aspects, and must ensure that the concept of equal treatment of employees must not make the more talented individuals feel de-motivated. The issue that women employees are lesser in number at the

Carl Robins Essay Example for Free

Carl Robins Essay This case study pertains to an employee by the name of Carl Robins. He has been employed by ABC, Inc as a Campus Recruiter for six months. In early April, during Mr. Robins first six months of employment; he successfully recruited 15 new hires. The new trainees were to report to Monica Carrolls, the Operations Supervisor, as they would be working under her. (University of Phoenix, 2014) This case study analysis of Mr. Robins is in relation to the numerous issues that transpired between April and June 15th. To obtain a clear understanding of the complications that transpired, the company believes that it would be in their best interest to consult a firm to look into the company’s issues and to help solve the problems that have emerged; this may be the most effective method to identify and recommend ways to improve ABC, Inc.’s recruiting of new trainees. I. ISSUES THAT TRANSPIRED The consulting firm came into ABC, Inc. and thoroughly examined background information on the situation. There were many key problems that had been identified during the evaluation. The issues that ABC, Inc. was facing were centered on Mr. Carl Robins, ABC, Inc.’s Campus Recruiter and also on the company ABC, Inc. To begin, Mr. Robins has been with the company merely a short six months. The consulting firm believes that Mr. Robins lacks experience, training and supervision. The firm also believes that ABC, Inc. did not train him properly nor did it provide him with the knowledge he needed to proceed properly with the hiring process. He lacked experience and knowledge of the hiring process and he was still allowed to hire 15 new  trainees for the Operations Supervisor, Monica Carrolls. Although hiring 15 new trainees is great accomplishment for a new employee, this might have been too many employees to be hired at once for a first recruitment. Because he is still new to ABC, Inc., learning about day to day operations, the hiring of 15 new trainees can be overwhelming, even to the most experienced of people. Another issue Mr. Robin’s was facing, was the lack of communication between him and the other employees in the office. On May 15th, he was contacted by Monica Carrolls about the following issues: the training schedule, orientation, manuals, policy booklets, physicals, drug tests, and a host of other issues, which Carl would coordinate for the new hires. Once again, Carl assured the Operations Supervisor, Monica Carrolls, that he would have everything completed and arranged by the June 15th orientation. After further review, Carl had realized that when going through the new trainee files to finalize all the paperwork for the June 15th orientation; applications for some of the new trainees had not been completed. Also, there were no transcripts on file and none of the 15 trainees had been sent for the mandatory drug screen. Another problem Carl had was that the orientation manuals were missing several pages from each of them and he only had three copies of the manuals. Lastly, upon checking the conference room to confirm the date of the orientation, he had not realized that the conference room had been booked for the whole month of June by the Technology Services Department. There are several concerns or issues that need to be addressed and that Carl and ABC, Inc. need to rectify. Below are the listed issues of these concerns that will be discussed. Review of addressed issues: 1. Incomplete employee applications 2. Mandatory drug screens were not scheduled 3. Employee transcripts were not on file 4. Incomplete orientation manuals 5. Shortage of orientation manuals 6. Resource scheduling conflicts II. PROBLEM SOLVING SOLUTIONS After the case review of Carl Robin’s, discussion of possible solutions available to rectify the situations at hand and the proposed solutions that Mr. Robin’s should take have been reviewed. Starting with concerns and issues, numbers one through three, the incomplete employee applications; Carl needs to contact the 15 new hires and make them aware of the absence in their records and have them complete the applications that need to be submitted to the Human Resources Department along with a transcript; they also have to complete a mandatory drug screen prior to orientation. Carl needs to set a deadline for the mandatory drug screens to be completed prior to the June 15th orientation training. On the concerns and issues, number four and five, the incomplete orientation manuals and the shortage of the orientation manuals. The orientation manuals were short by 12; Carl needs to make arrangements with company in house copy person to finish completing the orientation manuals he needs or he must contact an outside company to help rectify the need for the orientation manuals. Carl needs to have a â€Å"Main Copy Manual† made for himself or the next person that is in his position. A hard copy manual is something that should be kept on file, so that pages will not be misplaced and there will always be one on file. Carl seems to lack knowledge of ABC, Inc.’s policies and procedures. He must get to know the material in the company’s orientation manual prior to the July orientation. Reading over the material prior to the orientation and also going over what he will be saying to the new hires with his own supervisor or another staff member might be a good way to go about this. Mr. Robin’s can also make key notes to have for himself during the orientation so he can be prepared prior to the training. Lastly, on issue and concern number six. ABC, Inc. must make arrangements to find a better way to coordinate the availability of the conference room or rooms. By not having arrangements in place for this, Carl currently does not have a place to hold orientation that is to take place on June 15th; due to the Technology Services Department holding training for the whole month of June. Whether the system that they choose be a calendar type paper based or web based, ABC, Inc. should have something in place so errors like these do not occur again. A recommendation of a web based calendar and have one person take control of it is suggested. III. PROPOSED COMPANY SOLUTIONS The proposed company solutions that should take place are: refer all applicants to the Human Resources Department and also for all new employees establish bimonthly or monthly start dates to coincide with the company’s pay periods. Have orientation manuals printed either by an in house copy person or have orientation manuals completed by an outside company. Lastly, ABC, Inc. must set up a calendar system for reserving the conference room and Carl needs to go ahead and reserve this room on a reoccurring basis. It will be easier to cancel the reserved room rather than to go scrambling looking for a room to hold orientation in. A web based calendar controlled by one person is what is recommended. Having upper management hold a meeting to discuss implementing the proposed solutions should be an additional step to take for all corporate management. Also, upper management should meet on a monthly basis to discuss issues that may be happening within the company and use critical thinking skills to help determine what steps they need to take to help their employees better themselves at their jobs. This will bring good morale to the company and will make for a better work environment. CONCLUSION In conclusion, Carl Robins is an employee of ABC, Inc. and has been working for the company for just six months. He holds the position of Campus Recruiter and on his first recruitment hired 15 new trainees. Carl lacked supervision, knowledge and experience and was not ready for such a large task. He was missing applications and mandatory drug screenings that were needed to complete employee records. Carl also did not have proper completed orientation manuals. These issues led to a case study of Carl and ABC, Inc. and proposed solutions were recommended. The recommended solutions are as follows: 1. Refer all applicants to the Human Resources Department 2. All new employees to establish bimonthly/monthly start dates to coincide with pay periods 3. Orientation manuals to be printed in house or by outside company 4. Have a â€Å"hard copy manual† made of orientation manual 5. Set up a web based calendar system for reserving conference room or rooms It is not impossible to overcome these issues, the proposed solutions if set in place should make for a better work environment for the employees of ABC, Inc. References (2014). Case study: carl robins. University of Phoenix.

The Debate Over Video Game Violence Essay -- Violent Video Games

Controversy surrounds almost every topic and has been around for centuries. Controversial topics usually involve different types of people that have two opposite points of view about a certain topic or idea. The widespread expansion of technology has allowed people all over the world to debate certain topics that they deem to have a correct understanding of. Unsurprisingly, the effect of video games on the human brain has been a controversy since video games were first released decades ago. Video games involve the use of body and mind, which causes the player to be "inside" of the game, and they can see the world through the eyes of the character of which they play. Some psychologists and other scientists suggest that violent video games can cause psychological disorders which can cause players to engage in violent behavior in real life. On the other hand, there have also been studies conducted that suggest violence in video games does not affect the brain in that kind of way. Peop le from both sides of the viewpoint bring up good arguments that support their claim and really brings into question our understanding of video games and the impact they have on our brains. These scientists have conducted experiments over the last couple decades but still don't have an answer to what the underlying cause of children and young adults to be violent in real life as a result of playing violent video games, or if it does at all. Unfortunately, many of the people viewing this subject point the finger at others to see who is responsible for getting the children into violent video games. Some may blame the manufacturers for targetting children with their advertising of violent video games, and others may blame the parents for purchasing the... ...mes+influence+aggressive+behaviour+kids+expert+warns/9812114/story.html>. Lejacq, Yannick. "'Call of Duty' maker gears up against 'violent video games' bill." NBCnews. NBC, 11 Sept. 2013. Web. 11 May 2014.. Rettner, Rachael. "Do Video Games Boost Aggression? Study adds fire to debate." Fox News. Fox, 25 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 May 2014. . "S. 134: Violent Content Research Act of 2013." 113th Congress. N.p.: n.p., 2013. GovTrack. Web. 11 May 2014.. Tobias, Greitemeyer, and Mugger Dirk. "Video Games Do Affect Social Outcomes." Sage Journals: n. pag. Sagepub. Web. 11 May 2014. .

Behaviourist Thoery Essay

E.L.Thorndike(1874-1949) was the chief exponent of th theory of connectionism or trial and error. He was an American Psychologist who conducted Stimulus – Response(S-R) theory experiment with the help of animals. Thorndike was the first to study the subject of learning systematically using standardized procedure and apparatus. All learning, according to Thorndike is the formation of bonds or connections between Stimulus- Response. The Puzzle Box Experiment Thorndike’s Experiment on cat in the puzzle is widely known and often quoted in psychology of learning. The experimental set up was very simple. A hungry cat was confined in a puzzle box and outside the box a dish of food was kept. The cat, in the box had to pull a string to come out of the box. The cat in the box made several random movement of jumping, dashing and running to get out of the box. The cat atlast succeeded in pulling the string. The door of the puzzle box opened, the cat came out and ate the food. He promtly put the cat to next trial. The cat again gave a lot of frantic behaviour but it soon succeeded in pulling the string. It repeated for several time, Thorndike noticed as the repetition increases the error also reduced i.e., Thorndike’s cat showed slow, gradual and continous improvement in performance over successive trials. He concluded that learning of cat in the puzzle box can be explained in term of formation of direct connectionism between stimulus and response. Features of Trial and Error Learning 1. Learning by trial and error is gradual process. 2. For learning to occur, the learner must be definitely motivated. 3. The learner makes random and variable response. 4. Some responses do lead to the goal (annoying response) 5. Some responses lead to the goal. (satisfying responses) 6. With the increase in number of trials the annoying responses will tend to be eliminated and the satisfying responses will be strengthened and repeated. 7. The time taken to perform the task (to repeat the satisfying response) decreases with successive trials. The experiment sum up the following in the process of learning: 1. Drive : In the present experiment, drive was hunger and was intensified with the sight of food. (motivation) 2. Goal : To get the food by getting out of the box.  3. Block: The cat was confined in the box with a closed door. 4. Random Movement: The cat, persistently, tried to get out of the box. 5. Chance of Success: As a result of this striving and random movement the cat, by chance, succeeded in opening the door. 6. Selection (of proper moevement) : Gradually the cat recognised the correct manipulation of latch. 7. Fixation: At last, the cat learned the proper way of opening the door by eliminating all the incorrect responses and fixing the only right responses. Through the experiment, Thorndike explains that the learning is nothing but the stamping in of correct responses and stamping out of incorrect responses through trial and error. Thorndike’s Laws of Learning i) Law of Readiness : The law states â€Å"When any conduction unit is ready to conduct, for it do so is satisfying. When a conduction unit is not ready to conduct. for it to conduct is annoying. When any conduction is ready to conduct, for it not to do so is annoying.† ii) Law of Effect: The law states â€Å"When a modifiable connection between a stimulus and response is made and is accompanied or followed by a satisfying state of affairs the strength of connection is increased. When a connection between stimulus and response is made and accompanied or followed by an annoying state of affairs , it strength decreases. iii) Law of Execise: The law states â€Å"Any response to a situation will, other things being equal, be more strongly connected with the situation in proportion to the number of times it has been connected with that situation and to the average vigour and duration of the connection.† The law has two sub parts: a) Law of Use and b) Law of Disuse a) Law of Use states that â€Å"When a modifiable connection is made between a situation and response that connection strength is increased if it is practised.† b) Law of Disuse states that â€Å"When a modifiable connection is not made between a situation and response, during a length of time, that connection’s strength is decreased.† This means, any act that is not practised for sometime gradually decays. Educational Implication 1. Thorndike’s theory emphasize the importance of motivation in learning. So learning should be made purposeful and goal directed. 2. It stresses the importance of mental readiness, meaningful practise and incentive in learning process. 3. The law of readiness implies that the teacher should prepare the minds of the students to be ready to accept the knowledge, skills and aptitudes before teaching the topic. 4. More and more opportunities should be given to the learners to use and repeat the knowledge they get in the classroom for effectiveness and longer retention. 5. To maintain learned connection for longer period, review of learned material is necessary. 6. The law of effect has called atention to the importance of motivation and reinforcement in learning. 7. In order to benefit from the mechanism of association in the learning process what is being taught at one situation should be linked with the past experience of the learner.

My area – Earls Court a very weird and different area

Earls Court a very weird and different area. But that is not the opinion of the people living there that's just my opinion. Earls Court is a different area; I like to think of it as a little town not just some area in the heart of Kensington. The streets are always covered in old crisp packets and used condoms and there always seems to be puddles of water or some liquid that never seem to dry up. Behind my house is a private garden which, on a cold winter's morning is as misty as the peak of Mount Everest and the Scottish Highlands put together. This garden is run by a Garden Committee which is headed up by a woman who changes her hair colour every single week, for example last week the woman's hair was black and this week it is about as red as Manchester United's football shirt. In this garden there is a tennis court which is set up during the summer and the rest of the year the poles on which the nets hang are used by myself and about ten other mates as football posts. However the woman with the ever changing hair colour always seems to see us and come out and confiscate the ball even though her house is about from the school to Shepherds Bush tube station. The rules for this garden are extremely, I can't think of the word, hang on, ah yes, STUPID. You are not allowed to play football, play music, play and instrument, ride your bikes or any type of game that can damage the plants. It might as well be an outdoor prison. About 2 minutes walk from my house is a giant Tesco superstore; it claims to sell everything but the trouble is you can never find everything because they keep changing where everything is so I'll probably never know if they do sell everything. I remember about a month ago now, me and my mate Gav were in Tesco's and I had to use the toilet so I told him to wait downstairs. As I came back down the stairs my hat fell off down to the ground floor below; I ran down the stairs only to find my hat had disappeared and Gav standing where it had landed with an evil little grin on his face. Then a Jamaican security guard came up to us and said, † What are you doing†, and I because I didn't want to get in trouble said in a very angry and serious voice, † Gav man, where the hell did you put my hat? , the security guard told Gav to get my hat from where he had hidden it; amongst the boxes of wine. He gave it to me and we were just about to get away without getting into too much trouble when Gav, being the stupid idiot that he is, made the mistake of bursting into a fit of laughter when the guard had just turned away; not when he was out of earshot but when he had just turned his back so the guard heard, turned around, called his colleague and literally and I emphasise the literally, threw us out of the store onto the pavement; where Gav and I proceeded to laugh our heads off. But perhaps the most prominent building in my area is the office complex; just around the corner from my house; down a side road; which runs past a Gospel church. In this complex there is about 6 or 7 cameras 2 of which overlook the gate going in. On a dark and quiet Saturday night if there is nothing else to do; what me and my mates like doing is trying to get into the complex without being spotted by the 20 or so security guards just inside the main entrance. One time I dared a boy called Adam to run in and touch the sign that is about 10 metres in front of the front door. There were about five of us including Adam; he ran past the gate, past the cameras, touched the sign, and ran back. By this time all of the guards were up out of their seats and sprinting out of the door; I was the last one to notice; Adam sprints by me screaming like a little girl and everyone is running, I hadn't noticed what was happening and when I turned around from my hiding place about 15 metres from the gate; about four of the guards were coming through the gate, I stood up and started sprinting like a cheetah chasing a zebra. When I came to the fork I went right whilst everyone else had gone left down to Adam's house, I heard one of guards say, â€Å"You lot go left while we go right, we're going to get these kids†, I though, Christ their going to catch me; I wouldn't have been so worried if they weren't carrying holsters around which could have contained a gun. I ran between and over the parked cars and over a wall about a metre or two high and hid. I waited until they had given up and then I emerged from the shadow of the crucifix, triumphant in the fact that I had given trained security guards the slip. As I mentioned before I there is Gospel church near my house which has a bright green spire and on a Sunday morning and Wednesday evening it is absolutely bursting with music and singing. But the bad thing about this is that all of the cars of the church goers block up the parking lot; the only place that we are allowed to play football. But there are other more interesting things about my area like the fact that a woman fell of the roof of my house into my garden and I still don't know how she got up there. Also about three weeks ago a complete nutter of a man was on the roof of an estate brandishing and firing a rifle. All of the surrounding roads were closed off and armed police and for some reason there was riot police there as well. Nobody was hurt except the guy firing the gun who shot himself in the leg before being arrested. Once I was riding my bike to my mate's house and a tiny, little homosexual man stood in the way on purpose even though he had about a 10 second delay before I was near enough to hurt him; he stepped out and then said in a squeaky little voice â€Å"Watch where your going you stupid little s**t†, I yelled back at him some obscenities that I cannot mention here. Around my area there is a lot of refugees who go around asking people for money. Once I was walking to school when about five of them came up to me and asked me to give them i10; I just looked at them and said, â€Å"You got to be joking†, the leader looked at me really seriously and said, â€Å"I am being seriously perfect†, and that just made me laugh. I think he meant to say, â€Å"I am being perfectly serious†, but got confused. The leader then grabbed me and said, â€Å"give me i10 now†, he was only about as tall as me so I kneed him in his groin and the rest just backed off because a security guard had come out to see what was going on. The guard ‘escorted' the leader off the premises and by that I mean threw onto one of the islands in the middle of the road. There is a tall, red brick building just around the corner from my house which used to be where the local police force lived for free until it was turned into a council flat. There is a woman called Louise who is about 40 years old and has a problem with kids. She is as thin as rake and is about medium height. Her nose is crooked and she has a terribly squeaky voice like a rusty bike chain. She has a balcony coming out of the back of her house which she likes to use for taking pictures of people passing especially kids. When we make noise she comes out and starts going on about how we are making too much noise, and then we confront her about taking pictures of us she just goes quiet and slithers off quietly like the snake that she is. Just last Sunday she came out and starting having a go at us; but when we started confronting her about taking pictures of us she said she'd even take videos of us; we just said but that's illegal, she said so is noise disturbance; then I said â€Å"but which one do you think is more serious†, at which she just walked off and I called after her â€Å"I thought so! â€Å". She wears quite trampy clothes and she probably only has one piece of clean clothing in her whole life. Around my area there are a lot of kids who wander around looking for kids to mug, but I know them so they don't try to mug me. However when I was in first year there was some kids that I didn't know trying to mug people, and once I was on my way home from school and I must have looked like a right idiot with my catholic schoolboy uniform all neat and tidy. They were walking on the other side of the road and I saw them look at me then cross the road towards me; so I crossed the road to where they had been. They were then behind me and had turned around and started walking quite quickly towards me; now you have go to remember that I was a little first year so I couldn't fight off two 16+year olds, so I started jogging, they started jogging, I picked up the pace, so did they, I was coming up to Tesco's now so I sprinted through the back way through the car park into the store up to the first floor and out through the first floor exit. As I went down the stairs I could see them through the 12ft high windows searching for me jogging through the aisles so I started jogging across the large 6 lane road to my house. As I rounded the corner I saw them come out the main entrance, point towards me and start sprinting, so I just sprinted to my house and got through the front door in record time. I opened two doors in about 6 seconds. As I said earlier I consider Earls Court like a little town; a little town with its own high street with every shop its own cinema and even its own arena and park. But with little towns there comes problems. On Thursday mornings there are piles of black bin bags waiting for the bin men to come and take them away; it smells about as bad as rotten fish and eggs put together. You trip over the bags that are strewn all over the pavement. As I go down to school I go past a bright, mustard yellow estate which all the dump trucks come out of and so that stinks even more and there are kids on the estate that spit down on people going past. All in all I think my area has some good points like the fact that most of my friends live there but there are some bad points like all the crime and rubbish on the streets. But it is my area, I've lived there all my life and I love it.

The Art of Mummification in Ancient Egypt

The Art of Mummification in Ancient Egypt Free Online Research Papers The religion of ancient Egypt was truly the pinnacle of their existence. Religion played an essential role in their everyday lives. The ancient Egyptians accredited everything from personal illness, low food supply, love, family and even the floods of the Nile River to their deities. They went out of their way to prepare their people for the afterlife . By appeasing their gods and goddesses, they believed they were guaranteeing them a smooth transfer to the spiritual realm. The ancient Egyptians religion is often difficult to explain mainly due to the many aspects. They were not only a polytheistic society but also humanistic. The fact that they worshipped numerous deities makes them polytheistic, but they also worshipped their pharaohs so this is the humanistic aspect of their faith. Some scholars throw naturalistic into the mix, as the Egyptians believed they could manipulate the forces of nature. Egypt’s most popular sect is the one devoted to the god Osiris, the fertility god of the Nile. The myth, according to priests, was that his brother, Seth , murdered Osiris. Seth cut up his brother’s body and scattered the numerous pieces throughout Egypt. Isis, Osiris’ wife, collected the pieces and wrapped them in linen . He was then restored to life to father Horus and bring fertility to the land. He was branded ruler of the dead in the underworld. It was believed that every mummified Egyptian could become another Osiris , capable of resurrection and a blessed eternal life. Without this myth, mummification would never have come to be. Wrapping the body in linen to protect it became an essential rite. Each body was carefully preserved awaiting its day of resurrection and eternal life. Some people believed that the dead lived on in the tomb. Others thought of the dead as having gone to a blessed afterworld in some far distant place. That being the case they proved goods needed for both worlds. In no other civilization have such elaborate preparations for the afterlife been made in the preservation of the dead. To the Ancient Egyptians, their soul, their being, was made up of many different parts. Not only was there the physical form, but there were eight immortal or semi-divine parts that survived death, with the body making nine parts of a human. The Egyptians other worldly parts include khat (kha) which is the physical form, the body that could decay after death, the mortal, outward part of the human that could only be preserved by mummification . The Egyptians used the term â€Å"Ka† to refer to the soul, which remains in the tomb. Lucie Lamy describes is in her book, â€Å"The ka is a complex idea for which we have no linguistic counterpart. It is currently thought that the ka is a manifestation of vital energy but this fails to explain why statues, formulas, and offerings are dedicated, in the funerary ritual, to the ka; or why a narrow false door is left in the tomb for the ka to come and go and eat of the food figured on the walls . The ba or soul is a represented by a human headed bird. The heart is closely associated with the soul. It is the source of good and bad thoughts as well as more understanding of right and wrong. The heart or ab can move freely and separate or unite with the body at will. It can also enjoy life with the gods in heaven. The Khaibit represents the shadow. References to this part are infrequent and often the meanings are obscure. The spirit is known by several different names, the akh, khu or the akhu. This is the immortal part of man and it lives in the sahu or spiritual body. The Pyramid Texts state that the akh is for heaven while the kha is for earth . The ren or name that ex ists in heaven is thought to be the power of the being. If someone knows the secret name, they gain power over that person. Lastly, is the sahu or spiritual body. Within the sahu, all the mental and spiritual attributes of the natural body are united. Being viewed with great importance, the ancient Egyptians made every possible attempt at appeasing all sides of the being. When an ancient Egyptian died, it was believed that his soul flew away at death. Many cults believed that the soul was a human headed bird with the face of the deceased. During life, the soul had resided within the body- probably in the belly or in the heart- but after death; it flew freely about the world, taking refuge in the tomb at night, when evil spirits might be about. In order to find the right tomb, it was necessary that the soul be able to recognize the body from which it had come. Hence, the body of the deceased was preserved in the best possible way. It was mummified. The word ‘mummy’ is not of Egyptian origin but is derived from the Arabic ‘mumiyah,’ which means ‘body preserved by wax or bitumen.’ This term was used because of an Arab misconception of the methods used by the Egyptians in preserving their dead. The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural mummies. Later, the ancient Egyptians began burying their dead in coffins to protect them from wild animals in the desert. However, they realized that bodies place din coffins decayed when they were bit exposed to the hot, dry sand of the desert. Over many centuries, the ancient Egyptians developed so they would remain lifelike. Even later, the process developed into the funeral rites and long process we see illustrated in ancient Egyptian texts. The actual process of embalming as practiced in ancient Egypt was governed by definite religious ritual. A period of seventy days was required for the preparation of the mummy, and each step in the procedure was coordinated with relevant priestly ceremonies. In charge of the mummification was the ‘hery seshta’ or overseer of the mysteries, who took the part of the jackal god Annubis . The assistant was the ‘hetemw netjer’ or seal bearer of the god, this was a title previously held by Osiris. The ‘hery heb’ or lector priest would read the magic spells during each ritual while the ‘wetyw’ or bandagers undertook most of the actual evisceration and bandaging of the body. Because this act was considered unclean, the wetyw’s role in society was severely limited. Removal of those organs most subject to putrefaction was the initial step in preparing a corpse for mummification. The embalmers placed the body on a narrow, table-like stand and proceeded to their task. The brain was removed through the nostrils by means of various metal probes and hooks. Such a method necessarily reduced the brain to a fragmentary state. The ancient Egyptians believed the brain held no conscious thought and was therefore discarded. An incision was then made in the left flank of the body to permit removal of the viscera, save for the heart, which they left inside the body. The liver, lungs, stomach and the intestines were each placed in separate jars. These canopic jars were composed of several different materials such as limestone, calcite or alabaster . The lids atop the jars were shaped as the head of one of the minor funerary deities known as the Four Sons of Horus. The baboon-headed Hapy guarded the lungs. The human-headed Imsety was the guardian of the liver. Jackal-headed Duamutef guarded the stomach and upper intestines and falcon-headed Qebehsenuef guarded the lower intestines . After the removal and preservation of the internal organs, dry natron was used as a desiccant. Small parcels of natron wrapped in linen were placed inside the body. The outside was covered with loose natron or packages of the linen wrapped natron. The dry atmosphere of Egypt accelerated the desiccation process. Once dried out, the temporary stuffing would be removed, with any body parts being retained for burial and the body cavity would be re-stuffed with various aromatics. The brain cavity was filled with resin or linen, the openings in the skull packed and artificial eyes often added. The body was then ready to be bound into that compact bundle we know as a mummy. Only linen was used in the wrapping. To give a more natural appearance, linen pads were placed in the hollows caused by the drying. The arms and legs, sometimes even the fingers and toes, were bandaged separately. Then some twenty or more layers of alternating shrouds and bandages were wrapped around the entire body. Between every few layers of linen, a coating of resin was applied as a binding agent. The proper wrapping of a mummy required several hundred square yards of linen. The shrouds were sheets six to nine feet square, and the bandages-strips torn from other sheets were from two to eight inches wide and three to twenty feet long. The linen used in wrapping mummies was for the most part not made especially for shrouds but was old household linen saved for this purpose. Often the linen is marked with the name of the former owner, faded from repeated washings. Occasionally bandages bear short religious texts written in ink. When the wrapping had been completed, the sh op was cleaned, and all the embalming materials that had been exposed to the mummy were placed in jars for storage in the tomb. The making of a corpse into a mummy was not all that took place during the seventy-day ritual. The artisans were engaged meanwhile in all the activities essential to proper burial might number in the hundreds. The construction and decoration of the tomb, if not already complete by the deceased during his lifetime, presented an enormous task. Woodworkers were constructing the coffin or a series of coffins, each to fit within another-tailored to measure. Artisans were busy decorating the coffins. The fine painting on the coffins was rarely done directly on the wood, but rather on a smooth plaster coating of whiting and glue over linen glued over the wood. The beautiful colors on many cases are pigments from minerals found in Egypt, often covered with a clear varnish. Countless other helpers were engaged in constructing and assembling the numerous articles to be deposited with the mummy when it was laid to rest in the tomb. An extremely important task also undertaken during the seventy days of mummification was the preparation by priests or scribes of magical texts to be placed in the tomb. These texts, now known as the ‘Book of the Dead’ were written on papyrus rolls varying in length from a few sheets to many sheets, some rolls approaching a length of one hundred feet. Often they were exquisitely illustrated in color. The Egyptians believed that knowledge of these formulas, hymns and prayers enabled the soul to ward off demons attempting to impede it progress, and to pass the tests set by the 42 judges in the hall of Osiris. The soul passing these tests was allowed to mingle with the gods. If it failed the tests, it was devoured by a monster. The texts of the Book of the Dead also indicated that happiness in the afterlife was dependent on the deceased’s having led a virtuous life on earth. An elaborate funeral procession of priests, relatives, friends, servants, and professional mourners accompanied the mummy to the tomb. Attended by priests, the mummy, in its magnificent coffin, was carried on a great sledge pulled by oxen. The mourners followed behind the sledge. In the procession, too, were porters bearing gifts to be placed in the tomb. These mortuary accouterments believed essential for a happy afterlife light be furniture, weapons, jewelry, food, linens- any or all of those things that had made for comfort and happiness in the earthly life. The final ceremony at the tomb was the opening of the mouth. Through this ceremony, the mummy was thought to regain ability to move, talk and eat, in order to fulfill his destiny in the afterworld. It was necessary that the priests perform this last rite, which would restore to him the functions of a living person. The mummy was then carried into the tomb and sealed in the outer coffin or sarcophagus. The Book of the Dead was placed near him, mortuary gifts were piled about, and priests in the guise of gods made sure no evil spirits lurked in the tomb. According to Egyptian belief, interment of the mummy did not automatically insure entrance into the afterworld. The deceased had first to appear before a group of 42 spiritual assessors and convince them that he had led a righteous life on earth. The in a final trial before Osiris, kind of the nether world, the heart of the deceased was placed on the great scales and balanced against a feather, symbol of righteous truth. Annubis, the jackal headed god who presided over embalming, did the weighing, while Thoth, the ibis headed scribe of the gods, and recorded the result on a tablet. If the heart of the deceased passed this test, he was admitted into heaven. If not, his soul was doomed to roam the earth forever . The pre-dynastic Egyptian (before 3000 N.E.) was buried in the sand and was surrounded with pottery jars containing food. He was placed on his side in a contracted position, and was occasionally wrapped in reed matting or animal hide. Later, the dead were placed in crudely made baskets, boxes, or pottery coffins, which were buried in the sand or deposited in small natural caves at the base of the cliffs in the Nile Valley. By 3000 B.C., men of importance had small chambers cut for themselves in the rock, often with a shallow pit or niche to receive the coffin. From these beginnings evolved the typical Egyptian tomb consisting of two essential parts: the burial chamber and a room in which offerings to the dead were placed . Most impressive of all Egyptian tombs are those of the Pyramid Age (2800-2250 b.c.). Those colossal tombs that are as famous as Egypt herself developed from a less elaborate form now called mastaba . The mastaba tombs are low, rectangular structures of brick and stone built on bedrock. The building houses an offering chamber, or a series of them, and a secret room containing a statue of the deceased. A vertical shaft in the superstructure leads down into the bedrock to the tomb chamber some twenty to eighty feet below. The limestone walls in the offering chambers of the mastaba tombs are covered with sculptured scenes done in low relief. They were originally painted, and some of the color remains. It is from these skillfully executed scenes depicting contemporary Egyptian life that we derive much of our knowledge of the period. The mastaba tombs are for the most part those of nobles, the pharaohs preferring the more monumental pyramids. The great pyramids at Giza, tombs of the Fourth Dynasty kings, are by far the most imposing of the pyramid tombs . The Egyptians were mummifying their dead even in the days of the pyramids. Indeed, there are mummies that antedate the pyramids. These ancient mummies are wrapped in the contracted position characteristic of Pre-Dynastic burials, whereas the mummy of the Pyramid Age lays length on its back, enclosed in a box type coffin decorated to resemble a house. In the early days of mummification, only the kings were definitely conceded the opportunity to attain an exalted afterlife. Religious texts to aid the dead kings in gaining entrance into heaven were carved on the stalls of the mortuary chambers of some of the pyramids. There are now known as the Pyramid Texts. It is on the walls of the pyramids of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasty kings at Saqqara smaller and less imposing pyramids than those at Giza- that these oldest collections of Egyptian religious texts are found. Although nobles of the Pyramid Age were also accorded sumptuous burial, no texts are found in their tombs . By the time of the Middle Kingdom (2100-1780 BC), after the period of the mastabas and pyramids, tombs and their accessory chambers were usually hewn out of solid rock in the sides of the hills along the Nile. Occasionally, however, tombs were enclosed by or built under mortuary buildings erected on the plain. These buildings served as chapels or offering chambers. The mummy of the Middle Kingdom was placed on its left side in a rectangular wooden coffin on which was painted religious texts. These Coffin Texts were excerpts from the older Pyramid Texts, with the addition of new thoughts and symbols. Some mummies had a cartonnage mask over the upper portion of the body. These cartonnage coverings were composed of plaster soaked linen or papyrus were shaped in human form and painted. Sometimes the entire mummy was enclosed in such a covering, a practice that quickly led to the making of coffins themselves in mummy form. A person of rank or wealth, and these went hand in hand, would have a series of two or three coffins, each case fitting inside the other, with the inner one the most elaborate. Often the outer coffin would be carved from stone in mummy form, or would consist of a huge stone sarcophagus. It was late in this period when liberalization of religious concepts extended the privilege of an afterlife to those in less fortunate circumstances than kings and nobles, which beards appeared on mummy cases. The beard, heretofore worn only by divinities and kings, indicated presumption on the part of the deceased that he would be accepted into their immortal presence. During the time of the 18th and 19th dynasties, the rock cut tombs reached their zenith in the famous Tombs of the Kings in the valleys at Thebes. These tombs consist of corridors, chambers, and halls descending into the solid rock of the hillsides a distance of several hundred feet. The walls are covered with religious texts an d scenes and with inscriptions and pictures portraying every phase in the life of the deceased, all beautifully painted. Mummification practices varied with the passing centuries too. The use of canopic jars as repositories was discontinued during the 21st Dynasty, and the viscera were henceforth wrapped in packages and replaced in the body or bound with it. Hollows in the desiccated body were cleverly filled out by placing pads of linen underneath the skin. From this period on, the art of making good mummies went into a gradual decline, even though mummification continued to be practiced for another fifteen hundred years. Less attention came to be paid to the condition of the body itself, and more to the external appearance of the wrappings. In Roman times, a garish type of coffin came into use. Showy cartonnage coverings were formed and painted in fanciful likeness of the deceased. At the same time, coffin-makers were building coffins of simple board boxes. On the cover there might be a life-sized plaster face modeled after that of the dead. Sometimes a painted portrait of the deceased was placed inside the coffin over the face of the mummy. Quite naturally, wealth was always a dominant actor in the mummification and burial accorded an individual. Although actual Egyptian records of the cost of mummification are lacking, Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian who traveled in Egypt, touches on burial costs in his writings. According to Diodorus, at the time he journeyed in Egypt there were three grades of burial. The elite who could afford the best spared no expense in their preparations. Tombs for the common people had no chambers. The coffins were placed in walled recesses in the side of a rock or in shallow holes gouged out of the rocky plain. Mummies of the poor were placed in common repositories, either with or without coffins. The bodies of those with no money at all were given a perfunctory ceremonial cleansing, were sometimes covered with a cloth, and were buried in the sand. The Egyptians believed that a god incarnate assumed the form of an animal. Nearly every deity was associated in his or her minds with a certain bird or beast. Therefore, it is not surprising that we find near the sites of ancient cities large cemeteries devoted to the burial of animals. Usually only one type of animal was buried in a given cemetery. Adjacent to each such cemetery was a temple devoted to the cult of the god identified with the specific kind of animal buried at that place. The animals were mummified, but not always too carefully. Chief stress was laid on the bandaging, the object having been that the package should clearly indicate the kind of animal enclosed. Often these animal mummies were placed in theriomorphic coffins. There are mummies of jackals, cats, ibises, snakes, lizards, gazelles, hawks, bulls, sheep, baboons, crocodilesin fact, almost every conceivable kind of animal known to Egypt. At some places, animal tombs such as those of the Apis bulls at Memphis are found. The tombs of the Apis bulls, which date from the Eighteenth Dynasty and later, consist of subterranean passages and vaults hewn in the rock an aggregate length of some twelve hundred feet. Many of the bulls were placed in huge stone sarcophagi. The ambition of every Egyptian was to have a well-mummified body and a perpetually cared-for tomb. The children of the deceased were charged with the maintenance of this home on earth and the observation of all attendant ceremonie s. In the case of a favored government official, a portion of the state revenue might be assigned as an endowment for the care of the tomb . As the number of deceased ancestors and officials multiplied, however, and the consequent cost of tomb maintenance became excessive, the tendency was to neglect those of the remote past and to concentrate attention on those of the more recently deceased. Thus, the living inhabitant of ancient Egypt, with all the faith he placed in the preservation of his own mummy, was constantly faced with the anomaly of neglected and despoiled tombs -for tomb robbers were at work even during the days of mummification. We have Egyptian papyri recording the robbery of royal tombs and the capture and punishment of the despoilers. An archaeologist rarely finds a tomb that has not been plundered . From what has been happening in society and all the discoveries being made about Ancient Civilizations, the society, in the future that is, will be even more affected by the Egyptian ways than it is now. The Egyptians, with their wacky life styles, presented the world with materials and artifacts that have never been created. They truly were the stepping-stones of modern society. They have been working on life changing, so to say, tools that will always be used and will be constantly worked upon to upgrade them. Their ways of art, design, architecture, and culture were amazing, thus effecting modern art, design, architecture, and culture. As the years pass by, modern society will keep being affected by societies of the past. Notes Seltzer, Robert M. Religions of Antiquity, Religion, history, and culture, (New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA, 1989). S. Ikram,., J. Kamrin,. â€Å"Divine kingship.† Calliope, 19, 1. p.4 (3). (September 2008) Retrieved February 30, 2010, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.etsu.edu:2048/gps/start.do?prodId=IPSuserGroupName=tel_a_etsul Ibid. M.Alan Kazlev, The Ancient Egyptian Conception of the Soul, 01 January 2010, kheper.net/topics/Egypt/egyptian_soul.htm, (accessed 10 February 2010). Lucie Lamy, Egyptian Mysteries: New Light on Ancient Knowledge, Art and imagination, (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1989). Vincent Brown, Pyramid Texts Online, pyramidtextsonline.com/plan.html, (accessed 10 February 2010). Aidan Dodson, The Canopic Equipment of the Kings of Egypt. Studies in Egyptology, (London: Kegan Paul International, 1994). Ibid. Dodson. Hawass, Zahi A. Valley of the Golden Mummies. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000). Ibid. Ibid. Szpakowska, K.. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts: Texts from the Pyramid Age. The Journal of the American Oriental Society, 127, 3. p.380(2). Retrieved February 16, 2010, from General OneFile via Gale: http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.etsu.edu:2048/gps/start.do?prodId=IPSuserGroupName=tel_a_etsul Ibid. Bibliography Badawy, Alexander M. Egypt, Ancient.† Encyclopedia Americana. 2007. Grolier Online. 28 January 2010 http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0431776-06 . Braines, John, Jaromà ­r Mlek. Cultural Atlas of Ancient Egypt. New York: Facts on File, 2000. Brown, Vincent. Pyramid Texts Online. pyramidtextsonline.com/plan.html, (accessed 10 February 2010). Dodson, Aidan. The Canopic Equipment of the Kings of Egypt. Studies in Egyptology. (London: Kegan Paul International, 1994). Ellis, Normandi. Awakening Osiris: A New Translation of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. (MI: Phanes Press, 1988). Hawass, Zahi A. Mountains of the Pharaohs: The Untold Story of the Pyramid Builders. (New York: Doubleday, 2006). Ikram, Salima. Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt. (Harlow: Longman, 2003). Kazlev, Alan M. The Ancient Egyptian Conception of the Soul. 01 January 2010. kheper.net/topics/Egypt/egyptian_soul.htm, (accessed 10 February 2010). Lamy, Lucie. Egyptian Mysteries: New Light on Ancient Knowledge. Art and imagination. (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1989). Szpakowska, Kasia. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts: Texts from the Pyramid Age.† The Journal of the American Oriental Society 127.3 (2007): 380+. General One File. ( accessed 17 February 2010. http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.etsu.edu:2048/gps/start.do?prodId=IPSuserGroupName=tel_a_etsul Research Papers on The Art of Mummification in Ancient EgyptCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite ReligionBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XMind TravelAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThe Spring and AutumnHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayGenetic EngineeringHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionCapital PunishmentInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married Males

The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture

The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture Introduction Several indigenous tribes in the Northern parts of America form the Iroquois people. The culture of the Iroquois is unique and spectacular. Many people admire the Iroquois because of their unique culture and traditions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the 16th century, the Iroquoian-speaking tribes decided to come together and formed the Iroquois League initially composed of Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida, Mohawk and Onondaga tribes. The Iroquois League has a unique cultural and ceremonial embodiment. Although the confederacy dissolved in the 18th century, the League is still in existence. For the years, the Iroquois are known for having developed a unique culture that all other races of human kind have looked upon with pride and envy; pride that the Iroquois were human and like themselves, and with envy because the culture was not their own. This paper explores the uniqueness of the Iroquois culture and the reason it is widely admired by many people in the world today. The Culture of the Iroquois People The Iroquois people have maintained their cultural practices for centuries. The people developed a unique culture envied by generations and tribes from different parts of the world. The culture developed around certain disciplines and as a result defined the unique roles and responsibilities among the tribesmen. The different tribes in the Iroquois League helped a lot in the preservation of the people’s culture (Graymont 37). The Iroquois people have specific cultural peculiarities that make the unique and admirable. For instance, the culture embraces some spiritually significant beads known as wampum. The beads are also important and have monetary value. Their cultural practices of the people have remained accurate and unique for very many years. They people also have their own prophets whom they greatly revere. It is because of this uniqueness that many people admired their culture. The Iroquois used to replace the dead with captives captured during their mourning wars (Graymont 46). They Iroquois naturalized the captives to become citizens of their tribe. This was the melting pot practice thus making the Iroquois people famous for very many years. Looking at this kind of practice carefully, it is observable that the Iroquois did not simply conquer and capture the people, but they dedicated much of their time to naturalize and remold them to become part of them.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The tradition of the Iroquois also promoted the status of the woman thus making her very powerful and in a position to own properly, horses and even land. This is something widely admired by tribes across the world today. Occupation is another important feature of the Iroquois p eople. For very many centuries, the occupation of the Iroquois tribesmen has been taking up different forms including agriculture, hunting, gathering, and fishing. Some occupational practices such as gathering were the work of children and women while men fish and hunt (Walle 23). The occupation forms a unique aspect of the Iroquois culture. It is through these different forms of occupation that the children learned and obtained experience for the continuity of the people’s cultural practices. Food forms a unique aspect of the people’s cultural behaviors and practices. The food of the Iroquois is unique because their staple diet maintains proper health. The food is composed of beans, corn and squash as the major components of their meals. They also consume some berries, wild roots and other green vegetables. The practices of the Iroquois people have made their culture unique and admirable by different tribes (Walle 32). The Iroquois people are selective when cooking di fferent food materials. For example, they prefer bass, whitefish and trout when choosing fish for food. This explains why different individuals have envied the cultural practices of the Iroquois people. The people also eat muskrat, beaver, and wild turkey as source of proteins. The Iroquois people have a culture characterized by a number of festivals admired by different cultures across the globe. Most of the festivals and ceremonies coincide with certain practices and event such as agriculture. For example, the Iroquois have festivals when harvesting their agricultural products. The people put the festivals as thanksgiving for the yields obtained. The Iroquois have staged the practice for very many centuries thereby attracting the attention of many people (Tuck 17). It is through these festivals that the people understand the relevance of blessings. During the festivals, the culture of the people requires that they start and end with worship songs and prayers.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Admiration and Uniqueness of Iroquois Culture specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The other unique and characteristic aspect of the people’s culture is the wampum. The wampum beads are useful in a similar manner as money. These beads also have a high monetary value. It is because of this monetary value that they available in different parts of the world. The beads play a huge role in explaining the cultural attachments of the Iroquois people. The other important aspect of the Iroquois people is that they have not developed any form of writing system (Smith 43). Because of this, the Iroquois pass their culture from one generation to the next orally. With this kind of knowledge and understanding, the Iroquois people have learned how to adhere to their cultural practices and traditions. The use of the wampum beads acts as a stimulant and reminder of the people’s historical backgrounds. For exa mple, the use of shell beads is characteristic of different experiences and events in the people’s history. They Iroquois use beads bored with drilled and polished with different color codes. Each bed is usually significant of a given event and occasion (Tuck 56). The people use the beads to remind themselves about their historical events and developments. The Iroquois people also use these beads to make belts with historical relevance and meaning. For very many centuries, the Iroquois people have maintained a unique culture acknowledged across the globe. The religious beliefs of the people centers on a greater spirit and the reason they strongly believe he is the creator of the universe. They also have a strong adherence to seasons and events of nature. This makes them strong proponents of animated culture. The last one century has also seen many Iroquois becoming Christians. They also show reverence and respect to their prophets and ancestors. The Iroquois people believe th ey have the power to communicate directly with their creator during their seasonal festivals. They also believe in the eternity of the human soul (Smith 82). The other unique aspect of the Iroquois people is the ability to study and interpret their dreams. The people have a strong attachment to their dreams. They also know how to interpret them. For very many years, the Iroquois have learned how to interpret dreams because they believe they have hidden meaning. The interpretation is of great relevance to the lives of individuals.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As stated earlier, the Iroquois have specific festivals with great spiritual and religious significance. The people have six ceremonies held in a year. These festivals have unique religious significance including curing diseases, thanksgiving, farming, and worshipping. The people also believe that they will live a life of eternity if they live a good life and honor their gods. This is something that has played a significant role in establishing the relationship between the people and the supernatural world (Roza 65). In the last centuries, history shows that the Iroquois people have embraced unity thereby making it possible for them to develop a superior cultural organization. For very many centuries, many people have considered the Iroquois people as distinct from the Americans and Canadians (Smith 63). This is because they have their own cultural practices and attachments. The outstanding thing about these people is that they have managed to retain their cultural practices and tra ditions. Many people admire the practices with cultures looking at them with envy. The uniqueness of the culture is what has made the Iroquois famous. Conclusion As we have discussed above, the Iroquois have a unique culture. They maintain certain festivals, observe their religious practices, and retain their unique foods. The culture has remained unique and properly defined and the reason many people admire it. It is therefore acknowledgeable that the Iroquois people managed to develop a culture that all people across the world might look upon with both envy and pride; envy that it was not theirs, and pride that Iroquois, like themselves, were human. Many people admire the cultural practices of the Iroquois people because of its uniqueness. Graymont, Barbara. The Iroquois. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2005. Print. Roza, Greg. The Iroquois of New York. New York: McGraw, 2003. Print. Smith, Vernon. Humankind in Prehistory: Economy, Ecology, and Institutions. New York: Rowman and Littl efield Publishers, 2003. Print. Tuck, James. Onondaga Iroquois prehistory: a study in settlement archeology. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. Walle, Alf. Recovery the native way: a client reader. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.

Understanding the Progressive Era

Understanding the Progressive Era It can be difficult for students to understand the relevance of the period we call The Progressive Era because society before this period was very different from the society and the conditions we know today. We often assume that certain things have always been around, like laws about child labor and fire safety standards. If you are researching this era for a project or research paper, you should begin by thinking about the way things were before government and society changed in America. Before the events of the Progressive Era occurred (1890-1920), American society was much different. The federal government had less of an impact on the lives of the citizen than we know today.  For example, there are laws that regulate the quality of food that is sold to American citizens, the wage that is paid to workers, and the work conditions that are endured by American workers. Before the Progressive Era food, living conditions, and employment was different. Children were employed in factoriesWages were low and unregulated (with no wage minimums)Factories were crammed and unsafeNo standards existed for food safetyNo safety net existed for citizens who couldnt find employmentHousing conditions were unregulatedThe environment was not protected by federal regulations The Progressive Movement refers to social and political movements that emerged in response to rapid industrialization from which caused societal ills.  As cities and factories emerged and grew, quality of life declined for many American citizens. Many people worked to change the unjust conditions that existed as a result of the industrial growth that took place during the late 19th century. These early progressives thought that education and government intervention could ease poverty and social injustice. Key People and Events of the Progressive Era In 1886, the American Federation of Labor is founded by Samuel Gompers. This was one of many unions that emerged toward the end of the nineteenth century in response to unfair labor practices like long hours, child labor, and dangerous working conditions. Photojournalist Jacob Riis exposes deplorable living conditions in the slums of New York in his book How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York.   Conservation of natural resources becomes a matter of public concern, as the Sierra Club was founded in 1892 by John Muir. Womens Suffrage gains steam when Carrie Chapman Catt becomes president of the National American Womens Suffrage Association.   Theodore Roosevelt becomes president in 1901 after the death of McKinley. Roosevelt was an advocate for trust busting, or the breaking up of powerful monopolies that crushed competitors and controlled prices and wages. The American Socialist Party was established in 1901.   Coal miners strike in Pennsylvania in 1902 to protest their terrible working conditions. In 1906, Upton Sinclair publishes The Jungle, which portrayed the deplorable conditions inside the meatpacking industry in Chicago. This led to the establishment of food and drug regulations. In 1911, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, which occupied the eighth, ninth, and tenth floors of a building in New York. Most of the employees were young women aged sixteen to twenty-three, and many on the ninth floor perished because exits and fire escapes were locked and blocked by the company officials. The company was acquitted of any wrongdoing, but the outrage and sympathy from this event prompted legislation concerning  unsafe working conditions. President Woodrow Wilson signs the Keating-Owens Act in 1916, which made it illegal to ship goods across state lines if they were produced by child labor. In 1920, Congress passed the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Research Topics for The Progressive Era   What was life like for children who worked in factories? How was this different from the work of children who lived on farms?How did views on immigration and race change during the Progressive Era? Did the legislation of this era effect all people, or were certain populations most affected?How do you suppose the trust busting legislation affected business owners? Consider exploring the events of the Progressive Era from the point of view of wealthy industrialists.How did living conditions change for people who moved from the country to the cities during this time period? How were people better off or worse off during the shift from country living to city living?Who were the major figures in the Womens Suffrage movement? How was life impacted for these women who came forward?Explore and compare life in a mill village and life in a coal camp.Why did the concern for environmental issues and natural resource preservation emerge at the same time as concern and awareness for social issues like poverty? How are these topics related? Writers and photojournalists were key figures in Progressive Era reforms. How does their role compare to changes that have taken place due to the emergence of social media?How has the power of the federal government changed since the Progressive Era? How have the powers of individual states changed? What about the power of the individual?How would you compare the changes in society during the Progressive Era to changes in society during and after the Civil War?What is meant by the term progressive? Were the changes that took place during this time period actually progressive? What does the term progressive mean in the current political climate?The Seventeenth Amendment, which allowed for the direct election of US Senators, was ratified in 1913 during the period known as the Progressive Era. How does this reflect the sentiments of this period?There were many setbacks to the Progressive Era movements and campaigns. Who and what created these setbacks, and what were the interests of the parties involved? Prohibition, the constitutional ban on the production and transportation of alcoholic beverages, also took place during the Progressive Era. How and why was alcohol the subject of concern during this period? What was the impact of Prohibition, good and bad, on society?What was the role of the Supreme Court during the Progressive Era?   Further Reading for The Progressive Era Prohibition and Progressive Reform The Fight for Womens Suffrage Muckrakers

Optimal Cognitive Development With the Help of Play Research Paper

Optimal Cognitive Development With the Help of Play - Research Paper Example A potential example of learning according to Piaget’s theory is in a kindergarten classroom. It is noteworthy here that in the kindergarten classroom, children are in the preoperational stage in which, they are egocentric. When a teacher in the kindergarten classroom asks the students to discuss their activity when it snows outside, different children share different thoughts; some might say that they like to make snowmen while others might say that they like making snow angels. None of these responses can be regarded as incorrect because these responses are grounded in children’s personal experiences of being outside in the snow. Such a discussion in the kindergarten classroom helps the children visualize and realize different activities that can be performed out in the snow with the information provided by their fellow classmates. Children in the kindergarten classroom think that the only correct answer to the teacher’s question is theirs since they are egocent ric. It is extremely important to realize different ways of employing the theories of cognitive development. Teachers can use Piaget’s cognitive theory of play in the kindergarten classroom to help the students become master learners. Major components of Piaget’s theory of play will be evidenced in my classroom through the division of the classroom into different centres or sections, each for a different type of play, as well as one where different types of plays can be organized in combination. For example, children will be given musical instruments like pianos and guitars to play.

Stems Cells Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stems Cells - Research Paper Example Stem cells refer to undifferentiated cells that have the capacity to differentiate and form specialized types of cells; these cells also have the ability for self regeneration. The potential of stem cells to differentiate encompasses the ability to develop and form other cell types. For instance, a totipotent stem cell such as a fertilized egg can develop into cell types such as embryonic membranes. In addition, a pleuripotent stem cell can advance and develop into cell types, which may emanate from all three germinal layers. Self-regeneration entails how stem cells divide, leading to the production of other stem cells. The division takes place symmetrically during the early stages of development. This means that each cell undergoes division, resulting to daughter cells that have the same potential (Panno 1). Later on, asymmetrical division takes place with one of the daughter cells produced during symmetrical division, leading to the production of a stem cell and another cell that has more differentiation. Stem cells tend to occur in most multi-cellular organisms. They have the ability to undergo mitotic cell division and renew themselves. As a result, they may differentiate into numerous specialized cell types Panno 10). There are two main sources of stem cells; these include embryos that may be formed during embryological development (embryonic stem cells) and adult tissue, which can also be referred as adult stem cells. Adult stem cells can also be referred as somatic stem cells; after the development of the embryo, they can be found all over the body. Embryonic stem cells emanate from a human embryo, which can be four or five days in the development phase known as a blastocyst Panno 12). Cloning refers to the process whereby there is the production of multiple offspring that tend to be identical. It entails the asexual production of a copy that looks exactly like the original. For instance, cloning can be used in the production of

Equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Equity - Essay Example Chancellor being unbound by Common Law, this gave rise to direct petitions to him by people who were disillusioned by unbending legal rulings and needed immediate remedy and this urgency and huge requirement led to appointment of Chancery Masters. Equity flourished for centuries, and gave relief to ordinary people with sensitivity and awareness of social difficulties. Equity deals with Inquisitorial procedure (based on questioning and examination by the judge) and judge can sub poena the suspects and witnesses to compel them to attend proceedings. We come across historical evidence that Common law courts resented the wide popularity of Court of Chancery. Contradictions and opposition went on for some time and reached the peak in 17th century dispute, The Earl of Oxford's Case (1615) and King James I had to order for Attorney General's intervention to stop Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor from bickering and according to King's dictum where there is a conflict between equity and common law, equity prevails and it holds good even today. Equity remains the name given to a set of legal principles practiced where English law is in vogue. Sometimes referred to as Natural Law, it is part of English legal tradition. Sources of Equity are far removed from sources of Common Law. The set of remedies that law and equity offer differ and uphold the difference between common law and equity. Equity bends more towards injunctions or degrees with directives for acting or refrain from acting and this relief is considered more practical and based on sound common sense and social knowledge. Equity with its emphasis on fairness and flexibility has only general guides known as the maxims of equity. Criticism prevails that it has no set of rules of its own and is baseless. At times, it is called a set of fluctuating rules that the Lord Chancellor, depending on his common sense and conscience has collected. Today it is not as flexible as it used to be and got consolidated by systems and precedents and has attained certain rigidity in its approach. Earlier Chancellors were not legally trained and this was remedied when Sir Thomas Moore became Lord Chancellors in 1529 and only lawyers succeeded him. Today's Equity has equitable doctrines and impressive precedents and has grown into an independent branch of law. It is also referred to as Supplementary Law which is part of law of the land. "In my view equity has added to our legal system, together with a number of detached doctrines, one novel and fertile institution, namely the trust; and three novel and fertile remedies, namely the decree for specific performance, the injunction, and the judicial administration of estates," Maitland (1949, p.22). Equity has made substantial contributions to the body of law in the form of trusts, mortgage and equitable jurisdiction through Natural Justice. It adopted a more metaphysical approach than common law, whose approach is materialistic, while give preference for substance over form, and preventing use of statutes as instruments of fraud. No doubt,

Information System and Knowledge Management Essay

Information System and Knowledge Management - Essay Example Ans: In Information systems the name of a particular aspect does not represent its identity. It can be catered to several aspects of Information system. In data communication terminology, data is sent across several networks and it faces possible threats of stealing information by intruders. Thus obscuring data is essential and thereby name is hidden from its identity for safety reasons. It is also termed as encryption where the original data or identity is concealed and does not represents its real name. The concept of I-names and IP addresses where the original name is usually hidden with user friendly ones are also a good example. The domain names are usually represented by user friendly names which are in reality numbers which represents a unique address. Domain names are intended to unambiguously associate a name to an IP address. This cultural identity and empowerment comes from seeing communication and identification occurring in a way that seems natural in one's native language. While the bulk of the content on the Internet has been in English, this is increasingly changing. (Christine, 2006) The importance of the distinction is a balanced presentation of whether names should be allowed to represent its identity or not. Online personal spaces which allow a person to be known over the internet are often represented by his identity and his real name is often hidden. For instance, in many cases in these spaces it is difficult to check the validity of the information declared by a user, and therefore to trust the validity of the "displayed" identity (for instance people do not hesitate to change gender in online forums or online games). For instance, a... The importance of the distinction is a balanced presentation of whether names should be allowed to represent its identity or not. Online personal spaces which allow a person to be known over the internet are often represented by his identity and his real name is often hidden. For instance, in many cases in these spaces it is difficult to check the validity of the information declared by a user, and therefore to trust the validity of the â€Å"displayed† identity (for instance people do not hesitate to change gender in online forums or online games). For instance, a fantasy world will give an insignificant employee in the real world the opportunity to become a renowned knight, a blog will provide a professor the possibility to become a rock and cultural critic, and a dating system will permit an introvert to overcome his/her shyness in an online world and to engage in some relationships with individuals of the opposite gender. The negative approach to the distinction is that enormous fraud is taking place with regard to identity theft and false impersonation which results in a breach of law and trust. There are several ways in which universal categories obscure important information. In the field of astronomy, it is observed quite a much. The scientific case is itself controversial, but many scientists and philosophers believe in the existence of unobservable, provided the theories that postulate them best explain the observable phenomena under study. For example, many believe the universe contains â€Å"black holes".

Prescriptive and Emergent Strategic Planning Essay

Prescriptive and Emergent Strategic Planning - Essay Example The paper throws light on strategic planning process as part of strategic management that has been applied by business managers over the years. The process involves a formal analysis of the market forces and developing an operational plan to be adopted by the organization in terms of resource allocation and the control mechanism. Strategic management will involve formulating the mission, vision, values, roles, responsibilities, goals, and objectives of the organization and developing policies to be implemented to achieve these objectives. Strategic planning is one of the management tools. It involves making principles, decisions, and steps to define what an organization will do and how it will be done in relation to the expected future trends in a given market. Planners often use economic theories to formulate the operational strategies to be adopted by the organizations. Nonetheless, the future may not fit these economic models and the intended patterns according to these strategies may not be realized finally by the organization. The traditional approach to strategic planning did not consider the dynamics in the business operations. In theory, the operations of an organization can be fully planned whereas in practice it is not possible. Essentially a strategic planning process should involve developing a mechanism to respond to the circumstances that will be encountered in a business environment regardless of whether or not the conditions were known to the planners during the planning process. (Management FAQs, n.d). Since the contemporary market is dynamic and the strategic models that are developed based on economic theories may not apply, alternative approaches to strategic planning are often used by organizations. Business organizations operating in the dynamic business environment may often encounter situations that require quick responses that cannot be made through the formal strategic planning processes (The Open University, 2012). An emergent strateg y is a situation where the realized pattern is different from the pattern that was expressly intended by the planners (Mintzberg, 1994). The essence of the emergent strategic planning approaches is to manage the dynamics that is observed. The emergent strategic planning does not originate fully from the minds of the planner. Much of it is determined by the factors that are prevailing at a given time that may not favor the realization of the intended objectives and goals. This paper provides an evaluation of the effectiveness of the traditional prescriptive strategic planning in relation to the current economic climate. Another category of alternative strategic planning approaches are also considered with an emphasis on the emergent strategic planning. Prescriptive strategic planning Strategic planning is one of the tough managerial tasks in business operations since it is at times complex and very challenging. It has been pointed out that planning is ‘a formalized procedure to produce an articulated result in the form of an integrated system of decisions’ (Mintzberg, 1994, p.12). The organizations are faced by a series of decisions to make. The organizations have several needs to be accomplished, and which may not be accomplished at the same time owing to the limited resources that these organizations have. The strategic planning will involve making decisions and actions that are more significant towards helping the organization achieve some if not all of the objectives (Management FAQs, n.d). Planning involves bringing mediation and some kind of compromise/agreement between the business and the environment. It involves forecasting into the future and meditating what should be done long before the situation is realized. The prescriptive thoughts to strategic pla

Information System and Knowledge Management Essay

Information System and Knowledge Management - Essay Example Ans: In Information systems the name of a particular aspect does not represent its identity. It can be catered to several aspects of Information system. In data communication terminology, data is sent across several networks and it faces possible threats of stealing information by intruders. Thus obscuring data is essential and thereby name is hidden from its identity for safety reasons. It is also termed as encryption where the original data or identity is concealed and does not represents its real name. The concept of I-names and IP addresses where the original name is usually hidden with user friendly ones are also a good example. The domain names are usually represented by user friendly names which are in reality numbers which represents a unique address. Domain names are intended to unambiguously associate a name to an IP address. This cultural identity and empowerment comes from seeing communication and identification occurring in a way that seems natural in one's native language. While the bulk of the content on the Internet has been in English, this is increasingly changing. (Christine, 2006) The importance of the distinction is a balanced presentation of whether names should be allowed to represent its identity or not. Online personal spaces which allow a person to be known over the internet are often represented by his identity and his real name is often hidden. For instance, in many cases in these spaces it is difficult to check the validity of the information declared by a user, and therefore to trust the validity of the "displayed" identity (for instance people do not hesitate to change gender in online forums or online games). For instance, a... The importance of the distinction is a balanced presentation of whether names should be allowed to represent its identity or not. Online personal spaces which allow a person to be known over the internet are often represented by his identity and his real name is often hidden. For instance, in many cases in these spaces it is difficult to check the validity of the information declared by a user, and therefore to trust the validity of the â€Å"displayed† identity (for instance people do not hesitate to change gender in online forums or online games). For instance, a fantasy world will give an insignificant employee in the real world the opportunity to become a renowned knight, a blog will provide a professor the possibility to become a rock and cultural critic, and a dating system will permit an introvert to overcome his/her shyness in an online world and to engage in some relationships with individuals of the opposite gender. The negative approach to the distinction is that enormous fraud is taking place with regard to identity theft and false impersonation which results in a breach of law and trust. There are several ways in which universal categories obscure important information. In the field of astronomy, it is observed quite a much. The scientific case is itself controversial, but many scientists and philosophers believe in the existence of unobservable, provided the theories that postulate them best explain the observable phenomena under study. For example, many believe the universe contains â€Å"black holes".

Talent Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Talent Development - Essay Example Today, it is trendy to subcontract and privatize metropolitan services especially in government organizations. However, human resource department suffers in the bases of status as compared to other sub-units in an organization. Perhaps, this is because of increasing manipulation of procession managers in human resource (HR), which erodes the scientific proficiency stand of the HR departments character (Farndale & Hope-Hailey, 2009). To correct this malice, talent development in the HR departments becomes vital in helping managers deal with future challenges of the company. Strategic efforts of developing leadership intervention begin earlier in the life cycle of an individual. It optimizes a genuine leadership development in the future. Current research suggests that, when an individual’s brain matures it is impossible to develop new things especially new languages, thus majority of schools introduces languages at much earlier ages (Stewart, 2005).Therefore, leadership development begins at an earlier time of an individual, so as to make good leaders in the future. The leaders can handle crucial challenges of the group in the future because of an earlier training. On the other hand, protecting market failure of an organization incorporates career direction and development as a critical subject. In terms of business language, career guidance views terms of â€Å"market- maker.† The sole reason for career development interventions involves creating a business for the company’s products. Career development makes education and labor m arkets work efficiently, by guarantying supply face actors within the markets ensuring admission to market information and legible market signals. Moreover, business in career direction likely delivers public interest as a market maker. Therefore, leadership intervention ensures a well established leadership roles in future markets,

Music History Essay Example for Free

Music History Essay Music, as they say, is a universal language. Unlike dialects, music can be understood by many sans, the lyrics spoken in a different country. The simple humming of a child, done in mostly minor chords, can make everyone feel a little emotional or sad. A happy song filled with trumpets, saxophones and lively guitar tabs can make people excited and get them all to dance. Music can unite people regardless of their age, gender and race, which is why it is considered a universal language. Through Those Years The history of music dates back before the 1800s, but that is only to put a legal timeline to the evolution of music. Since music is universal, it is then safe to say that it has started even in the beginning of the world. The first human beings, or the first animals, for that matter, depended on sounds that make up a structure filled with patterns that were easily remembered, which conveyed a meaning and made people do things like hunt for food, identify where the predator or the prey is, or go where they should go. Music was a sign and a symbol that represented something (Murray, 2004, p. 773). Technically, though, music before the 1800s existed already, in a more technical sense of the concept. Music was then not just a collection of different sounds. It became a study where people researched about it. During the 18th century, the book entitled History of Music was written and published by GB Martini. Its original title was Storia Della Musica. Other books followed after GB Martins, and among the many books that were published after the first one were De Cantu de Musica Sacra and Scriptores Ecclesiastici de Musica Sacra. The types of music being studied, during these times, were classified as sacred music (Murray, 2004, p. 773). During 1800-1950, the evolution of music can be seen and musical history was being more defined. It didn’t take too long when Johannes Wolf started to do more studies about music, specifically the type of sound that emerged during the Medieval and the Renaissance times. Musicologists depended much on the studies conducted by Johannes Wolf. Because of this, a branch of art called historical musicology was termed and developed. This branch of study became a significant part of the Baroque music. It also became an instrument to the development of music during the Medieval and the Renaissance era. In particular, the movement of original performance has a lot to do with the scholarship associated with the history of music. Musicology became a big part of the arts, and became more and more developed as time passed by. It soon became a field of study. Consequently, journals, researches, articles and new analyses are being developed to branch them out altogether, in order to produce more studies to be published. Music was being more defined as years went by, and it was spreading like fire all over the world (Murray, 2004, p. 773). Ancient Music To understand the history of music and how it changes, it is then best to use a chronology to explain the turn of events. First there was ancient music. This type of music reflects all the types of music that developed in the different parts of the globe, like Mesopotamia, Egypt, Rome, Greece, China, India and Persia. In fact, music was already popular and rich in countries like Rome, Greece and Mesopotamia. Whatever was audible to the people were characterized through basic scales and tones, and then came music. Music spread throughout history through systems, either written or oral (West, 1994, p. 13). The definition of ancient music differs from time to time because of how much music is already revolving, and is continuously revolving. Today, if one defines ancient music, he can say that it is the modern sound that still resembles whatever is folk and traditional in that country. Today, there are modern sounds that Muslims, Egyptians, Jews, Asians, Persians, and Indians produce, but still has not left behind the oldest and most basic of original ancient music (West, 1994, p. 13). Persia, for example, flute, lute and guitars were already being played. Religious rituals were not complete in Persia without music. Music was significant in the lives of the Persians, especially in their spiritual life. It was in Mesopotamia where the first traces of writing were seen. It was the same time when researchers and historians traced instructions for music. The traces were fragmentary, but the authorities were sure that there was music during this time in this place. In fact, music was in made in thirds when it comes to harmony. The scales of the musical pieces produced were even diatonic (Leichtentritt, 2007, p. 14). Up to this day, though, how the researchers can interpret the symbols in the ancient Mesopotamia is not a hundred percent clear. There are still controversies that have yet to be discussed and settled. The interpretation of the symbols remains to be vague. But one thing is sure; all the notations made on the cuneiform tablets were clearly that of the tunings and strings of a musical instrument called a lyre. It was also during this time when harps were invented and became a big part of the history of music (Leichtentritt, 2007, p. 14). In India, ancient music was also active. Indians were always enthusiastic when it comes to the type of musical instrument they were playing. Musical instruments were all around India. This can be proven by how much instruments were amassed from the Indus valley civilization. Archaeological sites can prove all these. Indians had forms of music that includes Samaveda, Rigveda and Samagana. Their music was characterized from hymns, verses and melodies. It was in religious rituals where music was used the most. Indian music had basic ingredients to make a sound â€Å"Indian. † During the first part of a song, Shadja is always established. The grama, in this case, is being defined. Grama is the Indian term for the note of the scale. Indian music also lives by the two principles of consonance, which involves Avinashi and Avilopi. Avinashi is a fundamental note that should always be present in a musical piece, and with Avilopi it means that the note should never change, and that it should always stay there in that particular music piece, according to Leichtentritt (2007, p. 14). Greek’s music has evolved through time. The Greeks have original musical notation style. They developed their own, no matter how robust it is. While it is true that the best musicians in Greece did not necessarily use their musical notations produced originally, it cannot be denied that a lot of Romans and Greeks still use of that original musical notation. Greek music was not exactly monophonic, although this was almost established with their style of music (West, 1994, p. 13). There was always more than just a note to be sounded at a similar time. Double pipes and bag pipes were mostly used. These can be proven also by the ancient drawings seen on the vases and the walls of Greece. Even the oldest Greek books had authors who were able to describe what different musical techniques were being used during these times. Double flutes were also popular in Greece (West, 1994, p. 13). Middle Eastern After the Ancient music came the Middle Eastern music. Middle Eastern music was rich in that it was characterized by different styles from different regions. When one goes to the Middle East, there are different types of music that can be seen, like â€Å"zajal, Turkish folk music, Turkish classical music, sha’abi, Sufi music, rapbesk, rnbesk. Somali music, pizmonim, Persian folk, Nubian music, mawwal, Kurdish music, Egyptian Chaabi and el-Gil, Egyptian Classical music, Berber music, Arabic Andalusian, Arabesque music, Arabic rap, Arabic pop, Algerian rai and Arabic Classical Music (Stanley, 1997, p. 126). † The Islam community displays its great influence coming from the Middle East music. In fact, as the Islam used music in their rituals, Middle Eastern music spread even more quickly. The identity of Middle Eastern music is defined from the melody which is still present today in modern Middle Eastern pop and liturgical music (Stanley, 1997, p. 126). Classical Music Music evolves all around the world. In the West, music has gone a long way from the classical compositions of great masters like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Carl Philipp Emanuel Back, and Franz Schubert to the catchy modern pop songs of today. It’s kind of hard to imagine how music has evolved from those grand compositions to the contemporary quirky beats we listen to today, but that just proves how quickly music transforms according to the needs of the people (Stanley, 1997, p. 154). The Classical period in the West dates from about 1750 to 1820. Classical music refers to various styles of music with roots in the secular and liturgical European musical traditions of the 9th century. This type of music is characterized by romantic melodies using instruments like violins and flutes (Stanley, 1997, p. 154). One striking characteristic of classical music is its elegance. This elegance is achieved by the composers’ close attention to balance and proportion. For this reason, classical music never becomes obsolete. Up to now, many people around the world, whether they live in the West or not, still listen to classical music. Some people study their structures and attempt to recreate classical music using modern instruments. Others simply enjoy their relaxing melodies, which may aid them to concentrate on their tasks or even sleep better. There is even a concept called â€Å"Mozart effect†, as explained by Stanley (1997), which says that children who are exposed to the classical music of the great genius that is Mozart are able to concentrate more on their tasks, thus resulting in better performance in school. This is just one example of the newly discovered benefits of music that are surprising ordinary people and experts around the world (Stanley, 1997, p. 8). Western Music through the Years As the power of the West became stronger and reached farther into different corners of the globe, music itself has gained the imprints of Western culture. More and more people heard and recognized the merits of Western music. Countries that were once colonies of Western countries are especially influenced by Western music because the language barrier is weaker. Today, the dominant music is the world comes from the West. Classical, blues, jazz, rock, hip-hop, ballads, R n B – all of these have roots in the West. The amazing thing is that since music is universal, people of different races and cultures around the world can appreciate these Western genres of music. Western music may influence local music, but the traditional character of music never goes away. For instance, in Japan today, pop music has obvious Western overtones, but most pop hits are all sung in Japanese. J-pop, as Japanese pop is locally called, is influenced by Western music in a lot of ways, but its characteristics are still a lot different from Western pop music. The Music of the ‘40s and ‘50s The invention and mass production of radios during the 1940s and 1950s facilitated an amazing development in musical styles. In many ways, World War II has also changed the face of music dramatically as people expressed their disappointments and rebelliousness against the war through music (Melton and Weinstein, 2001, p. 17). Rock and roll has its roots in the 1940s, along with other musical genres such as country, jazz, swing, folk, and boogie woogie. In the United States, different musical styles were expressed by different races. Blacks had difficulty hitting the mainstream until the king of rock and roll, Elvis Presley, sang rock and R n B. Elvis was able to show the whites the excellent beats of rock music, which made its crossover into mainstream a lot easier. Elvis eventually became one of the biggest icons of rock and roll in the United States and around the world (Melton and Weinstein, 2001, p. 17). The Music of the ‘60s and ‘70s Music received huge social influences again during the 1960s and the 1970s because of the Vietnam war, the Cold War, and the spread of the Civil Rights movement. During this period, music clearly became a platform for various causes, including feminism, race empowerment, sexual freedom, and other liberal ideas (Frith, et. al. , 2001, p. 77). There are many musical icons that gained fame during this tumultuous period in musical history. Musicians like Joan Baez and Bob Dylan pioneered new techniques in lyrical composition. These new techniques inspired more artists such as Cat Stevens, Carole king, Elton John, and James Taylor to create their own groundbreaking chart-topping hits. The ‘60s were filled with R n B hits that were a combination of secular and gospel music. Different kinds of soul music emerged in this time, including Philly soul, Memphis soul and Motown. Popular artists such as Marvin Gaye and James Brown also found fame and fortune in the 1960s (Frith, et. al. , 2001, p. 77). Of course, music in the 1960s and 1970s cannot be discussed without mentioning the band that is probably one of the biggest influences of contemporary music: The Beatles. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr drew huge crowds to their concerts and sold millions through their hits. The band not only became huge in England, but also in the United States and in other countries as far as the Philippines (Frith, et. al. , 2001, p. 74). One of the amazing things about The Beatles is their ability to change the musical landscape. While their early hits had rhythms and melodies that have the basics of rock and roll, their later albums explored new horizons. Their album, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was ranked by Rolling Stones magazine as the greatest album of all time. This recognition is due to the immense influence of this album on the musical styles of later genres of music (Frith, et. al. , 2001, p. 74). Music of the ‘80s and the ‘90s Western music continued to gain wide acceptance around the world during the 1980s. New Wave, hip-hop, punk rock, and heavy metal increased their markets and new musical stars were born. New Wave experimented with electronic sound and catchy, playful beats which people danced to. The various styles of rock music provided the youth the avenue to express their adventurousness and rebelliousness against the fast-paced modern world. During the 1990s, grunge musicians led by the band Nirvana took center stage in the music world. Their honest and rough lyrics reflecting the confusion and apathy of the youth, and their loud, distorted riffs gained millions of fans in the United States. Meanwhile, hip-hop also gained wider popularity as hip-hop stars such as Dr. Dre and Puff Daddy broke into the music scene with fresh raps and rhythms (Chambers, 2002, p. 166). The 1990s were also notable for the huge popularity of boy bands, which are boy groups that sang ballads with catchy beats and lyrics. Some of these boy bands included Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Westlife, and A1. Boy bands became hugely popular because of their romantic songs which people can sing and dance to. Another group that is worth noting is the Spice Girls who originated from the United Kingdom. This group symbolized the power of women through their songs and videos. Interestingly, the Spice Girls were a hit for both males and females. After the Spice Girls, many other girl bands soon formed, but none of them reached their extraordinary level of popularity (Chambers, 2002, p. 166). The State of Music Today Today, contemporary music is still strongly influenced by the West. Pop, rock, hip-hop, R n B, and other genres have Western musicians leading the pack. Local music in different countries, though, are also gaining wider acceptance by fusing with the dominant music of the West or borrowing some of its elements. Music today is also crisper and clearer; thanks to the high level of technology that humans have achieved through science. Albums are released in CDs or DVDs, and they can also be downloaded on the Internet. Storage of music became a lot simpler, too. Before, you need bulky gramophone records to store music. Now, all you need is a tiny universal serial bus (USB) storage device to archive all the music you want. MP3 players have also made listening to music easier since these devices can be worn or slip inside a pocket. People can now go anywhere listening to their favorite songs. The West has no monopoly over music, though. All around the world, many people are rediscovering the beauty of their own local melodies, and they are breathing new life into them again in the form of world music. This musical style makes use of indigenous instruments and they usually are not accompanies by lyrics. Less popular genres like this are usually produced by independent producers, thus the term â€Å"indie. † Indie though, has its own market and continues to grow in popularity as people try to taste new musical types (Chambers, 2002, p. 166). The Human Experience of Music People change as music transforms as we’ve seen in our discussion of the long continuing history of music. Music is an expression of the culture that gives birth to it, and it constantly bends as various influences impinge upon it. It is an art form that never stays the same, but evolves through time. Music though doesn’t transform on its own. Historical events shape music as they shape the lives of people. The art form becomes a reflection of the hopes, dreams, and grievances of the people that create and listen to it. We can see this clearly in the rebellious attitude of the music from the ‘40s and ‘50s because of World War II, and the free spirit of the music from the ‘60s and ‘70s as it protested against the Vietnam War and the Cold War (Frith, et. al. , 2001, p. 77). In many ways, musicians deliberately voice out their protests through the songs that they sing. For example, John Lennon’s â€Å"Imagine† is a clear reaction to the dangers of the Cold War and other social inequalities at that time (Frith, et. al. , 2001, p. 77). However, music doesnt always send clear messages all the time. In fact, most of the time, composers unconsciously express their sentiments and the sentiments of their generation through the beat of their songs, or through their melodies. Perhaps the greatest thing about music is its universality. Since everyone can appreciate good music, the art form traverses national and ethnic boundaries, bridging people together no matter where they come from. Good music will always be good music regardless of a person’s educational or cultural background. Of course, a person may need to expose himself repeatedly to a new genre to appreciate its beauty. But it’s not difficult to do that if the genre is indeed good. The universality of music is now more apparent than ever before because of the Internet. Musical influences are easier to share ever since artists living in opposite sides of the globe can listen to each other’s work. It’s not only artists though who benefit from the cyberspace, but also the listeners. Downloadable MP3 songs are all over the Internet, some of them free, others for sale for a small price. With a click of a mouse, a person online can listen to Middle Eastern music, classical music, rock and roll, hip-hop, world music, or whatever genre he wants. Music is bringing people closer and closer to each other. Time and space are quickly becoming negligible factors as people find satisfaction and comfort in just enjoying different musical styles. Old styles themselves are disappearing as traditional barriers are broken and various genres fuse together to create new ones. The result is that people are able to understand each other better through listening to different kinds of music. People are becoming more tolerant of each other’s differences as they see that theyre all just human beings enjoying music The future is bright for musicians and listeners around the world as technology allows music to cross more borders. Soon, everyone will be able to appreciate a variety of musical genres regardless of their original countries or ethnic backgrounds. As people listen to their CDs, MP3s and musical devices, they will realize that their hopes and dreams are one. They will realize that while music came from different corners of the world, it speaks of the universal desire of human beings for unity and peace. Bibliography Chambers, Stuart. (2002) Yes: An Endless Dream of 70s, 80s and 90s Rock Music : an Unauthorized Interpretative History in Three Phases. General Store Publishing House. Frith, Simon, Will Straw and John Street. (2001) The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock. Cambridge University Press. Leichtentritt, Hugo. (2007) Music, History and Ideas. Read Books Publications. Melton, William and Randy Weinstein. (2001). The Complete Idiots Guide to Playing the Harmonica. Alpha Books. Murray, Christopher John. (2004) Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850. Taylor Francis Publishing, Inc. Stanley, John. (1997) Classical Music: An Introduction to Classical Music Through the Great Composers Their Masterworks. Penguin Group USA. West, Martin Litchfield. (1994) Ancient Greek Music. Oxford University Press.