Development Of African Historiography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Development Of African Historiography - Essay Example The historians, mostly hailing from European nations, who relied on material and tangible discoveries as the only sources of information about the early life of any culture, classified the world into â€Å"civilizations† based on an inappropriate definition of the term referring only to societies that left evidences of complex social and cultural systems with a centralized authority that controlled labor, wealth, military forces and commissioned the construction of cities and towns and other public buildings, as well as works of ‘monumental’ art. (Ehret)This approach led to a distinction between different cultures around the world on the basis of intelligence that was measured mostly from written texts that could be translated and could provide a vision into the life of the early people, dismissing the rest of the world as ‘uncivilized’ and ‘unintelligent’ (Ehret) Such attitudes assisted the slave traders in undermining the humanity of the African people, looking down upon their traditional values as ‘primitive’, their ethnic communities as ‘tribes’, their nation as a ‘race’. (Ehret 4-9)These terms though originally meaning nothing degrading have come to be associated with ideas denoting a distinction from what is considered to be ordinary and accepted in a ‘civilized’ society and consequently such dismissals prevented the historians of that time to investigate events that accounted for African history. Thus the rich cultural life of a huge percentage of the population of the world has been left undiscovered due to the limiting beliefs and predetermined superiority of smaller class. Historians today, however, have understood the implications of such an error and have made efforts to develop unique research methodologies for investigating past events through mainly Oral Tradition and Archeology as well as other interesting sources such as genetics, linguistics, and botany.

Topic Selection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Topic Selection - Assignment Example The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the dangers of identity theft and how to prevent identity theft. The purpose of this topic is to illustrate the dangers of identity theft and how to prevent it. It will provide guidelines through which one can prevent identity theft and other crimes that are usually accompanied / associated with identity theft. It may be difficult to prevent this crime completely, but there are ways to contribute to its reduction. Identity theft can go for several days or even months unnoticed. This is due to the advancing of technology and skills. Victims of identity theft can be greatly affected financially, emotionally and sometimes physically. This is because once one is able to impersonate his victim, they can do whatever they want to them. Cases of identity theft need to be dealt with to prevent this stress. Thieves have discovered a way of accessing their victim’s emails and details which enable them to monitor their daily routine. In 2010, an article â€Å"Cyber Crime Made Easy" illustrated and brought out clearly how hackers used malicious software to access their victims details. There are several types of identity fraud; the most common type of them is credit card fraud. This is a short term fraud as the thief will be recognized faster by the credit card issuing company even before the owner knows about it (Keene, 2009). The internet contains a wealth of information. This is because of its versatility as it is used as a tool in performing social and economic activities. It is for this reason that the internet has been found to play a major role as a root for identity theft as hackers use it to acquire their victims’ personal information. In the past years, the rate of online shopping has been increasing. This has made it even easier for hackers to obtain peoples personal information such as; financial records, social security numbers, credit card numbers and

The Principles of Scientific Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Principles of Scientific Management - Essay Example However, the area of HRM is exceptionally complex and multilateral: there are many different theories and views on the nature, methods, and techniques of management described in the abundant organizational literature. Â  Since the emergence of organizational science in the late 19th - early 20th century, the scholars have been sharing two dominant views on organizational culture. Apologists of one paradigm led by Frederick Taylor and Harrington Emerson (School of Scientific Management) believed that organizational culture was just one of the tools to ensure greater control over employees. Representatives of another approach such as Elton Mayo, Abraham Maslow, and Douglas McGregor (Human relations school) postulated that organizational culture was supposed to develop and motivate the employees without excessively rigid control (Schultz & Shultz 2002). Although each of these major paradigms has contributed significantly to the development of contemporary HRM, they rely upon entirely different principles and assumptions. Â  The process of industrialization and sophistication of businesses that occurred during the last decade of the 19th century seriously changed the traditional managerial practices. Increasing the efficiency of labor became the key priority within the system of company-employee relationship. The concept of scientific management described by Frederick Taylor was the first systematic approach designed specifically to improve the labor efficiency of employees within the new system of work relationships (Taylor 1911). Taylor strongly believed that organizational culture was one of the most effective instruments to influence the employees and improve their performance and listed the most important elements of the ideal organizational culture. Â  Taylor believed that the most effective approach to managing human resources should not be different from the approach used to manage other elements of the production process. Consequently, the Taylorian model of management relied on the assumption that the average employee was lazy, ignorant, passive, and lacked the motivation to perform effectively.

The Emerald Forest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Emerald Forest - Essay Example This cleaning of forests angered the tribes living in the forests known as the Invisible people and The Fierce People (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The story gets its real essence when one-day Markhem takes his family for a tour of the forest and his son Tommy gets abducted by the Invisible people (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The invisible people are environmental friendly people, who are very close to nature considering it as their friend and living happily in their forest in their own community unless Markhem comes to destroy their peace and take away their home (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). They kidnap his son because they assume that Westerners or termites as they call them are the destroyers of the world, but the child is innocent and so should not live with these murderers. Tommy is adopted by the chief of the tribe Wanadi who loves and brings him up as his son. Markhem searches a lot for Tommy but does not find him until after ten years when Tommy rescues hi m while fleeing for his life from the Fierce People (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). Markhem asks Tommy to return to him and his world but Tommy refuses and says that now his world is this forest and his people are his tribe. Markhem even asks their chief Wanadi, who is the authority of the Invisible People to convince Tommy to return but Wanadi says that â€Å"If I tell a man to do what he does not want to do, I may no longer be the chief.† Meaning that even being the authority there he has no right to force people to do something they don’t want to do.... The chief does not give any command or order to his people, not even his son to follow, rather he understands that it is the basic right of every human being to follow his will and wish (â€Å"Proyect†). However in the modern western world, lives of humans are ruled by orders and commandments given sometimes by their parents, sometimes by teachers, later by their employees, and overall by the governments, policemen etc (â€Å"Proyect†). It was not just that there was a wide gap between the authority structures of these two societies but their entire life style, culture, norms, traditions etc all were opposite. The people of the traditional societies still use artillery, spears and arrows to fight and they walk to cover long distances (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The use of technology is very limited or almost nonexistent in their lives as they are closer to nature and lives together. In contrast to them, modern western society uses technology to a large extent (à ¢â‚¬Å"The Emerald Forest†). There are modern methods of fighting like machine guns and bombs, aero planes, railways cars etc to travel to far away distances in just hours, large machines are used for construction and to cut off forests. This advancement in technology has both its benefits and costs (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). With technology comes the easiness to do things and time gets saved in travelling. As Wanadi says to Markhem â€Å"When I was a boy, the edges of the world was very far away, but it comes closer each year.† However with benefits comes the cost too. As more vehicles are produced, so have the pollution from air, land and water increased as well (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). This pollution is destroying our respiratory system by going inside us

Youth crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Youth crime - Essay Example Exaggeration of media stories and incidences often leave both the reporters and the public confused, uneasy and suspicious. Though media entities work hard to generate interest among its viewers and audiences, it is important that they remain focused and disseminate true stories and incidents to the members of the society. Criminal activities associated with young people (17 years and below) include arson, breach of bail, breach of conditional discharge, and breach of statutory order, criminal damage, death or injury by reckless driving, domestic burglary, drug offences, fraud & forgery, motoring offences Non-domestic burglary, public order, racial aggravated offences, robbery , sexual offences, theft and handling , vehicle theft and violence against person. It is not easy for an average person to know whether the media is exaggerating incidences or not. However, exaggeration of media content can be identified through Stanley Cohen’s five pointers and by comparing official sta tistics from government agencies to information contained in media reports. Establishing whether youth crimes are spiraling out of control as reported by the media in the United Kingdom Establishing exaggeration of media reports on youth crimes can be difficult for an average person. ... These five pointers based on moral panic concept would be used to establish whether it is true that youth crime is spiraling out of control in the United Kingdom as portrayed by the media. First, it is good to establish whether the media has inflated youth crime rates (statistics). The media has given prominence to youth crime rates over other equally important happenings in Britain. Though youth crimes are only reported as they happen and do not run longer as compared to other stories, they are put as prominent information. Most media in the United Kingdom exaggerates criminal offences perpetuated by young people by putting youth crimes incidences in more prominent parts of the newspaper or the newscasts. In addition, some media uses age to show the magnitude and scope of crime perpetrators. Four year old children were suspected to be involved with arson, assault, burglary and possessing offensive weapons. Reporting children as perpetrators is hard to believe or imagine. Pickard (20 08) claimed that Britain have experienced alarming increases in publicized knife crimes since 2008. The knife crime stories about latest victims and perpetrators are placed in front pages of the newspapers and headlines in the newscasts. The media constantly remind members of the society on imminent danger they face each day as they leave their houses as young people embrace knives as latest fashion accessory. Figure 1 is a graph showing the number of young people who got involved in criminal offences between the years 2003 to 2010. According to the graph below, the number of young people who got involved in criminal offences increased steadily from 2003 to 2006. After 2006, the number of young people who

Generalization, Miniaturization and the case of Italo Calvino Essay

Generalization, Miniaturization and the case of Italo Calvino - Essay Example With the nexus of focus on Valdrada concentric upon the â€Å"eyes†, Calvino goes to great lengths to illustrate just what Marco Polo â€Å"saw† within the place and how he understood/interpreted this. Whereas Marco Polo was of a relatively high social class and his level of education was above that of the average individual during Renaissance Italy, Calvino illustrates that he was not inclined to attempt to use the scientific method; instead, Polo relates complex and instrinsicly nuanced facets of Valdrada in a matter of fact way. This matter of fact detail and the pedagogical nature in which he discusses these aspects lends the reader to engage with these facets of Valdrada as nothing short of fact. Yet, by comparing the quote of Susan Stewart, provided in the introduction, the reader is cautioned as to the ramifications of not objectively considering what details might be overlooked within such a cursory approach. The visual representation that is reflected within Calvino’s section on Valdrada denotes, among many other things, the following: â€Å"The ancients built Valdrada on the shores of a lake, with houses all verandas one above the other, and high streets whose railed parapets look out over the water. Thus the traveler, arriving, sees two cities: one erect above the lake, and the other reflected, upside down† (Calvino 123). Within this literary statement of fact, the reader is represented with a picturesque landscape that can easily be miniaturized to reflect a greater understanding for the region and people in question.

Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Essay John Steinbeck, the American author of this emotional novel, was bought up in Salinas. His family owned a lot of land, therefore meaning he was quite rich. He went to university to study writing and left without a degree as he dropped out half way through the course. However he took up work as a labourer and a journalist. I noticed how Steinbecks background really inspired him to write a book like Of Mice and Men. It shows how he wants to let out all his emotions as a child into this book. He, George and Lennie have a lot in common. The American Dream is belief in the freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States to achieve their goals in life through hard work. Everyone has a dream that they want to achieve somewhere in their lifetime. There are two different types of The American Dream. The first is the entitlement of land- freedom, just like George and Lennies dream. The other is luck, fame and money just like Curleys wifes dream in the book. In 1929 the Wall Street Crash was introduced which led to on going recession. This also led to failed businesses, harsh poverty and long term unemployment. At this point men couldnt afford to have families so therefore men travelled alone just like George and Lennie. There was no heath care so the only hope left was dreams. The book is called Of Mice and Men but is that what it has always been called? The actual title was Something that happened. This suggests something that you as the reader were not involved in. Steinbeck also wrote this book as a detached narrator, so he as well was not involved in the action. He began writing it in early 1936 and it was published in 1937. The book was immediately successful. Even now this book shows so much meaning of how The American Dream was so important to the people in the 1930s. This was because dreams were the only thing American people had to depend on. Dreams can take you away from the real world. A dream can sometimes make a person be very selfish. Sometimes you need to come away from your dream and think about others. Throughout the first chapter of Of Mice and Men is just setting the scene. The first time we saw George and Lennie was in an open pool. They soon find a bunk house with lots of other men to share with. The ranch where both men worked was in Salinas, where Steinbeck himself was brought up. Steinbeck was showing that the settings were slowly closing in so you feel more isolated. Steinbeck produces two very different characters which are most like him. That is the reason why both characters have such a major roll to play. George and Lennie have the most unique bond throughout Of Mice and Men. Both have gone though very hard times with Lennie being retarded and George having to keep a constant eye on him and not being able to pursue his dream alone. We start to get an image that Lennie has a disability in the early stages of the book, just the way he behaves. Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all. Look George. Look what I done. This shows us that Lennie has a child-like mind and wants to impress and please George. It is very enigmatic that two men are travelling together, alone. However this was very typical to do this at the time because of societys pressure. What is very astonishing about Lennie and George is that they are both very different from each other. Lennie is a big man who has a disability because he got hit by a horse when he was younger. George is a complete contrast to Lennie as he is a small man always aware of what is going on around him and conscious of what is happening. George and Lennie both have a dream but are not necessarily the same. Steinbeck represents this by describing in such detail what they want together. We could live offa the fatta the lan. The irony is about the countryside they are in, it is rich. They are living of the bounty of nature. Money and family are not mentioned in the dream. It provides them with everything they need. We could have a few pigs. When the fruit come in we could can it. Every Sunday wed kill a chicken or a rabbit. Steinbeck uses we a lot in the dream. It shows that the dreamed is shared between Lennie and George. The repetition emphasises this. Steinbeck creates the dream mainly by using dialogue. By having George and Lennie discuss their dream together allows the reader to have a sense that they have been planning this dream together and not alone. George and Lennies interpretation of the dream is slightly different. Lennie wants to tend the rabbits as he likes feeling soft things. George also has a dream of his own. He could get a job, eat at any place he likes, stay in a hotel, and get a gallon of whisky. However Lennie is stopping him from doing all of this. George needs Lennie and Lennie needs George. All George wants is love and affection and he knows he cant get that, because after everything that has gone on, it is hard. George is still with Lennie because Lennie himself is a big man so he can protect George from other people. Lennie is stopping George from achieving many dreams, but the reason why George is still with him is because Lennie is the only person George has got. George has no family nor does he have friends. He only has Lennie. George has a short temper and lashes out at Lennie very often verbally. Lennie is a fragile man who doesnt like seeing his comrade like this. You can tell that they both care about each other an awful lot. Another way that Steinbeck represents the American Dream is how Candy lost his companion. Candy had a lot of dreams when his dog was alive. This is because the dog had been through everything with him, but now that he and his dog was getting old there was only one thing left for Carlson to do. A shot sounded. Candys dream had just been killed. The second that bullet hit that dog, Candys dreams were shattered. His dog was a part of Candys dreams A dream could be in the in the past or the future. In Candys case it was all in the past. His dog had been through everything with him. This is a similarity between George and Lennie who have also been through everything with each other. Candy knows that nobody could ever replace his dog. Slim offers him any of the pups but Candy just remained silent. Candy feels that he cant achieve anything without his dog anymore. That is why he he lays in his bed silent for a long time. He treats the dog like a human, as part of his family, someone really close. That is what makes Candy be so silent for a long period of time. As Candy lays there silent on his bed he overhears George and Lennie talking about their dream. Again Steinbeck reveals the dream by dialogue. They talk about how one day they are going to get out of the ranch and live offa the fatta the lan. As Candy listens to their dream in such detail he asks if he can be a part of it. An old dream has ended but a new one is just beginning. Dreams are pacific to an individual however sometimes a dream could be a part of a team. This is exactly what Candy wants to do with George and Lennie. He wants to share their dream and be a part of it. After all shared dreams are much stronger than individual ones. Steinbeck now introduces and individual character that defines him from the rest of the ranchers. Crooks is the only black man on the ranch therefore he is excluded from society. He is separated by being pushed into a disassociated room. He is not allowed to socialise with the other ranchers because of his race. In the 1930s Americans were against anyone who were coloured. These people would not get treated fairly and would usually get beaten up just for the colour of their skin. Crooks father did not want him socialising with white people because he knew that they will abuse him. The American Dream is about equality of all men. This is where Crooks rights come in. The irony here is that segregation leads to a better life. A very unusual thing about Crooks is that he is the only one who can read; hence conveying that he is very well educated. We know that Crooks has already had his dream just by the way in which he speaks to Lennie. Crooks and Lennie both have a disability. Although he feels appreciated that Lennie is around him, Crooks speaks in a very negative manner about Lennies dream. An never a God damn one of em ever gets it. Crooks is contradicting to Lennie that dreams can never be achieved. However if you dont try to achieve your dream, it will never come true. Crooks suddenly changes his mind about the dream and hesitates as he asks Lennie if he could be a part of the dream too. Crooks dream is about having those long dark nights alone change by having people talk to him and communicate with him. His dream is all about regaining sense of belonging with others. Crooks heart wants the dream but his mind is not allowing him achieve it because his background has knocked his courage. We know from the American Dream, his experiences in the past have made him so brittle and angry. However Crooks can be very venerable to people that are more powerful than him, such as Curleys wife. Steinbeck introduces another unique character into Of Mice and Men. Curleys wife is the only girl on the ranch therefore she is also excluded from society. Even though she is more powerful than Crooks, she is not all that different from him. Both are very lonely and want someone to talk to. Both are at a disadvantage, Crooks with his race and Curleys wife with her gender. Curleys wife does not know what to do in life. We know her dream was to be an actress, but was crushed by her very own mother. Now her dream is to be more grown up. She dresses like an adult with make-up, her hair done up and a stylish dress. However she is still described by Steinbeck as a girl. A girl was standing there. She wants to be respected from the men all around her. Being the only woman in the ranch can be intimidating. In the 1930s woman were less valued than men. They had fewer rights. The reason why she married Curley is to get some attention and be more respected because he was the ranchers son. Curleys wife is a mercenary; she married him for his money and as a rebound for her loss as an actress. Curley is very much respected by all the men so Curleys wife married him so all the men could look up to her just as they do to Curley. Curleys wife unexpectedly lets her true feelings out to Lennie. I dont like Curley. He aint a nice fella. This shows that she is using him but at the same time Curley is using his wife. However Curleys wife moved to the countryside to get a better life but after two weeks she found out that she had made a mistake. She already hasnt got a good reputation. All the men think she is a bit of a tart. Two weeks married, and got the eye. This shows that she hasnt been married to Curley for a short period of time and yet she is being judged already just the by the way she looks and dresses. Curley says he keepin that hand soft for his wife. We instantly know that Curley himself is an abuser. We know this because his dream was to become a boxer. Having not achieved this dream he converts it into abusing women. Curleys wife is a lot more than what she looks. There is always a person inside who has a dream. The death of Curleys wife is very significant of Steinbecks treatment of the theme of the American Dream. We know this because Lennie was the one who shook her, shook her so much that he broke her neck, and killed her. Lennies character is very timid, so expectedly her runs away, trying to hide from society. We as the reader know Lennies dreams are going to come to an end, but we dont know how. That is how Steinbeck creates the atmosphere which makes the reader what to carry on. Lennie was the one who killed Curleys wifes dreams, so now Curley is going to kill his. When Lennie dies, the whole dream dies. We know that both Lennie and George do not have a family. They have each other instead. They care about one another which makes them so unique. I want you to stay with me here. This shows that even know Lennie thinks George is going to give him hell, he isnt. He cares about Lennie and he knows that if he doesnt kill Lennie himself now that the other ranch men will kill him, brutally. George slowly but in a clever way kills Lennie. He has made the choice of how Lennie is going to die. This is a complete contrast of how Candys dog died. George keeps the American Dream alive so it is the last thing that Lennie remembers. Steinbeck describes the dream in such detail so we can actually picture it ourselves. Lennie remembers that one day they could live offa the fatta the lan. Lennie has no idea of what George is building up to do. However we as readers know what is going to happen. Steinbeck builds up suspense of how George gradually kills Lennie. George describes how they are going to live with pigs and chickens. This is typical of the American Dream, a chance to get rich and have land. However that dream was collapsing all around them as they live in a poor barn house where all the men share the same room. Lennie is very reluctant about why George has forgiven him. Lennie says that he might as well just go away to show that after George said if I was alone I could live so easy. Lennie thinks by doing this it would make George happy. We know that if George kills Lennie, he could no longer for fill his dreams without his companion. Gradually Lennie gets very excited about their dream. Lets get that place now. That is when George pulls the trigger and lets Lennie go, for good. George made this choice of killing his best friend. Of what looks horrific, he is actually doing Lennie a massive favour. He was going to be killed anyway so why not do it with a blissful memory rather than a bloody one.