Analysis Of Sir Gawains Character Essay -- Arthurian Legends English

Analysis Of Sir Gawain's Character In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the character of Sir Gawain, nephew of the famed Arthur of the Round Table, is seen as the most noble of knights who is the epitome of chivalry, yet he is also susceptible to mistakes. His courtesy, honor, honesty, and courage are subjected to various tests, posed by the wicked Morgan le Fay. Some tests prove his character and the chivalrous code true and faultless, like the time he answers a challenge although it might mean his death, or remains courteous to a lady despite temptation. Other tests prove his character and the chivalrous code faulty such as the time he breaks his promise to his host, and when he flinches from a harmless blow. The first test to his courage, courtesy, humility and loyalty toward his king, Arthur, occurs when the Green Knight suddenly appears at Camelot’s New Year's feast. He offers the Round Table a challenge: the game is for a man to strike him with his axe, and twelve months and a day later, the Green Knight will return the blow. When Arthur accepts the challenge, Gawain interferes and asks Arthur with humility and courtesy to â€Å"grant him the grace to stand by him† (SGGK l. 343-344). He confesses that â€Å"he is the weakest, and of wit feeblest, and the loss of his life would not be a great tragedy at all because his body, but for Arthur’s blood, is not worth much" (SGGK l. 354-357). He asks to be granted the privilege to claim the Green Knight's challenge because it does not befit a king. Proof of Gawain’s character is substantiated by his noble acceptance of the Green Knight’s beheading game in order to â€Å"release the king outright from his obligation†(SGGK l. 365). It shows courage and loyalty that even among famed knights suc... ...love for his life. Thus Gawain deserves less blame for his misdemeanor minor transgression. Although Gawain, like most us, is prone to evil thoughts of selfishness and dishonesty, and takes a cowardly action, "men still hold him dear" in Bercilak's castle as well as in Arthur's Camelot (SGGK l. 2465). His friends are not as disappointed with him as he is disappointed with himself. He holds himself in contempt, "rages in his heart and grieves" for the shame in his actions and the green belt that he must bear (SGGK l.251-252). He wears the girdle as a badge to remind him of his faults and to lower his pride when it becomes inflated. But he has learned from his mistakes and becomes an even better knight. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight in The Norton Anthology of English Literature 7th ed. vol.1. Abrams, M. H et al. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2000. 157-210.

Make Poverty History Essay

Poverty and the related problems of unemployment, economic inequality, poor social infrastructure and inability to access basic needs and services have for long been part of the international community. In 2005, the European Union developed the slogan â€Å"make poverty history†, that was directed at uniting developed countries in formulating policies for the eradication of poverty. The policy calls for a shift of focus from massive individual industrialization to synchronized growth of wage and capital goods, from substitution for self sustained development to export led growth. The solutions to the major problems of unemployment, poverty and income inequalities for all countries lie within policies for the integration of changes in domestic production and expenditure patterns. The â€Å"make poverty history† calls for a change of attitude from the developed countries to formulate policies and establish assistance for the improvement of the economic status of the poor especially those in third world countries. The policy aims at ensuring that the real world competition fair, the mobility of labor sufficient for development purposes and the governments aware of their fiscal responsibilities to the poor within their borders. Is It Possible? Many arguments support the proposition that if all developed countries united and came under one umbrella in fight against poverty, the issues related to poverty would be eliminated in a few years. The developing countries are in need of an economic mechanism in the international world that is capable of blending the interests of economic agents with those of the state more coherently. The economic mechanism needs to recognize the prevailing growth obstacles that can be considered for economic reforms. Mawhinney (2002,p. 157)Countries that are part of an international economic order such as the international trade organization, can be thought to be a subset of the organization, with the rules and regulations implemented by the organization affecting the behavior of the nations with respect to implied international repercussions. As such the economic order consists of â€Å"explicit or implicit† principles, rules and norms around which members are expected to converge. The rules and regulations prevail on the existing practices for making and implementing policies. It follows therefore that the decisions of the umbrella body will by far have more effect on individual country policies. For this reason the â€Å"make poverty history† polices that are implemented by the economic integration bodies will have a much higher success rate and impact on individual member country policies. International trade and economic organizations have time and again prevailed upon individual governments to change their economic policies by imposing sanctions and quotas that make it difficult for the counties to trade. The economic and trade organization being one of the largest and most influential economic organization has the unique power o influence changes in the developed and developing countries. They can impose salient features and prevail upon countries to reform their economic and social policies that are enhancing and promoting the spread of poverty. There is however a growing concern among experts that questions the impact of international economic organizations such as the European Union of individual and government state policies. Although the organization may have some form of control on their members, they are not very influential when it comes to private government policies. They may therefore be unable to influence their members with economic policy changes especially if such said members are powerful within their representation in the organization. Additionally, even though the economic changes can be made by the members, economic organizations cannot influence the change by other non-member countries. This means that the impact of the policy changes will only be felt by a small percentage of the poor. The impact may in fact be so small that it does not justify the implementation of new policies. How Can It Be Achieved Improvement of the commodity market: the developing countries and low income groups are haunted by the trade policies in their countries which are characterized by duality. The main parts of such markets (e. g. in agriculture) barter forms of transactions, rather than monetary transactions take place. The â€Å"make poverty history† campaign aims at educating the government and policy makers in the states to implement policies that encourage monetary trade. The value of the products coming from these countries is often higher than the value of the products included in the barter trade. The income trickling down to the producer and his workers therefore is much smaller than would have been possible in the monetary markets. The state governments should take advantage of the quality products to demand higher prices for their individual producers and exporters. Industrialization: for more than a quarter century, the debate on industrial policy has ebbed and flowed, with it the interest and commitment of state governments. The international community has always been aware of the importance of industrialization to increase employment and per capita income of the poor. Yet even with all the evidence little has been done to improve the state of the industrial process. The focus has quickly shifted to taking advantage of the countries with not industrialization power. Industries have to be allowed the chance to develop in order for the poor countries to be able to compete effectively in the international markets. Premised on the notion of strategic trade policies, proponents of this policy argue that it is possible for governments and the international community to intervene effectively to support local and national firms. In the developing countries policies there has been an impression that industrial policy is no longer considered part of the political agenda, and that policies of privatization and deregulation have replaced them. While the latter do reflect an increased emphasis on market force, they are not key factors to the improvement of competitiveness. Therefore a change in government policies may be necessary to redefine the industrial polices and the principle tenets of the last two decades. Unemployment and income distribution: the development designs for economies have to be structured around the objectives of maximum impact on employment. In the process of implementing policies for labor absorption, its quality and productivity have also to be enhanced so that the average level of incomes is not adversely affected. Without proper training and improvement of labor production, absorption of more people to employments will only lead to adverse effects on the income distribution patterns, (Strange and Bayley 2008, P. 42). In addition, a re-distribution of originating incomes has to be achieved simultaneously with changes in the product mix which match the altered structure of demands. This implies a much larger output of basic consumer goods and essential services like education, medical care, public transport and cheaper communication. Control population growth: the full employment and higher average income cannot be realized within a reasonable time structure if the poor populations continue to grow at the present rates. Consequently it is important for governments to pursue more effective polices of family planning and population control. The most powerful aids in this policy include the spread of general education and health facilities, more working opportunities for women and higher family incomes. Nevertheless, specific measures to promote later marriages, birth control practices, and health education have to be intensified in the low income earning groups along with programmes to alter social attitudes towards family size, male progeny and women property rights. Without a change in the total matrix, the desired benefits of income distribution and poverty alleviation cannot be achieved. Income Inequality and Bridging the Gap The probability of redistributing current incomes on any scale, while at the same time having positive welfare effects in the short run, is likely to be severely limited. There may be high cost in terms of growth in the long term from potentially damaging effect on the incentives, savings and investment of the upper income group. The policies designed for income redistribution are also likely to face strong resistance from this group. There will be less resistance and hostility from the main investors in the economy if the redistribution of income does not affect their income in any way. However this then denies the logic of the income redistribution polices, (World Bank, 2008, p. 12). On the other hand investing in the human and physical assets of poverty groups is likely to have a high pay off in welfare terms as it will lead to income growth in groups that have higher welfare weights. But it may also require some sacrifice of output in the short run in so far as returns on investment in human capital take longer to develop. To this extent it may involve a short run cost to upper income groups but these groups may also benefit in the long run as the productivity and income of the poor improve. Poverty: Problem or Affluence The main issue in economic development is the discussion on whether poverty is the problem or wealth. The problem facing the economic development is the structure of the poverty scale and not the wealth. The country’s affluent contribute significantly to the national income and growth rate, while the poverty scales make it difficult for this impact to be accounted for. Personal income is spent on purchase of consumer goods and services, while a part of the same is saved. This is only possible for the wealthy who not only by their purchasing power influence the employment of others but also invest in new industries that improve the income earning of the poor. Issues to Be Considered In Poverty: Unemployment Employment generation is a major factor in curbing poverty. The employment programmes often have more impact on the poor than temporary relief during periods of scarcity. International communities have invested heavily in local industries in order to increase the employment index. By investing in local industries, the international community hopes to increase the chances for employment in the countries, (Blakely 2002, P. 57). Locally, apart from investment in industries, the government has formulated policies that encourage employment generation. The government aims at providing equal employment opportunities especially for the country’s youth by encouraging and supporting innovative self employment plans and encouraging institutional placement. Technology and Credit By making the technology available to citizens and small scale producers, experts imply that production will increase on a large scale while at the same time reducing the costs of production. The immediate impact will be higher income generation. Technology confers a superior position for small scale producers correlated by stronger willingness and capacity to bear risks. Small scale producers are transformed to large scale employers through the implementation and use of new technology measures, (organization for economic cooperation and development 2001, P. 160). To ensure that small scale producers and entrepreneurs can access the technology available to make production less costly for them, the American government has reduced the lending rate and increased its investment in the government credit programs. This means that more and more entrepreneurs can access the credit necessary to purchase new and useful technology. Assets and Skills The low income earners form a mixed group on the criteria of economic prospects and accessibility. They are less educated and therefore possess less skill to offer to the employment market. The international community has put pressure on countries with low education indexes to improve their provision of education. Additionally, implementation of adult programmes and technical colleges has seen an improvement in the human skills and as such the employment rate of the uneducated. It is a constant struggle for the American government to impose on its population the importance of education in the employment world. While in the previous years the high school dropout rate has been a major concern to education officials, it has now become the trend for high school drop outs to return to school in an attempt to acquire the high school diploma. Government policies have made the small document so glamorous and easy to achieve that more and more American citizens are being drawn by the prestige of the diploma. Welfare Programmes Welfare programmes play two different but equally important roles in removal of poverty. First, they try to provide subsidized cost or free a wide range of amenities and services which the poor would not be able o acquire for a long time given their low and slow growing incomes. The second role is that of helping the poor invest themselves to improve the attributes important for participation in economic development processes such as orientation, reception, absorption capacity and ability to take initiatives. Although internationally and locally, the welfare policies and programs have drawn a lot of attention and increased their spread to the poor populations; careful monitoring and implementation of these programmmes is a dimension calling for priority attention . The polices need to be directed and implemented only when the poor move sufficiently beyond the subsistence level to appreciate the importance and advantage of investing in themselves European Union: Competition Policy Although the pitfalls of monopoly and anti-competitive conduct have long been recognized by economists, the application of polices to curb such behavior has only been done recently. It is the uncompetitive nature of today’s markets; where the large firms are given monopoly and control of the market forces that is enhancing the poverty scale. If the small firms lack the opportunity to compete in new industries, then it means that they will either go bankrupt and the unemployment rate will continue to increase. Like in the European markets it is necessary for the government to encourage competition by providing incentives for smaller firms wishing to enter monopolized industries and formulating integrated markets, (Pinder and Usherwood 2007, p. 67). The articles in the European Union agreement discourage and often penalize the action of firms and governments that may discourage competition and influence the market structure. This means that large and influential firms and governments are not allowed to impose unfairly high or low prices, limit production or apply specific conditions that are not related to transition of goods. Governments and firms are permitted to seek aid to improve their competitive nature and promote their contribution to the economic development. Conclusion Make poverty history proposal envisages fundamental changes in the role of governments and economic bodies in development. The shift to be considered is towards the sustainable development of the community. The make poverty history campaign has taken root in a number of countries that have committed themselves to implementing economic and social policies that will improve the lives of the low income earners. The United States is among the active players in the campaign to end poverty. Not only has the country taken part in policy changes but it has also increased its budget that is aimed at providing economic assistance to countries struggling with poverty. The success of the â€Å"make poverty history† campaign has relied heavily on the economic sanctions implemented by major trade organizations and major players in international markets. Because of its ability to draw the support of major developed countries and international organizations, together with the campaigns’ global capacity, the â€Å"make poverty history† campaign is likely to be the most successful poverty eradication program to date. References 1. Blakely. E. J. 2002. Planning Local Development, Third Edition. London. Sage Publications 2. Mawhinney. M. 2002. Sustainable Development: Understanding the Green Debates. Oxford. Blackwell Publishing 3. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 2001. Sustainable Development: Critical Issues. Washington. OECD Publishing. 4. Pinder. J and Usherwood. S. 2007. The European Union: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford. Oxford University Press 5. Strange. T and Bayley. A. 2008. Sustainable Development: Linking Economy, Society, Environment. Washington. OECD Publishing 6. World Bank 2008. World Development Indicators 2008, Volume 2008. Washington. World Bank Publications

Technology is Killing Humanity

Today, our world is a lot quieter than it used to be. As a student and as a passenger of public transport, I now barely see people smiling, talking or making eye contact at schools and in public places. Finally, I realize why people rarely communicate with others now, and this kind of big issue is caused by a tiny thing that we all carry in our pockets every single day: smartphone. In conclusion, the excessive use of mobile Internet devices is killing humanity by destroying the meaningfulness of communication and human interaction.The eyes are the windows to the soul as the popular phrase. According to Quantified Impressions, a Texas-based communications analytics company, a normal adult makes eye contact between 30 and 60 percent of the time in a daily conversation, however, emotional connection is built when eye contact is made during 60-70 percent of the conversation. (Gregoire) In other words, the more eye contact, the more of a connection is made. Unfortunately, people now tend to avoid or reduce eye-contact with others because their eyes are glued to their mobile devices most of the time.According to recent estimates, the average American spends more than five hours per day using digital devices on computers and mobile devices (the number is relatively higher for those who work in front of computer screens), and another four and a half hours watching television. (Gregoire) If we assume that an average person everyday spends eight hours on sleeping, one and a half hours on transportation, eight hours on work, and four and a half hours on watching television (as the research above suggests), that person only has two hours left to do whatever he or she wants to do.Would that person spend two hours on communicating with others face to face? Seemingly, the answer is â€Å"No. † Some people may argue that mobile Internet devices actually provide more opportunities for us to communicate with our family, friends or potential friends which can bring people all over the world closer, because people now can use those social Apps such as Facebook, Tweeter and Instagram to interact with others through their smartphones anytime anywhere. Nevertheless, their opinion is totally contradictory to the fact.Instead of bringing people together, social Apps are now changing the human society into a world that is full of narcissism. Today, most people only care about the number of likes, comments and followers they have on their accounts instead of truly sharing their life experience. Unfortunately, none of us are as popular as pop stars. Therefore, people need to do extra work to earn more likes and comments, and the only way to satisfy their vanity is to keep commenting on others' posts. This kind of act can cause a vicious circle as people cannot stop making meaningless comments.Indeed, most of us are not truly interacting with others but throwing garbage to them as well as receiving garbage from them anytime anywhere. Besides using social Apps to get those so-called happiness, people have been falling in love with text messages for a long long time and there is no sign this phenomenon is fading. Even though texting is a little bit more similar to the traditional forms of communication such as writing letters or emailing, its impact to human communication is extremely negative and destructive.â€Å"Miscommunication is perhaps one of the most common, if not the most frustrating problems with Smartphones and relationships, especially when it comes to text message,† says Lindsey Chadwick, an online editorial staff. When we actually talk to a person no matter face to face or through a phone call, we can clearly understand the tone and the meaning that the person tries to express; however, a text message can confuse us or perhaps it can cause some problems between us and our friends, and this is exactly what miscommunication is.The worst thing that is caused by text messages is that our young generation's literacy is get ting worse. According to Studentfirst. com, on the 2009 NAEP Reading Test, about 26 percent of eighth graders and 27 percent of twelfth graders scored below the â€Å"basic† level, and only 32 percent of eighth graders and 38 percent of twelfth graders are at or above grade level. (Report 1) If you pay attention to the way that our teenagers text, you can find a huge difference between their own language and the normal English.Plus, a recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, texting ranks as the number one mode of communication among them. Kids between the ages of 12 and 17 text a median of 60 times a day — up from 50 in 2009. (Samakow) As we can see, texting has becoming a teens' daily routine. Therefore, when they get used to the way they text their friends, they will tend to apply the same thing at school. In my opinion, the only way to make people do not excessively use mobile Internet devices is to lessen or limit their opportunity to reach the I nternet. Today, we have seen more and more mobile companies offer various â€Å"unlimited†package to the mobile users in order to let them access the Internet without any constriction. However, the mobile companies should stop promoting or offering this kind of service, and they should only provide â€Å"unlimited data† package to those who really have a strong need to text or to access the Internet, such as I. T. professionals or international businessman. Moreover, if someone applies an â€Å"unlimited† package, he or she will need to provide some specific and significant information to the mobile company in order to prove that his or her case is qualified to use the package.Canceling â€Å"unlimited† package isn't enough to lessen people's opportunity to connect to the Internet because wireless signals are everywhere. Therefore, hotels, large-scale business quarter, restaurants, entertainment centers, beauty centers, gyms and information consultation s hould not provide unrestricted wifi to their customers. Instead, they could set a time limit to restrict their customers to connect to wifi network. For example, if a person's device has been connecting to wifi for 15 minutes, he or she will not be able to connect to it for the next 10 minutes.At this point, we do not have to worry too much about the mobile game addiction because nowadays most of the mobile-game companies have set an access limitation for their games to prevent their users from addiction. Lastly and most importantly, schools and guardians should spend more time on teaching their children the true meaningfulness of communication and human interaction, and teaching them how to talk or communicate with others at the same time, instead of just letting them stick with the computers and make â€Å"connection† to the â€Å"real† world. Technology is Killing Humanity Today, our world is a lot quieter than it used to be. As a student and as a passenger of public transport, I now barely see people smiling, talking or making eye contact at schools and in public places. Finally, I realize why people rarely communicate with others now, and this kind of big issue is caused by a tiny thing that we all carry in our pockets every single day: smartphone. In conclusion, the excessive use of mobile Internet devices is killing humanity by destroying the meaningfulness of communication and human interaction.The eyes are the windows to the soul as the popular phrase. According to Quantified Impressions, a Texas-based communications analytics company, a normal adult makes eye contact between 30 and 60 percent of the time in a daily conversation, however, emotional connection is built when eye contact is made during 60-70 percent of the conversation. (Gregoire) In other words, the more eye contact, the more of a connection is made. Unfortunately, people now tend to avoid or reduce eye-contact with others because their eyes are glued to their mobile devices most of the time.According to recent estimates, the average American spends more than five hours per day using digital devices on computers and mobile devices (the number is relatively higher for those who work in front of computer screens), and another four and a half hours watching television. (Gregoire) If we assume that an average person everyday spends eight hours on sleeping, one and a half hours on transportation, eight hours on work, and four and a half hours on watching television (as the research above suggests), that person only has two hours left to do whatever he or she wants to do.Would that person spend two hours on communicating with others face to face? Seemingly, the answer is â€Å"No. † Some people may argue that mobile Internet devices actually provide more opportunities for us to communicate with our family, friends or potential friends which can bring people all over the world closer, because people now can use those social Apps such as Facebook, Tweeter and Instagram to interact with others through their smartphones anytime anywhere. Nevertheless, their opinion is totally contradictory to the fact.Instead of bringing people together, social Apps are now changing the human society into a world that is full of narcissism. Today, most people only care about the number of likes, comments and followers they have on their accounts instead of truly sharing their life experience. Unfortunately, none of us are as popular as pop stars. Therefore, people need to do extra work to earn more likes and comments, and the only way to satisfy their vanity is to keep commenting on others' posts. This kind of act can cause a vicious circle as people cannot stop making meaningless comments.Indeed, most of us are not truly interacting with others but throwing garbage to them as well as receiving garbage from them anytime anywhere. Besides using social Apps to get those so-called happiness, people have been falling in love with text messages for a long long time and there is no sign this phenomenon is fading. Even though texting is a little bit more similar to the traditional forms of communication such as writing letters or emailing, its impact to human communication is extremely negative and destructive.â€Å"Miscommunication is perhaps one of the most common, if not the most frustrating problems with Smartphones and relationships, especially when it comes to text message,† says Lindsey Chadwick, an online editorial staff. When we actually talk to a person no matter face to face or through a phone call, we can clearly understand the tone and the meaning that the person tries to express; however, a text message can confuse us or perhaps it can cause some problems between us and our friends, and this is exactly what miscommunication is.The worst thing that is caused by text messages is that our young generation's literacy is get ting worse. According to Studentfirst. com, on the 2009 NAEP Reading Test, about 26 percent of eighth graders and 27 percent of twelfth graders scored below the â€Å"basic† level, and only 32 percent of eighth graders and 38 percent of twelfth graders are at or above grade level. (Report 1) If you pay attention to the way that our teenagers text, you can find a huge difference between their own language and the normal English.Plus, a recent report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, texting ranks as the number one mode of communication among them. Kids between the ages of 12 and 17 text a median of 60 times a day — up from 50 in 2009. (Samakow) As we can see, texting has becoming a teens' daily routine. Therefore, when they get used to the way they text their friends, they will tend to apply the same thing at school. In my opinion, the only way to make people do not excessively use mobile Internet devices is to lessen or limit their opportunity to reach the I nternet. Today, we have seen more and more mobile companies offer various â€Å"unlimited†package to the mobile users in order to let them access the Internet without any constriction. However, the mobile companies should stop promoting or offering this kind of service, and they should only provide â€Å"unlimited data† package to those who really have a strong need to text or to access the Internet, such as I. T. professionals or international businessman. Moreover, if someone applies an â€Å"unlimited† package, he or she will need to provide some specific and significant information to the mobile company in order to prove that his or her case is qualified to use the package.Canceling â€Å"unlimited† package isn't enough to lessen people's opportunity to connect to the Internet because wireless signals are everywhere. Therefore, hotels, large-scale business quarter, restaurants, entertainment centers, beauty centers, gyms and information consultation s hould not provide unrestricted wifi to their customers. Instead, they could set a time limit to restrict their customers to connect to wifi network. For example, if a person's device has been connecting to wifi for 15 minutes, he or she will not be able to connect to it for the next 10 minutes.At this point, we do not have to worry too much about the mobile game addiction because nowadays most of the mobile-game companies have set an access limitation for their games to prevent their users from addiction. Lastly and most importantly, schools and guardians should spend more time on teaching their children the true meaningfulness of communication and human interaction, and teaching them how to talk or communicate with others at the same time, instead of just letting them stick with the computers and make â€Å"connection† to the â€Å"real† world.

Free Essays on Jamaican Music Roots

Jamaica According to the history of Jamaica, the slaves from Africa brought over drums called â€Å"BURRU† which were used in an arrangement called talking drums. These were used during Jonkanoo celebrations, which were a Christmas time activity; the planters encouraged these until they found out that the slaves were using their drums and conch shells to communicate with each other. By the turn of the century, Calypso from Trinidad and Tobago and Samba from Central America were introduced to the Jamaicans to form a new mix of music called Mento. MENTO Mento was the popular music in Jamaica before ska, rocksteady and reggae. It was an established style in both rural and urban areas as early as the turn of the 20th century. Mento bands usually include one or more of the following: banjo, guitar, a bass lamellophone called a rumba box, and maracas. They sometimes include the fife, clarinet, violin or saxophone. The songs played were usually work songs with humorous lyrics passed down through generations. SKA and ROCK STEADY In the mid 1950’s the youth of Jamaica were more interested in listening to American music than anything from Jamaica, so musicians were called on to emulate the sound of imported American music, within a few years this music turned into Ska. Ska was a big band type of sound with horn arraignments, piano and a quick beat. Ska was easy to move to and created a form of dance called skanking. The beat of Ska slowed down a bit in the early 60’s and Rock Steady emerged. With Rock steady the drums became less prominent and there was a heavier bass tune, and the music was a bit slower and more laid back. REGGAE By 1969 the new, enduring sound of reggae had established itself. Reggae is a combination of traditional African Rhythm and blues and indigenous Jamaican folk. The synthetic style is strictly Jamaican and includes off beat syncopations, up stroke guitar strums, chanted vocal patterns and the lyrics... Free Essays on Jamaican Music Roots Free Essays on Jamaican Music Roots Jamaica According to the history of Jamaica, the slaves from Africa brought over drums called â€Å"BURRU† which were used in an arrangement called talking drums. These were used during Jonkanoo celebrations, which were a Christmas time activity; the planters encouraged these until they found out that the slaves were using their drums and conch shells to communicate with each other. By the turn of the century, Calypso from Trinidad and Tobago and Samba from Central America were introduced to the Jamaicans to form a new mix of music called Mento. MENTO Mento was the popular music in Jamaica before ska, rocksteady and reggae. It was an established style in both rural and urban areas as early as the turn of the 20th century. Mento bands usually include one or more of the following: banjo, guitar, a bass lamellophone called a rumba box, and maracas. They sometimes include the fife, clarinet, violin or saxophone. The songs played were usually work songs with humorous lyrics passed down through generations. SKA and ROCK STEADY In the mid 1950’s the youth of Jamaica were more interested in listening to American music than anything from Jamaica, so musicians were called on to emulate the sound of imported American music, within a few years this music turned into Ska. Ska was a big band type of sound with horn arraignments, piano and a quick beat. Ska was easy to move to and created a form of dance called skanking. The beat of Ska slowed down a bit in the early 60’s and Rock Steady emerged. With Rock steady the drums became less prominent and there was a heavier bass tune, and the music was a bit slower and more laid back. REGGAE By 1969 the new, enduring sound of reggae had established itself. Reggae is a combination of traditional African Rhythm and blues and indigenous Jamaican folk. The synthetic style is strictly Jamaican and includes off beat syncopations, up stroke guitar strums, chanted vocal patterns and the lyrics...

Youll Need This Trait to Find Professional Success

Youll Need This Trait to Find Professional Success Ever wonder what the secret to career success is? The unifying factor common to all of the most successful people? That special extra thing? You probably have it or you don’t. Sound ominous? At least it’s not some fancy education or hard-to-acquire skill. It turns out you can make up for a lot that you don’t have along the way, but there’s one thing that, if you have it, you’ll be in the best position to succeed.What is that thing? It isn’t supernatural intelligence. It isn’t pedigree.It’s grit. Can you focus in on a passion and not stop until you achieve success? Then you’ve got it, the number one indicator of high performance and long-term success- with an even greater predictability for success than high IQ.Freaking out wondering whether or not you possess this trait? Don’t worry. Here are a few building blocks of ‘grit’ as a thing you might be able to better cultivate in yourself while you’r e still early on in your career.A clear goalDetermination- no matter how much others doubt youConfidence in yourself  while you’re figuring out your trajectoryHumbleness- enough to be prepared for things to not come easilyPersistence in the face of fearPatience and flexibility- enough to navigate obstacles and hindrances without getting frustrated or giving upA code- a moral compass, and the integrity to follow it at all costsOpenness- being able to connect and collaborate with other people, and recognizing that accepting help does not equal weakness, but strengthGratitude- enough to appreciate the journey, not just keep your crazy eyes on the destinationAppreciation of othersLoyaltyInner strengthThese things might not be easily taught, but they can be honed. There’s even a measurable Grit Scale with a test developed by University of Pennsylvania researchers. Take their questionnaire and remember: you don’t have to be a trust-fund baby or a brainiac or a super charismatic magnetic personality to succeed wildly. You might just need grit.

You Career, Your future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

You Career, Your future - Essay Example As an example, when prompted to write an essay for a college class I need to think critically about how to write the essay, what to say, and how to say it. Even though this isn’t as high pressure as the situations I will be under as a practicing nurse, writing good essays for college classes teaches me skills for when I do need to make decisions to save lives. Even more important is me being able to communicate my ideas to other people. It is important for me to learn to write well so that I can do lab reports. Sometimes I find it difficult to understand things what need to be done to make my writing perfect but I always remember the rules I was taught in this course. One that sticks with me the most is: â€Å"Nothing waters down writing faster than poor proofreading!† Without proofreading, my papers turn into something my reader can’t understand. That can be dangerous in the nursing profession, and can threaten both my college and professional

Experiential learning-case study. MSc in HRM Essay

Experiential learning-case study. MSc in HRM - Essay Example Experiential learning therefore directly addresses the needs and desires of the learner, rather than being dictated by the instructor. In the context of organizations, individuals acquire different skills, ideas and concepts by observing what others are doing within the organization itself. Practical solutions to problems and obstacles that confront the learner motivates him to work out solutions to problems by either observing how others do it or innovating a way of doing it that others may later imitate (Rogers & Freiburg, 1994, p 16). Starting a business for instance is usually a response to a certain need that the business is envisaged to meet. Once the business takes off however, it may not survive by sticking strictly to the original plan since other unforeseen needs arise that are met experientially. Many business organizations therefore survive through constant learning brought about by varied experiences (Rogers & Freiburg, 1994, p 17). This case study focuses on the Wegman’s Food Markets. It analyzes how the company has established a reputation, and won awards in the process, as one of the organizations with the best human resource management practices. This has been achieved almost entirely through the practice of experiential learning (Bingham, & Galagan, 2005). Though from the foregoing, experiential learning is a self-motivated process, the concept can be used to initiate and effect interventions in employee training and development by organizations (Rogers & Freiburg, 1994, p 18). One such example is Wegmans Food Markets. It is a huge chain of supermarkets ranking as one of the biggest private companies in the US. In 2005 Fortunes magazine rated it the best in among the top 100 employee friendly companies in the US (Bingham, & Galagan, 2005). The Company has some 35,000 employees in its 69 stores located in New