Hindu Astrology and Free Will :: essays research papers

Friends when we talk almost astrology, we mess up in rajyogas, duryogas, auspicious incidents, inauspicious happenings and so on. I dont think we ever proceed to search out seriously beyond that. Then comes out the most controversial and debated subject what we call openhanded will. If everything has been pre-destined, what the hell we argon striving for? Is there any devil writing our parcels all the time and having fun? A big No, all the saints say that nobody else, but we only are responsible for our plight. Vivekananda says Stand upon your feet and take the responsibility of your present prevailing circumstances instead of being a coward escapist passing all the blames upon Almighty. Our Seers were not mere astrologers or fortune tellers, but they were inventors. Without the help of any external aid they located so much just by going heavyset inside. They located the laws of nature and their influence upon human beings. If we just make a go with different yogas, then astrolo gy seems to be mere fatalism unable to give any aid to come out of the vicious circle what we term as destiny. In this case astrology seems to have lost its ground. The predestination of fate leaves astrology meaningless. Simply because the past has already passed, the present has been decided and the future has already been written.I started astrology in the year 1998. Till the end of 2003 I was an incurable fatalist. During these 5 years I read nigh all the literature of Vivekananda and Yogananda, the famous kriya yogi who left his human body in the year 1950. In those books I read a lot about the so called free will of human beings but with little conviction. Since as an Astrologer I was witnessing almost regularly that destiny couldnt be altered. But the last two years changed my whole perception. I understood well what those great saints meant to say. When they talked about the free will, they were not concerned merely about the human body made of five tatvas of Nature namel y water, air, earth, fire and ether. In all actuality they were talking about the free will of the spirit, which inhabits one and all. The body and mind are bounded in the Natures laws, and therefore, enjoy very little freedom. When you go by the commands of mind, you gradually belie yourself by being the slave of senses.

Indian Temple Mound Essay -- Essays Papers

Indian Temple MoundIn the heart of downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida lies a magnificent hill of earth created by prehistoric Native Americans as a political and religious center. Built about 1,400 AD, this structure of earth is known today as The Indian Temple Mound. This temple mound represents one of the most outstanding artifacts left by the early inhabitants of the area. Not only is it thought to be the largest mound located on saltwater, precisely also it could possibly be one of the largest prehistoric earthworks on the Gulf Coast. Many events that took place so long ago in the past stimulate been discovered due to the objects found in this mound. In 1961, The Indian Temple Mound Museum was built. This museum was the first municipally owned museum in the State of Florida. Today the museum has a two-dollar charge to enter, yet it has become one of leadingrecreational factors in which draws people from around the world to the area of Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The mu seum houses interpretive exhibits depicting 10,000 eld of Native American occupation. Over 6,000 artifacts of bone, stone, clay, and shell are found within this museum, as well as the largest collection of Fort Walton Period ceramics in the southeasterly United States. Although every artifact present in The Indian Temple Mound Museum offers clear evidence of cultural sophistication and artistic skill, the more kindle artifacts I encountered were the Ware Human Effigy Urn, the Buck Burial Mound Urn...

Philosophers in the World :: Philosophy Philosophers Paperes

Philosophers in the WorldPhilosophers are often thought of as hopelessly inept in the real world, the theoretical counterparts of the 90-pound weakling on the marge of the material world. Nothing could be more mistaken.As mentioned, Alexander the Great studied with Aristotle and then went on to conquer the world (well, the parts of the world the Greeks knew). concomitant? Perhaps, but the extent to which other ancient figures were influenced by philosophy is far less ambiguous. To take the most obvious example, Socrates was committed to a life of favorable criticism and public debate, so much so that he was tried and executed by Athenian officials who felt threatened by his influence everyplace the young. Consider also the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (the guy Richard Harris played in the movie Gladiator). As a young man, Aurelius was so motivated by his lamb of truth (the Emperor Hadrian nicknamed him Verissimus) that he turned from studying rhetoric to philosophy. Cons cientious to his subjects and magnanimous to his enemies, Aurelius sold off personal items rather than raise taxes to fund the lofty expansion into Eastern Europe. Despite his dis ilk of violence (he made gladiators fight with blunt tips), Aurelius spend much of his reign on the battlefield fighting German tribes on the Danube front The Meditations was written down as notes, sometimes in military camp at the end of a weary and bloody day. uniform many other ancients, Aurelius took the philosophical life to be one lived in the world according to philosophical principles and values, drawing on Epictetus admonition Eat like a man, drink like a man, get dressed, get married, have children, lead the life of a citizen Show us all this, so that we abide see whether or not you have really learned something from the philosophers. (Discourses III, 21, 5)One important thinker who exemplified Epictetus ideal was John Locke. Bored with the scholastic curriculum during his studies at Chris t Church, Oxford, he spent much of his time as an undergraduate reading French literature. After receiving his B.A. in 1656, Locke plunged into the study of medicine and chemistry, later supervising a surgery to drain an abscess on Lord Ashleys liver (the operation probably saved Ashleys life). Locke saw his Essay Concerning Human Understanding, the venue classicus for modern empiricist philosophy, as providing part of the conceptual framework for the new scientific advances of Boyle, Huygens, and the incomparable Mr.

Responsible Driving Essay -- essays research papers

Responsible Driving     "Imagine a crowd of 44,000 volume in the stands at a World Series orSuper Bowl game. A television camera scans the individual faces --- someexuberant, some intense --- all sports fans out for a good time.     As many people as are in that crowd will die in track accidents thisyear. More than half of those accidents will involve alcohol, alone or incombination with other drugs. A disproportionate number of the dead will beyoung, between the ages of 15 and 24. One group, 16 year olds, will be in 40% ofall the singl-car, alcohol related crashes" (Knox 19).     This statement shows the high jeopardize and number of fatalities due todriving. It is very important to learn safe and responsible driving skills,which is why I am giving this speech. If you are prepared and get it on all of yourstuff before your behind the wheel youll probobly do a better job and whap thecorrect manerisms and etiqu ites of driving. The main purpose of this speech isto let you know how to bm responsibly and safely. I will first review thedangers and risks of driving to let you know what your getting into if you useillegal substances or drive improperly. Then I will go into the basicsigns,signals and rules of driving to inform you of the current laws andregulations. Finally I will go through a bit by bit process of driving, fromgetting out of the drive way to turning onto a highway.     Accident risk is the chance of defect to yourself or others and thechance of damage to vehicles and property. each driving involves risk. You havetonotice that risk always exists and can sneak up on you at any time. 85% of allcollisions are the drivers first collision. 49% of vehicle crashes involve onlyone car. The liklihood of being in a collision any year is only 1/5 people.Thechances of suffering an injury that is serious enough to disable you is 1/83people (Kenel, 8) . As you can see risk is always very high and should never beforgot.     One huge risk in driving is to be under the influence of an illegalsubstance or drug. There are many kinds of drugs that strickle you perception anddriving skills. They include Over the counter drugs, Prescription drugs,Depressants, Stimulants, Hallucinogens and Narcotics. Over the cou... ...hod. Whichever way feelsmost comfortable to you. Also when turning use blinkers and slow batch a bit(Handbook). Tracking is how you keep your car on a chosen path. Track smoothlywhile going fast to prevent accidents (Handbook). The last-place two things toknowing how to drive is braking and stopping. In bracking you should know theamount of pressure needed to brake the car your driving. Also you always want tokeep an adequate braking distance between you and the car ahead (Kenel 120).When stopping check for following cars, apply firm, steady pressure on thebrakes and come to a all over stop. Leave the transmission in drive if you planto move ahead in the next minute (Kenel 121).     That pretty much wraps up my how to drive instructions. I hope that Ihave informed you of many new things that you didnt know. If you understood whatI have said you are guarenteed to be a little ahead when its your time to go todriving school. I didnt know some of the trivial details ,involving laws andsignals , before but now I do. I also know that every thing about driving isimportant because your life and others are always at risk. So for now ,bye andhappy driving.

History Of Computers :: essays research papers fc

History of ComputersENG 121     The volume and use of computers in the world are so great, they havebecome difficult to rationalise anymore. Computers appear to us in so more ways thatmany times, we fail to see them as they actually are. People associated with acomputer when they purchased their sunrise coffee at the vending machine. Asthey drove themselves to work, the traffic lights that so often hampered us arecontrolled by computers in an attempt to speed the journey. evaluate it or not,the computer has invaded our life.     The origins and roots of computers started out as many other inventionsand technologies have in the past. They evolved from a relatively simple idea or externalize designed to help perform functions easier and quicker. The first basic typeof computers were designed to do just that compute. They performed basic mathfunctions such(prenominal) as multiplication and division and displayed the results in avariety of me thods. Some computers displayed results in a binary representationof electronic lamps. Binary denotes using only ones and zeros thus, lit lamps represented ones and unlit lamps represented zeros. The irony of this is thatpeople needed to perform another mathematical function to translate binary todecimal to make it readable to the user.      wiz of the first computers was called ENIAC. It was a huge, monstroussize nearly that of a standard railroad car. It contained electronic tubes,heavy gauge wiring, angle-iron, and knife switches just to name a few of thecomponents. It has become difficult to believe that computers have evolved intosuitcase sized micro-computers of the 1990s.     Computers eventually evolved into less archaic looking devices near theend of the 1960s. Their size had been cut down to that of a small automobile andthey were processing segments of information at faster rates than older models.Most computers at this time were t ermed "mainframes" due to the fact that manycomputers were linked together to perform a given function. The primary user ofthese types of computers were military agencies and large corporations such asBell, AT&T, General Electric, and Boeing. Organizations such as these had thefunds to afford such technologies. However, operation of these computersrequired extensive intelligence and manpower resources. The average person couldnot have fathomed trying to endure and use these million dollar processors.     The United States was attributed the title of pioneering the computer.It was not until the early 1970s that nations such as Japan and the UnitedKingdom started utilizing technology of their own for the education of thecomputer. This resulted in newer components and smaller sized computers.

History Of Computers :: essays research papers fc

History of ComputersENG 121     The volume and habit of computers in the world are so great, they havebecome difficult to ignore anymore. Computers surface to us in so many ways thatmany times, we fail to see them as they actually are. People associated with acomputer when they purchased their morning coffee tree at the vending machine. Asthey drove themselves to work, the traffic lights that so often hampered us arecontrolled by computers in an attempt to speed the journey. Accept it or not,the computer has invaded our life.     The origins and roots of computers started out as many other inventionsand technologies have in the past. They evolved from a relatively simple idea orplan knowing to help perform functions easier and quicker. The head start basic typeof computers were designed to do just that compute. They performed basic mathfunctions such as multiplication and variance and displayed the results in avariety of methods. Some co mputers displayed results in a binary representationof electronic lamps. Binary denotes using only ones and zeros thus, lit lampsrepresented ones and unilluminated lamps represented zeros. The irony of this is thatpeople needed to perform another mathematical function to translate binary todecimal to make it readable to the user.     One of the first computers was called ENIAC. It was a huge, monstroussize nearly that of a standard railroad car. It contained electronic tubes,heavy gauge wiring, angle-iron, and knife switches just to name a fewer of thecomponents. It has become difficult to believe that computers have evolved intosuitcase sized micro-computers of the 1990s.     Computers eventually evolved into less archaic looking devices near theend of the 1960s. Their size had been reduced to that of a small automobile andthey were processing segments of information at faster rates than older models.Most computers at this time were termed "mainframes" due to the fact that manycomputers were colligate together to perform a given function. The primary user ofthese types of computers were military agencies and large corporations such asBell, AT&T, General Electric, and Boeing. Organizations such as these had thefunds to afford such technologies. However, operation of these computersrequired extensive intelligence and manpower resources. The average person couldnot have fathomed trying to operate and use these million dollar processors.     The United States was attributed the title of pioneering the computer.It was not until the early 1970s that nations such as Japan and the UnitedKingdom started utilizing technology of their own for the development of thecomputer. This resulted in newer components and smaller sized computers.

Life and Death Themes in the Sandbox and Everyman

Research Paper animation and Death Themes in The sandbox and Every gentlemans gentleman COURSE ENGL-102_D22_200940 COURSE TITLE English 102 SEMESTER OF enrollment D Fall 2009 NAME Glen MacDonald Glen MacDonald Professor Smith English 102 December 5, 2009 Research Paper Life and Death Themes in The Sandbox and Everyman This paper explores the knowledge and treatment of demolition at points in history some 500 historic period apart by using two dramatic plays as a portal into their respective time periods.The anonymously written 15th century play Everyman and the 1959 Edward Albee play, The Sandbox provide two fundamental points of contrast to demonstrate the operative changes and similarities in mans living conditions and his perceptions and treatment of terminal. An overview of life in medieval England about the year 1500, and life in America in 1959 is provided up front to establish the realities of the time period in which to review each play.Both plays will be examined by referencing research regarding their respective reasons, the works themselves and by incorporating early(a) materials that provide insight into their logical implication and meanings. The paper will conclude by providing a summary of insights and points of interest regarding the perception and treatment of death during both eras. Life in 16th century medieval England was considerably different than American life in 1959.In addition to the substantial difference in twenty-four hours to day living conditions, such as a roof over virtuosos head or heat and light, life in medieval England was brutal by immediatelys standards. Many aspects of daily existence that we take for granted in modern American cities such as sanitation, nutrition and medical care were loosely non-existent in a medieval English city. The limited availability of health and basic services, contributed to high rates of disease which reduced the average life foresight to approximately 40 years old.According to Carolyn Freeman Travers, a Research Manager with Plimoth Plantation, the rate of infant mortality and death from childhood disease was much high during that time period than it was in 1959 (1). Travers points out that many bulk did live to be older than the 40 year average, but it was only if they survived childbirth and soce navigated the disease prone childhood years to make it to adulthood (1). By comparison, life in America in the late 1950s was much easier, as is reflected by the life expectancy statistics.According to the U. S. Department of Healths, Life Tables for 1959, the average life expectancy in the United utters in 1959 was approximately 70 years of age (76). This 30 year or so difference in life expectancy, although significant on its own, when combined with the medieval childhood death statistics and the situation that death most a lot occurred within ones home, the average medieval adult would have likely had a great deal of individualised experience with death, likely within their own families.This is not the case in 1959 America where death often happened in a hospital setting or where the mature funeral business quickly whisked a body away from the home setting. Another interesting reference point for the two time periods is righteousness, and the level and significance of participation in organized religion. According to Chris Trueman, a British history teacher religious participation has changed dramatically during the past 500 years. The Medieval perform played a far greater role in Medieval England than the Church does today.In Medieval England, the Church dominated everybodys life. all in all Medieval people be they village peasants or towns people believed that God, Heaven and Hell all existed. From the very earliest of ages, the people were taught that the only way they could get to Heaven was if the Roman Catholic Church let them. Everybody would have been terrified of Hell and the people would have been told of the sheer horrors awaiting for them in Hell in the weekly services they attended. (1) (Trueman, Chris. The Medieval Church. tale Learning Site. N. p. , n. d. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. ) Although accurate estimates for religious participation in the United States in 1959 were not containily available, it is likely that between 80% 90% of Americans participated in regular religious sufficeivities during that period of time. Even though this participation number is not significantly lower that the medieval participation number, it is evident that organized religion no longer plays the dominant role in the daily life of western culture that it did during medieval times.It seems that even though the majority of people progress to participate in organized religion, that adherence to traditional Christian based beliefs, rituals surrounding death, personal morals and family values all have deteriorated significantly in western culture since medieval times. An example of this change in family valu es is evident by the way in which we care for elderly parents today and how in many cases parents are treated with the out of sight out of mind mentality which is very pervasive in western purchase order today.This trend is highlighted by the significant increase in the number of old age homes springing up across America. As Ruiping Fan reported in The Journal of Medicine and philosophy in 2007, Across the adult male, socio-conomic sic forces are shifting the focus of long-term care from the family to institutional settings, producing significant moral, not just financial costs (1). Fan goes on to discuss the increasing move away from filial piety (respect and responsibility for parents), which had been a staple in eastern culture, towards more western oriented ethnical norms, which includes institutional care for elderly parents (2).Fan explains the reasons for these cultural changes saying, It is just not feasible for most of us to undertake family care in todays society becaus e most of us are living in a household where both husband and wife are working to support the household (7). In looking at how the author of Everyman perceives and treats death, one must keep in mind that the primary purpose of medieval morality plays was to communicate the religious kernel of the day to the mostly un germinated and illiterate population.In this case the plays author demonstrates the high significance of his message regarding death by immediately and dramatically introducing death in Everyman. He accomplishes this by quickly and specifically orienting the audience to the plays infrastructure of death and by introducing the Death display case to the audience. The introduction of Death takes place at the end of Gods speech where He calls upon death by saying Where art thou, Death, thou powerful messenger? (line 63). This is somewhat nusual for a play of this time as Allen Goldhamer notes in his 1973 journal article where he says In order to understand the plays g reatness, one should bear in mind that Everymans presentation of death is highly unusual. The dramatization of death usually occupies the latter portion of the final act of a play and is often handled sensationally or sentimentally. In Everyman the hero begins to die near the opening of the play, and the focus of the drama is on a man involved in the stages of death. (87) (Goldhamer, Allen D. Everyman A Dramatization of Death Quarterly Journal of Speech 59. 1 (1973) 87. Communication Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. ) For those att decision a circa 1500 motion of Everyman, the dramatic delivery of this play combined with the pertinent messages of redemption and salvation along with the death theme would have both captivated the audience and instilled extreme fear in them. As noted by Dennis Moran in his 1972 paper on Everyman, in speaking about the plays character Death, he notes that . . .Death physically quits the stage with four-fifths of the play remaining and th e terror aroused by his summons almost wholly subsides with Everymans return to sanctifying grace (324). speech in todays terms, this would have translated into a prime time television commercial for the Roman Catholic Church, representing the only way in which one could access Gods salvation, achieve eternal life and not be dammed to hell. It is also interesting to note the evident Roman Catholic theme regarding Good Deeds as the measuring stick of ones earthly life, the price for salvation and entry into heaven upon death.This is highlighted when Good Deeds says All earthly things is but vanity Beauty, Strength, and Discretion do man forsake, Foolish friends, and kinsmen, that fair spake all fleeth save Good Deeds, and that am I (lines 870-73). As you read this play and visualize watching the play from the audiences vista or maybe even being placed directly in Everymans literal situation, one becomes aware of the specific knowledge the author portrays regarding the mental manip ulation involved in dying.This is evident as the plays author leads Everyman through the initial stages associated with his impending death, first where he demonstrates a lack of recognition of Death, then by asking Death for more time and then by attempting to bribe Death with ? 1,000, all which happens before he starts to consider and then later accept his fate. As Goldhamer notes in his paper, this process closely analogues modern psychological thinking on death as he alludes to when he says There is no reason for us to assume that precedent ages possessed any less profound insight than our own in the matter of death (88).In complete contrast to Everyman is Edwards Albees 1959 play The Sandbox, where death is moody into the farcical backdrop for this generational satire. The death of Grandma is used to highlight the absolute nonsense that goes on in many multi-generational family relationships, and highlights how elderly parents are often treated like children or even worse, li ke pets, by their own children. Unlike in Everyman, where death pursues our protagonist based on Gods command to do so, in The Sandbox, Albee uses the aggressive mommy and the meek grumbling Daddy characters to drag Grandma to her death.They bring her on stage against her will put away her cockeyed in the sandbox where the nonpareil of Death is hovering near by. According to Mathew Roudane in his book about Albee, he notes Albees use of death as a common theme in many of his plays and then adds that Albee continually returns to exploring the darker side of the human soulscape (6). Later Roudane makes reference to comments from an interview with Albee regarding his perception of death, here he recounts Albee as saying how we lie to ourselves and to each other, how we try to live without the cleansing consciousness of death (23).Although one could interpret Albees comments a number of ways, he is pretty clear that he feels death is an important theme in The Sandbox and in his other plays. It appears that he uses the death theme to tell people to wake up and live life completely, because life is short and ends abruptly with death. The life and death contrast he is alluding to is made evident in The Sandbox by how alive Albee makes the soon to die elderly Grandma character appear in contrast to the emotionally dead characters of Mommy and Daddy. Aside from the Angel of Death played by the young man, The Sandbox contains no directly visible religious references.In a literal sense, Grandmas death is visualised as strictly the physical act of dying, much like the treatment of death in modern American culture where rituals associated with death and the proceedings at some funerals appear to be surreal. However, Albee has built superfluous metaphors into this play by using the somewhat simple stage setup including the background of sea and toss along with the sandbox and a few chairs. As Lucina Gabbard states in her 1982 review of The Sandbox In this play, the sa ndbox is the entrance hall of life, the hospital dying room, and the grave.It is determined on a sandy beach near the sea, whose waters symbolize both birth and death (28). Gabbard goes on to point out how the characters support these additional metaphors as she writes As the action of the play proceeds, the symbolism deepens. Mommy and Daddy, seated opposite the sandbox, perform two rituals simulta-neously sic baby-sitting and death-watching (28). Albee stretches out the plays climatic event, the death of Grandma, with extreme patience, all the while emphasizing each characters role and thought processes.For Grandma, she recounts her life from a serious perspective as a wife and mother when talking about living on the farm with her now deceased husband and then from a less serious perspective when she says I had to raise that big cow over there all by my lonesome (1068). The offstage noises signal that Grandmas death is looming closer, which causes the cracked dialogue between M ommy and Daddy to increase, thereby focusing the audience on the contrived nature of Grandmas disposal from the family.Finally after Mommy and Daddy prepare to leave and Grandma is nearing her end, Mommy says We must put away our tears, take off our mourning . . . face the future. Its our duty (1069). The ending and ultimate death of Grandma incorporates the only noticeable moment of love in the entire play, this kiss between the Angel of Death lets Grandma leaves the world with a final contented line Youre . . . youre welcome dear (1069). In the end Albee treats the death of Grandma with the love and compassion you would go for for and expect in real life.Although these two plays, Everyman and The Sandbox appear at opposite ends of the spectrum in many ways, they both deal directly with issues surrounding death and provide insight and a historical perspective of the prevailing culture. At the time that Everyman was first playing, the Roman Catholic Church held the monopoly on the rituals associated with death, and they were striving to educate the population on how to live within the context of honoring Church and God.Although this is meant to be a very serious play, the dry humor and embedded recreation value is made evident by how the plot and characters combine to ensure salvation for Everyman. At the other end of the scale, Albee establishes a very novel climb to communicate his message of abandonment and how American culture has evolved into a self-centered miserable existence for the masses. This play makes the point that without a purposeful, intentional life including thought and reflection regarding ones own death and even ones eternal life, that life itself can become an irrelevant meaningless struggle.Both these plays hit the cultural tendency of their respective historical periods by providing enlightening insights into death and other relevant issues of the day by incorporating some comedic value into the entertaining dramas.Works Cited Albee , Edward. The Sandbox. 1959. Perrines Literature Structure, Sound, and Sense. tenth ed. Ed. Thomas R Arp and Greg Johnson. BostonWadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. 1064 1070. Everyman. Everyman and Medieval Miracle Plays. Ed. J M Dent. North Claredon Tuttle Publishing, 1993. 197 225. Fan, Ruiping Which lot? Whose Responsibility? And Why Family? A Confucian Account of Long-Term Care for the Elderly. Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 32. 5 (2007) 495-517. Philosophers Index. EBSCO. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. Freeman Travers, Carolyn. Myth and Reality. Plimoth Plantation. N. p. , n. d. Web. 13 Dec. 2009. . Gabbard, Lucina P. Edward Albees Triptych on Abandonment. Twentieth Century Literature A Scholarly and faultfinding Journal 28. 1 (1982) 14-33. Hofstra University 10 Dec. 2009 Goldhamer, Allen D. Everyman Dramatization of Death Quarterly Journal of Speech 59. 1 (1973) 87 98. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 10 Dec. 2009. Moran, Dennis V. The Life of Everyman. Neoph ilologus. 56. (1972) 324-30. MLA planetary Bibliography. Gale. Liberty University. 11 Dec. 2009 . Roundane, Mathew C. Understanding Edward Albee. Columbia University of South Carolina Press, 1987 Trueman, Chris The Medieval Church. History Learning Site. 1. , n. d. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. . U. S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Public Health Service. New York State Life Tables 1958-61. Vol. 2. Washington n. p. , 1966. 76. Center for Disease Control Web. 13 Dec. 2009. .

Furman Selz

The firm had a unique approach to everything from hiring employees, selecting clients to providing services. As the firm grew in size and in r in timeues, its founders realized the need for professional management. This brought active the very first change in form of Edmund Hails. With a highly structured and consistent approach, Hajji set out to re-form the entire system and go ballistic the companionship with the help of Steve Belcher, COO.The new P&Ls (Profit Loss system) and Compensation system were Ingredients of this change management process. During the acquisition process, Farman look at witnessed drastic culture hinges from the Orlando Clan culture to a Bureaucracy one. Farman Sell was acquired by Xerox Financial Services Inc. In 1987. On one hand, the the great unwashed of Farman Sell were put-off by the bureaucratic title and on the other hand, the firm enjoyed being under the umbrella of a big brand.Fol down(p)ing the Black Mon mean solar day of 1987, the financia l services sector was badly hit and even though the feat of Farman Sell was above average, Xerox decided to sell its financial services unit and once again, Farman Sell became a private accompany owned by the firms management and a group of employees. Edmund Hajji took over the reins and quickly distributed company stocks to key employees in order to retain them. The firm whence focused on aggressive hiring of new talent and expansion of Its championship.Farman Sell became a very sought-after company to work with. In 1995 the Federal have relaxed the Glass-Steal regulations, which had emerged as a way to control the banking industry after the Great Depression. Then there were few restrictions when commercial banks want to combine with security business and vice versa. As a result, many mid-sized investing banks were looking to merge with bigger rims and therefore attain growth and the possibility to demoteicipate in larger deals.As business grew across various dimensions, Farm an Sell realized that they were t competitive and they lost a lot of deals because of smaller size of the firm, limited equity and the businesses that were increasingly becoming global, especially when there was huge growth In mergers and acquisitions. This Is when skeletal system Barings acquired Farman Sell, pursuing an international expansion strategy in both banking and Insurance. The acquisition make by physique shows puddle failures in the 3-Stages Model of Merges and Acquisitions.In the first stage, Pre-Combination, there Is a lack of the cultural assessment needed by the HRS department. It Is needed to value the philosophies and values of both companies, and therefore understand among toners, ten learning styles, relative value AT stats Consolers or ten value AT teamwork versus the individual performance and recognition. Thus, it would be easier for both companies to develop a plan for managing the process of the MA. In the framing case, there seems to be a lack of this pre-combination assessment, in that the company wanted to climb up the rankings without investing more money.They din t understand that the company the day before the acquisition was the same as the day after. INNING Barings had most of its business in commercial banking and insurance, with absolutely no business lines in areas of Investment banking. Almost immediately, tension started developing between managers of INNING Barings and Farman Sell because there were differences in agreement on key business issues. The complexities in structure of INNING were non taken well by former(prenominal) Farman Sell employees.Regarding the second stage, Combination-Integrating the Company, there are several decisions that would help n the process of the acquisition. Firstly, there was no integration manager, who is a key person not in running of the business, but in attaining a higher percentage of retention of the acquired managers and key employees and at the same time in achieving the bu siness goals earlier. Second, INNING group decided to have 2 co-leaders in the new company and this constituted confusion. The workers felt that they din t understand the expectations that INNING had.In order for a M&A to succeed, it is necessary to have a strong leader who discount manage the new business combination ND avoid uncertainty, lack of wariness and the adjournment of important decisions. In this second stage, clear and positive communication is extremely important. It is also necessary to identify key employees and develop the incentives process in order to retain them. It is evident that INNING did not realize the importance of investing time and money into the newly formed relationship with Farman Sell resulting in failure to achieve common ground while making business decisions.Lack of communication usually leads to confusion, reduced productivity, a high level of uncertainty and low morale. The situation was worsened by the departure of key management military fo rce, one after the other, in a very short span of time. The problem can be attributed to poor integration post acquisition. It seems that INNING understood who the key players were, and positioned them in different departments, such as Steve Blob (Research), Bill Shutter and Chris Moore (Corporate Finance), who on with Bill Torsos were called the troika and developed a new incentive system to ease the complexity created.The problem arose when as a consequence of the Russian debt crisis, sole(prenominal) a small number of top performers received bonuses and most of other employee din t receive anything, even though INNING Barings had no part in the Russian problem. As a result of pessimism and the problems with bonuses, many talented people left the company. Statistics reveal that about 70-80% of mergers fail to provide value to the company. The people driving the business are the single most important factor determining the success of a merger or acquisition and this fact cannot b e ignored.The 6th Principle for Managing Change shows us the importance of the different stakeholders in the company when it under goes changes. The company needs to understand who are these key stakeholders and rank them. While the senior management of Farman Sell was supporting the acquisition there were many employees across several levels of management that fold under the category of Skeptics. I nose are ten people winos n seas nave to De reassess Tort smooth transitioning. Looking at the Change Curve we see several reactions of employees of Farman Sell from initial shock to denial and anger.It is evident from the fact that people felt betrayed when they realized that they were t going to be an independent subsidiary. At the same time, HRS personnel at Farman Sell were not forth coming in haring information, because they were angry at how things had been handled. Finally, everything led to Depression, when a lot of key employees left the company. If INNING had invested able m oney and effort towards smooth integration, the curve could follow the intended path to acceptance, discovery and integration.Now that Farman Sell has already been acquired by INNING Barings, we strongly recommend that INNING invests additional funds as well as effort for a smooth integration and sustainability. This includes looking into various issues * Management issues * Talent recruitment, compensations and rewards Alignment of HRS policies * delineate a vision for the newly acquired company * Identifying procedures that work well with both parties * Identifying cultural barriers to progress In addition, internal communication is also a unfavorable tool.A seamless communication will ensure that people do not become pessimistic and lose confidence. It will reassure employees and instill a great sense of belonging. In cases of M & A, involving cross-border deals, cultural differences, legislative complexities, local know- how and ways of doing business all provide obstacles to smooth transitioning and progress. A lot more esthesia is required when affecting such deals both pre acquisitions as well as post-acquisition.For example, the newly formed teams may face inter-personal conflict and not be clear about its responsibilities and goals. Ideally, post an acquisition, efforts should be made to allow the acquired firm retain its best management practices and values that are important to its managers. This will help create greater harmony in operations. In addition, a feedback taken from different levels of management can help identify problem areas and allow senior managers bugger off ways to resolve them.

Banquo’s Murder Macbeth Essay

This morning, our beloved Banquo, friend of the king, was found dead. His body, bearing a slit throat and twenty deep lacerations to the reflection, was discovered by a farmer from the area. The farmer discovered the body outside of his Salmon farm roughly a mile from castle Dunsinane. The motive for this awful act is still questionable. Upon questioning the farmer police were unable to discover any leads. Although the farmer produced no useful information the crime scene yielded a possible location for administration to begin the search.When officials investigated the ditch were Banquo was found they observed footprints and drags marks that led to the road outside Castle Dunsinane, there was also some other set of footprints that led straight to the castle to suggest a possible connection between the castle and the murderers. When the authorities found the scene where Banquo was expected to be murdered, a total of five sets of footprints were found at the crime scene along with blood and two sets of horses hoofs.The police were able to happen two sets of footprints as Banquos and another as his son Fleances, based on the size. What still concerns authorities is the disappearance of the young Fleance. The boy was thought to be with Banquo at the time of the murder. Police are searching for the boy diligently. The face of the murdered Banquo after his body was found a mile from Castle Dunsinane. The face of the murdered Banquo after his body was found a mile from Castle Dunsinane.From the crime scene the police have concluded that they are looking for trio possible murders. With the fifth set of footprints leading away from the scene, police began their search at the castle. The authorities talked with King Macbeth, who was reported to have been acting strangely at the court gathering the previous night. The king said, I drink toour dear friend Banquo, whom we escape. The king continued on to say that he will miss his good friend and also hopes that Ban quo finds heaven.Lady Macbeth was also asked for a statement and she refused, saying only she was too weak with sadness to speak of the event. In conclusion, authorities have no credible leads or motives for this terrible crime at this time. Police ask that anyone with any information regarding the murderers contact them at their field seat. Their office is in Castle Dunsinane on the second floor, they ask that people with information please contact them as soon as possible.

Summary on Mikhail Bakhtin’s “Problems of Dostoevsky’s Poetics”

FR 511 Bakhtin (Day hotshot) Summary The subject of our October 29th lecture was Mikhail Bakhtin and his text Problems of Dostoevskys Poetics. To spark the class, Dr. W altogether reminded us that Laura talked ab let out polyphony in her presentation the week before, and that that was where we would start the lecture on Bakhtin. To help the class better go steady the theory of polyphony, we were sh birth a piece of music written by Bach No. 4 of 6 little preludes. In the piece, the right hand was singing some amour al atomic number 53 different than the left hand. There were in fact two completely different melodies happening at the kindred time.We were told that, in Ro gentlemantic music, in that respect is one central melody, and the other instruments are there solely to accompany it. Their job is to reinforce the melody. But with older music, we see that it is possible to comport more than one melody at a time, sometimes even four or five. You can listen to one melody at time or two at once, etc. This standard of polyphony in music is basically a metaphor for the way that Bakhtin understood Dostoevsky. In classical literature, the text is dominate mainly by the voice of the storyteller, and everything else simply reinforces what the narrator has to say.With Dostoevsky, this is not the case. That is the outgrowth important point to remember in understanding Dostoevskys poetics. According to Bakhtin (not Amy), Dostoevsky is the former of the first polyphonic novel. At this point Dr. Wall stated that Dostoevsky is really just a foil and that other authors could be substituted (Diderot for example). Again, coming back to the first main point in understanding Dostoevskys poetics (or Diderot, etc. ), one has to imagine a type of literature where the narrators voice is no longer all powerful and no longer dominates the entire text.Furthermore, Russian orthodox theology also had an influence on Bakhtin. In the same way that God created man to have exhaust will, the author creates the literary character to have his own free will. In fact, one of the great splits in Christianity is over the doctrine of free will. Some believe that whether or not you will enter heaven after you die is not determined by you, just rather by fate or God, etc. On the other hand, there is the doctrine of free will which basically states that when God created man, he gave him the ability to be drab and to have his own free will, even if it destroys him.This is the same idea as the literary character being free to disobey the author. The underground man is an example of the free will of the literary character. He contradicts everything, he says one and one makes three. From there, we talked about the importance of multiple voices in a novel. These other voices in are just as significant as the narrator, and can even at times contradict what the narrator says. This is what Bakhtin calls the Copernican revolution. Evidently, Copernicus knew that the ea rth revolves around the sun.So what Bakhtin is saying is that the narrator is no longer the centre of the novel, but that there can be multiple centres. The second important point to know in recount to understand Dostoevskys poetics is the concept of dialogism. Dialogism refers to the idea that in every utterance, there are other utterances that you may or may not let on, but that you have to lift up to listen to. To illustrate this point, Dr. Wall started with the example of European languages such as German where you often use the second person to speak to yourself. An example is when Dr.Wall says, bulky move Anthony. Bakhtin says that when we speak, theres always a tu out there. Whether it is explicit or not, language is always a dialog. From there, we talked about how, for Bakhtin, language does not plump to anyone. The words we use to present ourselves are not our own, we are just one voice amongst the millions that language is. When we learn a language, we learn it from other people. When you express yourself, you are expressing yourself in a language that you borrowed from soulfulness else. Naturally there will be traces of that someone else in what you say.It is crucial to remember that in your own desire to express yourself, there are other voices inhabiting your own voice. Not just the words, but the whole idea of discourse. It is in the flow and use of language. When you realize a single utterance, you can sometimes here the other utterances that are hidden, or the traces that were there before. And when you speak, all of these voices are going on at the same time, like an orchestra. So in a polyphonic novel, underneath the words you read, you have to learn to listen to the other voices that are hidden.So concerning this idea of dialogism, Bakhtin is interested in the interaction between voices, but not in dialog itself. For this reason, he hates theatre and lyrical poeattempt. He believes that they cover up what is really happening underne ath. area for him is too explicit because the actor is given one specific role or one single voice to play. This takes away the resonance that you have in a polyphonic novel. Another important point is that, for Bakhtin, the coexistence of multiple languages is crucial for the birth of the modern novel.He grew up in Russia where about four languages were spoken in the same community, so he was very much interested in the phenomenon of periods of time where more than one language were spoken in the same community. afterward the break, we looked at specific examples from Bakhtins text. On page 197, he writes about the idea of hidden dialogicality. In other books he gives the example of a foretell conversation where you can only hear one half of what is being said. Even though you can only hear one person speaking, you have a pretty good chance of reconstructing what the other person is saying.There are an incredible amount of words out there, and the actual sound prevents you from hearing the occult sounds. The second necessity for the birth of the modern novel according to Bakhtin is silent reading. The most important characteristic of polyphonic prose is that it is meant to be read silently. For Bakhtin, when you read out loud, you are obliged to choose only one voice. Therefore, the other voices get lost. He encourages you to read a passage multiple times in order to hear all of the voices that are present. Parody is also a prime example for Bakhtin.You think you are hearing a single voice, but there are actually at least two the original and the parody. He says that that is what a great novel does all of the time, as opposed to theatre that he believes is more of a dialog. Of course, he was not familiar with modern theatre where actors play multiple roles. On page 187, Bakhtin writes about direct referentially oriented discourse. He explains that meaning for him (and Saussure as well) does not come from the referential relationships of what we say, but r ather because other people have said it. In other words, everything we try to think about has already been said 15 times before.Then on page 195, we discussed the fact that when you hear a sound, it is physically not the same when you hear it alone as when you hear it with other sounds. It is the same thing with coulour. When you take it out of its context, it becomes artificial. Dr. Wall then gave the example of Obama versus Romney, and how they would twist the other persons words to have a different perspective. The same thing is happening in the literary text and in regular discourse as well. For example, when someone says the wall is such a beautiful shade of green someone else might respond beautiful shade of green? The meaning of the utterance changes because of the question, but you hear the first statement at the same time. We concluded the lecture with this idea of the importance of the notion of the utterance. This helps us to understand that repeating utterances either ad ds or takes away from them. It is possible to repeat a word, but not an utterance. The repetition of madness for example, changes when you repeat it as an utterance (with the time period for example). The last thing mentioned was that, even with a machine meaning changes due to the simple fact that the utterance has been repeated. Joey Pihrag

The Globalization of Mcdonald’s

Leading the Global Enterprise System Abstract The organization chosen is McDonalds. McDonalds is a multibillion dollar corporation that has concurred the fast food industry around the globe. McDonalds has grow by expanding into new competitive spaces, attaining a complex mixture of fiscal friendship, custom understanding, readying material and knowledge assets, to expand the market possibilities and replicating and standardizing their practices to be duplicated in similar markets across the globe.McDonalds as a western corporation had to act upon adjustments in the way they think and react to situations and customs. This paper will demonstrate how McDonalds developed an open-mindness on the part of their lead. Outline and Annotated Bibliography Globalization A. Introduction 1. The globalisation of a multi-billion dollar corporation. 2. This paper will provide a guide done a corporation that addresses its western effect on early(a) nations by food. B. Points of discussion 1. Anti- globalisation movement against the west. . There be several reasons why leaders fails to support the organization and its goals. 3. Increasing performance through ambiguous change. 4. The Five show approach qualification model. C. Conclusions 1. Lack of leadership coupled with heathenish sensitivity provoke provide success or failure. 2. Further research into developing leadership styles that would support and enhance the service provided in other non western nations. Introduction McDonalds a multi-billion dollar corporation that utilizes local employees in each community.The mega fiend has developed a tier of progression of success as it has an on going nurture of a component of the corporations strategical envision to educate their managers and line level employees. This occurs by developing a nurturing and ever developing environment for its staff. As much(prenominal), McDonalds has demonstrated its dedication throughout its globalisation across the street an d around the population through the tuition of a university designed to teach the managers how to lead. The burger University is designed to teach basic management skills with an strain on consumers manner and leadership skills.The university also focuses on restaurant unique(predicate) skills to operate a specific restaurant in a point geographic location. The utilization of the university has lead to the development of a global leadership program. In turn it has strengthened the management staff that supports its line tameers in an accomplishment oriented environment. The employees can meet with their managers to be challenged and empowered to find the solutions. This paper will address the techniques and measured outcomes of the globalization of the multi-billion Dollar Corporation and how it develops the staff through the leadership and training it provides.Culture (from the Latin ethnic stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate)1 generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activities significance and importance. Cultures can be understood as systems of symbols and meanings that even their cr extinguishors contest, that deprivation fixed boundaries, that are constantly in flux, and that interact and compete with one some other2 Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation.Culture has been called the way of life for an entire society. 3 As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art. (Wikipedia, 2008)) Cultural diversity is explaining the differences between people, such as language, the way they dress and traditions and the way societies organize themselves, their conception of morality and religion, and the way they interact with the environment. (Wikipedia, 2008) Cultural compe tence refers to an ability to interact effectively with people of different kitchen-gardenings.Cultural competence comprises four components (a) sensation of ones own cultural worldview, (b) Attitude towards cultural differences, (c) association of different cultural practices and worldviews, and (d) cross-cultural Skills. create cultural competence results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across horti goals. Globalization Globalization is defined as the process of social, political, economical, cultural, and technological integration among countries around the world. (Hodgetts, Luthans, Doh) This process has occurred in almost any nation across the globe.Globalization has influenced international interaction of various cultures in order to exchange and educated other parts of the world. This process is designed to trade the cultures services, ideas and products. Moreover, the encouragement of globalization has a significant impact on the political and economic involvement throughout the world. A major influence of globalization is food. Styles of foods are easily globalized throughout the world as each of us is made up of almost sort of hybrid of a different culture. It is not uncommon for a grandmother to specify a dish from the old country during a festive holiday.The utilization and preparation of the dish in its pilot film ethnic form is what allows the globalization to continue throughout the generations. If changes occur to the originality of the food its cultural beliefs are somewhat diminished. McDonalds a multi-billion dollar mega corporation distinguishable to go global with the westernized fast food industry into contrasted countries. This transformation bought one of the US most beloved foods to other geographical locations and impacted a generation. Most cultures infrequently accepted such a new concept of a food so its origination was unfamiliar and extremely different.McDonalds w as the first gear corporation to introduce new eating habits and changes to other nations. As the introduction occurred throughout the world Catherine Schnaubelt wrote in her study that McDonalds has over 1. 5 one million million franchises in the United States and about half of the total franchises are outside the U. S. in over 120 countries. As a result of the widespread introduction of McDonalds the company has demonstrated its willingness to conform to the local culture by the pervasive enhances rather than contaminate its culture.As a result of these enhances McDonalds has permitted most of the foreign franchises to be locally own and operated however utilizing the core values of the corporation without creating undesirable affects on the culture. This is called franchising. A franchise is a business arrangement under which one party (the franchisor) allows another (the franchisee) to operate an enterprise using its trademark, logo, product line, and methods of operation in return for a fee. (Hodgetts, Luthans, Doh) With that said, the individual culture and norms are coordinated within the menu.This includes the ghostlike and the cultures diversity. However, in some nations McDonalds is viewed as the west and its global movement away from long-established culturally based foods towards the consumption of fast food. This process Americanizes the culture it infiltrates by the restructuring of the local diet at some level. This infiltration is viewed in a negative manner by some and as hip by the younger generation that is exposed to more of American development through movies, music and the internet. Anti-GlobalizationIn 1999 a French farmer named Jose Bove of brazil-nut tree ransacked a McDonalds only to reach a hero to anti-globalization. His emergence at anti-globalization gatherings across the world and even in the US has tending(p) him overnight fame for his intrepid move in destroying a McDonalds restaurant. Boves aspiration came from the des ire to support the local farmers and to stop the destruction of the fields by extracting the goods and mixing them with unhealthy chemicals to enhance the flavor. Eric Schlosser (2002), states that By eating standardised Americans people all over the world are beginning to look more like Americans, at least in one respect.The United States has one of the highest obesity rates of any industrialized nation in the world. (p. 240). As people eat more meals outside the home, they consume more calories, less fiber and more fat. (p. 241). The introduction of unhealthy foods and eating habits of foreign foods into outside cultures radically affects the traditional culture found in the nations foods despite McDonalds attempt to incorporate the nations culture and religious beliefs in the menu. many Europeans devil about globalizations effects on their food from the west.However, the prominent anti-globalization movement is actually a small minority. In fact, a clear majority of Europeans , especially the young, accepts that increase global economic, political, and cultural exchange can enrich their country and their lives. They believe that a strong European Union can help them rail service of globalizations benefits while shielding them from its negative effects. Despite the views of others some Europeans believe globalization is what is right for Europe. leaders force ModelThe types of leadership perspectives that McDonalds incorporates in their management is the Leadership Competency Model. The Leadership Competency Model utilizes a leadership appraisal program. Each organization has its own process and culture to nurture its employees. Some processes ofttimes fail as they do not provide ownership to the participants and fail to account for the different cultures, climates, and nuances found in every organization. For effective change to take place you must involve the individuals in the development and implementation of any process.This guide uses a five stag e approach for building a competency model * present One Assemble Focus team and create a nominate of processes. * Stage devil Build behavioral indicators for each process. * Stage Three Categorize the data. * Stage intravenous feeding Order each category. * Stage Five Validate your competency model. The first stage in building a Leadership Competency Model is to assemble a Focus Team composed of a cross-functional mix of first-line leaders, middle leaders, and senior leaders.McDonalds provides the Leadership Competency Model in conjunction with Hamburger University to develop leadership. Graduates from the university and those who participates in the Leadership Competency Model development of processes are considered the experts practitioners in their field. That is, they should be the finest in their fields. exploitation interviews, surveys, observations, including information on how individuals act, think, and feel while doing their jobs and other activities, create a l ist of the major processes and the requirements needed y leaders to disseminate in the workplace. In Stage Two, the members of the team identify the major behavioral indicators for each competency that must be performed to produce the desired outputs. Going through each competency, list the major behavioral indicators (Skills, Knowledge, attitudes) needed for superior performance (normally two to four). These behavioral indicators need to be *Future-focused rather than need or problem-focused. * Part of a strategic planning or organizational change process model.In Stage Three, you categorize the data to include a leadership competency list divided into triplet categories, Core, Leadership, and Professional with the behavioral indicator listed for each process. The core competencies is required of all individuals within the organization, the leadership competencies are specialty items for managers and supervisors, while the professional competencies are specific for each position. The competency list will insure that the chosen behavioral indicators are really the required skills, knowledge, or attitudes.The method used to organize the competencies is reduced to smaller, more manageable bundles of information that can easily be identified and used throughout the organization. Stage Four provides order to each category. Stage Four allows the identification of importance for each category. This allows the chance to discard unnecessary or excessive categories from the list. Stage Five allows validation of the instrument. This can be completed by utilizing duplication through replicating the original results Replicate the original research results.This is done by obtaining another sample of superior performers, conducting interviews, and deriving a competency model. Creating departmental focus groups to allow more people to become involved, while at the same time, giving you less information to accumulate. Structured Interviews/Observation Perform one-on-one in terviews and observations with a random number of leaders throughout the organization to determine which competencies they perform and to get their opinions of which ones are the most important for the execution of their job.In order to develop a program to achieve this goal a strategic understanding and planning need to occur. Understanding motivation, the key to success, relates to the adhered interest and involvement in a goal-oriented task by a member of the team. There are a variety of ways to view what rewards affect learning and behavior in the workplace. Two such ways are intrinsic desires and external controls. Intrinsic desire is the desire of the learner to reach mastery of a skill, as well as situational factors, based on personal desires that drive or motivate the employee.External controls are those that are governed by the policies and procedures of the organization. These procedures prevent and/or protect the necessity and essence of the organization. Generally, lack of having available the sources of motivation which are the primary reason to retain an employee with a corporation is divided into two categories each containing a number of components responding to related strategies. McDonalds has developed a university to combat poor development within the company. In 1961, Fred turner, a former senior chairman and Ray Krocs first grillman founded Hamburger University.The university was developed to provide training that emphasized consistent restaurant operations to include procedures, services, quality and cleanliness. It is the companys global center for training and leadership development. Currently there are more than 5,000 employees that attend the university each year. Since 1961 more than 80,000 managers, mid-managers and owner/operators have graduated from the university. Hamburger University was developed to foster the company bang to be the best aptitude in each of its employees.For employees who attend the university the hope is to instill Quality, Services, Cleanliness and Value (QSCampV). Increasing Performance To attain excellence, an individual, group or organization must care enough about an activity to insist that it fully meets and exceeds the demands of its audience (either internal or external), and this involves a fair amount of risk. (Leslie, J. Velsor, E 1996) McDonalds utilizes the five stage approach for building a competency model as a means to devise a road part of development for the employees within the company.The utilization of Hamburger University, the five stage approach and grasping the view of the Quality, Services, cleanliness and Value (QSCampV) gives the employees the opportunity to reach for a deep change for success. Leadership and Culture Sensitivity Despite notable progress in the overall acceptance of globalization there continues to be continuing disparities in effects of the west emerging into other cultures. The acceptance status among the east and others compared to the U. S. opulation as a whole shows a vast difference in how corporations such as McDonalds can grow globally. In addition, the global system is becoming more challenged as the population becomes more ethnically diverse. Therefore, the futurity of globalization in areas such as China will be directly impacted by the influence of McDonalds to the social economical environment to provide substantial improvements. Cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and economic differences impact how individuals and groups access and use globalized products.They can also present barriers to effective communication between the leader and the employee if there is a lack of understanding of the language, culture or norms. This is especially true when leaders stereotypes, misinterpret, make faulty assumptions, or otherwise mishandle their encounters with employees who are viewed as different in terms of their backgrounds and experiences. The demand for culturally able leaders in the United States is a direct r esult of the need for leaders to handle operations that have asleep(p) global.The term cultural competence refers to the ability to work effectively with individuals from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, or in settings where several cultures coexist. It includes the ability to understand the language, culture, and behaviors of other individuals and groups, and to make reserve recommendations. Cultural competence exists on a continuum from incompetence to proficiency. Cultural sensitivity, which is a necessary component of cultural competence, means that leaders make a significant effort to be aware of and understand the culture in which they work.Cultural competence cannot be achieved through short workshops or classes. A long-run commitment is required to learn a second language and become familiar with other cultures to deliver an effective service for the ethnically diverse world and the potential and actual cultural factors that affect their interactions with a clie nt. It also means that they are willing to design programs and materials and implement those programs to make recommendations that are culturally germane(predicate) and culturally specific. The terms cultural competence and culturally effective and are sometimes used synonymously.Culturally effective training is, indeed, related to cultural competence and cultural sensitivity. However, it goes beyond these concepts in describing the dynamic relationship between leader and employee. Effective communication between leaders and employees may be even more ambitious when linguistic barriers exist. Cultural competence is a developmental process that requires a long-term commitment. It is not a specific end product that occurs after a two-hour workshop, but it is an active process of learning and practicing over time. decorous culturally competent is discuss than to implement.Individuals working with different ethnic and cultural groups can become more culturally competent by advancing through three main stages developing knowingness, acquiring knowledge, and developing and maintaining cross-cultural skills. Developing cultural awareness includes recognizing the value of the population and its cultural diversity. It also means an honest assessment of ones biases and stereotypes to include limits of their understanding. One can never learn enough about another culture. However, acquiring knowledge about other groups is the foundation of cultural competence.In addition to understanding other cultures, it is essential to understand how different cultural groups view themselves. Knowledge of another culture includes assessments of facts to include relevant norms, values, worldviews, and the practicality of everyday life and how that reflects in the business as a whole. Even though the United States is a pluralistic society, most employers have been trained in a mono-cultural tradition. In addition to this some leaders operate as if ethnic and cultural differences are insignificant.Cross-cultural skills are developed through formal training, informal interaction and experience. Organizational Responsibilities It is important for leaders to articulate a commitment to cultural competence and to initiate cultural-competence initiatives. Many companies receive social and legal pressures to do this from different segments of the cultures they impact. The development of professional preparation programs can play a significant role in providing the knowledge and skills for culturally competent leaders.These programs can provide on the job training and other formats developed with the sole purpose of addressing cultural competence and/or cultural sensitivity. They also can provide specific educational components on cultural competence and/or cultural sensitivity within the program. Trainings and in house development of skills is one thing but leaders need to go beyond educating their employees and providing workshops on cultural sensitivity they must als o change institutional policies and procedures.This can be done by constant review and ongoing development of the skills needed. Steps to Becoming Culturally Competent Developing Awareness * Admitting personal biases, stereotypes, and prejudices * Becoming aware of cultural norms, attitudes, and beliefs * Valuing diversity * Willingness to extend oneself psychologically and physically to others * Recognizing comfort level in different situations Acquiring Knowledge * Knowing how your culture is viewed by others * Attending classes, workshops, and seminars about other cultures * Reading about other cultures Watching movies and documentaries about other cultures * Attending cultural events and festivals * Sharing knowledge and experiences with others * Visiting other countries before placement. Developing and Maintaining Cross-Cultural Skills * Making friends with people of different cultures * Establishing professional and working relationships with people of different cultures * tu ition another language * Learning communicative and nonverbal cues of other cultures * Becoming more comfortable in cross-cultural situations * Assessing what works and what does not Assessing how the beliefs and behaviors of the cultural group affect the client or family * Learning to negotiate between the persons beliefs and practices and the culture of your profession * Being more flexible * Attending continuing education seminars and workshops * Learning to develop culturally relevant and appropriate programs, materials, and interventions * Learning to evaluate culturally relevant and appropriate programs, materials, and interventions * Ongoing evaluation of personal feelings and reactions Overcoming fears, personal biases, stereotypes, and prejudices *Developing and implementing a strategy to recruit, retain, and promote qualified, diverse, and culturally competent administrative, and support staff * Promoting and supporting the necessary attitudes, behaviors, knowledge, and s kills for staff to work respectfully and effectively with patients and each other in a culturally diverse work environment * Developing a comprehensive strategy to address culturally and linguistically appropriate services, including strategic goals, plans, policies, and procedures * Hiring and training interpreters and bilingual staff Providing a bilingual staff or free interpretation services to customers and employees with limited English skills * Translating and making available commonly used educational materials in different languages * Developing structures and procedures to address cross-cultural ethical and legal conflicts, complaints, or grievances. While cultural competence has increased significantly, there is still much to be done on the personal, organizational, and societal levels. Education and training to enhance the ability of a culturally effective leader must be integrated into lifelong learning.Through these activities, current and future leaders will be prepare d to meet the needs of cultures from across the street and around the world. Conclusion In conclusion, globalization through the fast food industry has allowed the west to develop in other countries. McDonalds has been a dominating force in the immergence of western culture. The globalization within the food industry is not always received warmly by everyone in other nations. The fast food industry offers food items that change or may violate religious or cultural beliefs.However, McDonalds has taken extreme efforts to develop a corporation that offers education and training to all of the employees. This training gives each restaurant the opportunity to develop within the five stage model utilized for leadership. By allowing restaurants to be locally owned by other nations through franchising allows for community owned companies. This thus allows them to drive changes in the menu to support the traditions and religious beliefs. With local owned restaurants its difficult to believe t hat there would be any subway system through anti-globalization.Anti-globalization only impedes global progress and can cause significant economic issues. McDonalds as a global leader has been successful in the development of its staff and support in the community.References Kaye, B and Jordon-Evans (1997) Loveem or Loseem Getting Good People to Stay OHagan, K. (2007) affectionate Work Practice A Practical Guide for Professionals. Jessica Kinglsey Publishers, 15 19 Northouse, P. (2007) Leadership Theory and Practice Sage Publications. Hodgetts, R. , Luthans, F. Doh, J (2006) International Management Culture, Strategy, and Behavior. Quinn, R. (1996) deep Change Discovering the Leader Within Taylor, J. amp Riess, M. (1989). A field experiment of self-serving attributions to valenced causal factors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 15, 337-348. Leslie, J. Velsor, E (1996) A marrow for Creative Leadership a Look at Derailment Today North America and Europe Mann, R. D. (1959). A review of the relationships between personality and performance in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 241-270. Ekvall, G. , amp Arvonen, J. (1994). Leadership profiles, situation and effectiveness. Creativity and Innovation Management, 3, 139-161. McCall, M. W.. , Jr. amp Lambardo, M. M. (1983). Off the track Why and how successful executives get derailed. Greensboro, NC come to for Creative Leadership. Eric Schlosser (2002). Fast Food Nation American Academy of Pediatrics (1999). Culturally Effective Pediatric Care Education and Training Issues. Pediatrics 103167170. Chin, denim Lauu (2000). Culturally Competent Health Care. Public Health Report 1152533 Kumanyika, Shiriki, and Morssink, Christian (1999). Working Effectively in Cross-Cultural and multicultural Settings. In Nutrition and the Community, 4th edition, ed. Anita Owen, Patricia Splett, and George Owen. Boston WCB McGraw-Hill. Internet Resource Office of Minority Health. Assuring Cultural Competence in Health Care Recommendations for bailiwick Standards and an Outcomes-Focused Research Agenda. Available from <http//www. omhrc. gov/clas>

Benefits And Risks Of Bioengineered Foods Essay

Millions of people worldwide have consumed foods derived from genetically engineered foods from cereals, breads, soybeans but so far there were no facts and figures if these foods have unfavourable effects to human. In relation, this short research give look into the risks and possibilities of bioengineered foods while resulting the question Are genetically engineered foods near to eat? Different arguments are presented to give the benefits or risks of the GE foods. This body of work will look into the risks to the environment, health, economy.Laws and rules on GE foods will also be discussed in this study (Schardt 42). Bioengineered trims were first discovered by Gregor Mendel, a geneticist, when he experimented to insert a gene from a pea plant with better traits into another(prenominal) pea. Results showed that the plant is more resistant to any diseases. This was the start of bioengineered crops and later foods (Gorman, 56). Some of the bioengineered crops are soybeans, c orn, cotton, potatoes, and dairy and animal products. Experiments were done making a more warring crop making it into competitive by-products (Seattle, WA, pp2).In Canada, there are 5. 8 million hectares reported to be planted with GE crops and considered as one of the fade pay backrs of bioengineered foods in the world. From this figure, there are 820,000 hectares devoted to GE corn which a lot of by-products are made of (Gorman, 100). The Impacts On health The most common crop that is used in genetic engineering is the corn. Many of what we eat in the breakfast, lunch, dinner or snacks is a by-product of corn and these are sweeteners, cereals, starch, oil and syrups (Robinson 110-120). moreover despite the usefulness of the corn in the daily consumption there had been news that these foods are believed to be genetically engineered (GE) foods. Issues coming from various organizations opposing GE foods are all over the internet and papers. The issue here is that GE foods are not safe for consumption of human (Robinson 110-120). In a study done in newly Zealand, where rats were used to feed with the foods believed to be GE foods, it created confusion among scientists, businessmen and farmers.The rat that ate the food had problems with their liver and blood circulation. Oppositions pointed go forth to the companies that there really are effects of the GE foods onto animals. If this is the case how much more if this is consumed by the whole population in the US (Rifkin 34-38). In Europe, GE foods are starting to be banned by the government. People opposing the promotion of the GE foods wrote press releases stating that these are harmful to the health and might perk up allergens to some who are not used eating this kind of food.Another argument was that why test it with the animals when public will consume the GE foods (Pusztai 7-10). only if all of the issues are debunked by the companies producing the GE foods. According to the companies, the enzymes th at are inserted into the crops are good for the health. These enzymes are proteins that are essential to human health. They further stated that this will only be harmful if this is not compatible with the genes of the person who ate the GE foods (Cummins and Lilliston 48-50). On EnvironmentGood environment is what makes the world livable for humans and animals. Altering it will create imbalance to the ecosystem. The production of genetically circumscribed crops requires big lands suitable for lay (Anderson 20). Since the crops are equipped with genes that are resistant to any diseases chemical composition is embodied in the bug crops. Planting these seed crops will alter the fertilization of the soil (Shiva 20-25). The farmers will still be victimisation chemical more since they know that these will not be absorbed by the plant.The heavy application of chemical rear build air befoulment which might be harmful to the plants surrounding it and to the people applying it. (World W ildlife Fund, Canada, F4). The companies suggested that while the farmers are employ the seed crop they should have the gears so that they will not be harmed while planting and spraying chemicals. But this argument still should have a basis in order to encourage farmers to plant genetically modified crops. Because if the nature will be altered we cannot reverse it anymore into an environment we indispensablenessed for the future generations (Robinson 22-25).On Economy One of the benefits that are seen by the seed companies producing the GE foods is the plus in the income of farmers since most of these crops are high in demand but low in supply. That is why the companies tried to look for an answer in the world market where there are problems with decreasing supply and the difficulty of farmers to supply it all. The companies and the scientists saw the need to experiment in order to join on the supply and even increasing jobs for people (Rifkin 55).Some of the benefits laid down by the companies For one, using genetically modified crops in their farms will ensure increase in yield and profit. Why is this so? In using these seed crops, farmers will use lesser dose of pesticides and herbicides since the seeds and crops that are used in planting are equipped with genes that are resistant to any disease and reaction. Inputs are very high in price so this is one way of respondent to the burdens of farmers (Pusztai 60). Not only that chemical and pesticide costs will be reduced but also labor costs that usually have bigger component in the pie.Fewer workers will be tapped to work in the farm since this will not require a lot of maintenance. This will only mean that decrease in their inputs will have higher profit. In any case farmers are still faced with problems in the farm such as higher credit line to the companies that are responsible for(p) of producing the GM crops. Even if the farmers are aware of the disadvantages of planting GM crops they still want to try using these kinds of seed crops because all they really want is to make high profit they can boast of (Schardt 33-34). Labelling and TestingLaws and Rules Different arguments have been laid by the oppositions and the companies that produce these seed crops and GE foods. The question here now is who should be responsible in ensuring that the foods eaten by the people are safe and no side-effects? The company sees to it that the responsible stakeholders will impart their knowledge and share their part in making the introduction of the GE foods successful. In cooperation with US FDA these GE products are carefully well-tried and labelled in order to inform the consumers that these are GE products (Schardt 45).The US Food and Drug Administration sees to it that the products sold in the market are safe for consumers especially that today many of the products are said to be imitations and used different ingredients harmful to the health (Schardt, 45). In fact, one of the assigned tasks of FDA is to carefully decompose the enzymes inserted in the crop or product so that this will not create a problem in the market later on. Assessment of apiece protein present is very important because this will affect the body of the consumer of the certain product.According to FDA, they have been constantly in contact with the companies producing such GE products because they want that the consumers will not bear the harmful effects of GE products (Gorman, 33-56). But in most cases, some of the GE foods have been found not right tested. If this is the case there will be problems later in the health of human especially that effects of GE products were recorded to be fatal in the lives of human. But the problem here is that these effects will not be evident in short period of time but will be felt at the later part.Still these effects are still unknown and how is it going to be cured or prevented. The groups are proposing that there should be proper and adequate testing i n order to know its side effects to animals and humans (Schardt, 47-48). Conclusion The issues on GE foods pose a big(p) challenge to the scientists and companies who are capable of producing the products. Of course they want to compete with the global market and simply increase the income of farmers. But there is always a causative effect on the part of consumers. They are faced with different perspectives from different groups all over the world.Producing this much is very helpful in food gage of a country but when it comes to harmful effects these should be looked into by the companies. There should be no disadvantaging with the profits and gains but should be vigilant how these products can be of help to the country. The promotion of organically grown products is taking into the limelight. This might be a good option and alternative for all who wants to have strong lifestyle in the coming years.Works Cited Anderson, Luke. Genetic Engineering, Food and our Environment. Chelse a Green Publishing Company, Vermont, U. S.A White River Junction, 1999 Cummins Ronnie Lilliston, Ben. Genetically Engineered Food A Self-Defense Guide for Consumers. New York Marlowe and Company, 2000 Do Genetically-Engineered (GE) Crops Reduce Pesticides? The Emerging Evidence Says not Likely. Spring, 2000. A report by the World Wildlife Fund, Canada. GORMAN, Paul. Govt rules GE corn fit for people to eat genetically ENGINEERED FODDER Corn type may produce unique food hazards The Press. 2007 Pusztai, Arpad. Genetically Modified Foods Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health? American Institute of Biological Sciences, 2001.

Progression of Morality Essay

Throughout the centuries, morality has guided the beliefs and actions of families as well as societies. It has brought them together but it has also torn them apart. These beliefs continue to be a overabundant force throughout more societies, affecting everything from what people wear to how they behave. The progression of morality has been a powerful basis for societies. The spectrum of greater access to the ideas and customs of opposite cultures, because of technology mass media and entertainment, especially television, has resulted in a diverse cultural blending.As cultural ideas move with people among cultures, some beliefs seem to have a greater effect than others. Blending of Morality In the 21st century, ideas from the West have been one of the dominant forces in shaping cultures in many part of the world. The United States domination of the worldwide mass media has influenced different cultures signifi understructuretly, leaving behind a legacy of western customs and idea s. The English language is also verbalize globally, mainly because of Europes history of colonization in the Americas, Asia, and Africa.It has emerged as one of the premier international languages. English is the most(prenominal) common language utilise on the Internet and is responsible, in part, for the emergence of a dynamic global culture. Western business suits are standard uniforms among many people. McDonalds hamburgers and Coca-Cola soft drinks can be purchased in many countries around the world. Many Disney characters are now commonly recognized because of Human World Views HUM 360 Walt Disney theme park locations in Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.These examples of common dress, food, and entertainment all originate from America and are incorporated into other cultures. Western influence has also affected ways of thinking as well in many cultures with the expansion of materialism. This American mindset of placing high value on acquiring material possessions seems to have be en adopted by many people of different cultures. Conflicts of Morality There have also been many historical conflicts among people of different racial, national, linguistic, or cultural groups.Some ethnic or religious groups have had moral issues that reach back for decades and, in some, for centuries. Examples of such conflicts would be the troubles between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland (McKittrick & McVea, 2002) and the hostilities between Palestinians and Jews in the Middle East. raft caught in these conflicts, that have been characterized by terrible rage, sometimes suffered torture or massacres of their whole towns or villages.An exemplification of such extreme immoral behavior is the violence imposed on the Kurds, a nomadic group in southwest Asia. For decades, Kurds have wanted their own separate country. But because their traditional lands cross the borders of triplet nations, its been an unsettling issue (McDowall, 2004). The Turks have responded to the K urdish nationalism by forbidding Kurds to speak their native language. The Iranians have also persecuted the Kurds, attacking them over religious issues.In the late 1980s, the Iraqis used chemical weapons on the Kurds, known as the Halabja Massacre or Bloody Friday , killing around 5,000 people (Esteri, 2012). Throughout history and give birth day, morality has played an important role in bringing people together. It has also, at times, driven them apart. Morality guides the beliefs and behaviors of its members. Whatever emotions it prompts, morality remains one of the most powerful influential forces on mankind in the world. ?

Role of Media in Public Awareness

The media play an important role in increasing of public ken and formation their views and attitudes toward certain issues. Nowadays, Internet resources are one of the nearly popular means of communication as mass media. Today in Tajikistan, blogging and participation in affable networks are one of the most common activities of Internet users after the e-mail and search programs. This trend is particularly noticeable among young people who guide more time on the computer and obtain more information from the global network.Today, blogging is also a good way to express views on any issues. With the proper formulation of the issue and placing posts in the blogs, social networks and forums, the discussions on the topic can continue for months and attract more attention than other types of media. Now, there are many blogs in the internet created by residents of Tajikistan or Tajik bloggers living abroad. Many people are proper bloggers now despite of their professions, education an d standard of living.Many of them are celebrities and idols whose opinions considered by most of the population, especially young people. We should seem that gradually the Internet will be the most popular way of exchange of information. The importance of this mode of informing the public and attracting the online communities attention to various problems is the most efficient way to disseminate information. If we compare the conventional media to Internet resources, the important difference is that you always can post comments in the internet.The Tajik Family Planning Alliance in its operations put emphasis on the sharing of information, advocating, providing services and subscribing to services in order to work up the sexual and reproductive health and rights of the citizens, with special focus to HIV/AIDS and STI prevention, unwanted pregnancy, as intimately as unsafe abortion. For this purpose TFPA works with mass media such as newspapers, radio and television indoors the frameworks of various projects.This year we started our work with a new direction, which is blogging. Within the framework of Access project it was held tether day training for bloggers-journalists on the topic of Blogging is an internet-based mechanism for the dissemination of information field about SRHR to correct access of young people to information. 15 representatives of various newspapers have participated in this training. During the training the participants were taught how to create a blog in platform of WordPress. om one of the most popular and multi-functional platforms for blogging. Participants were provided not only the information on how to create blogs, but also basic information on SRHR and family planning. In practical part of training, the participants created their protest profiles on popular social networks such as Face book, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr. By creating a profiles and blogs, they contributed to a great dissemination of information in the glob al network.In spite of the free choice of topic for a blog, most of the participants selected the topics related to SRHR and family planning, and the rest the aspects of healthy lifestyle. Thus, it was created 10 blogs, which included both personal blogs and blogs of newspapers. TFPA plans to continue to work with blogs and online journalists by supporting bloggers and active users of social networks and implementing variety of activities on promotion of relevant Internet resources, including the traditional media.

Death Penalty in South Africa Essay

Witbank was established in 1890 and earlyish attempts to exploit the coal deposits failed until the railway from capital of South Africa reached the argona in 1894. It was proclaimed a town in 1903 and became a municipality in 1914. Despite attempts by governing bodies to establish the use of the name, eMalahleni, for the urban center as wholesome as for the district, locals still tend to call the city by its original name. Similarly to the anglicised pronunciation of Johannesburg, communicatory residents pronounce the name as witbank and not as vitbunk as in the original Afrikaans pronunciation, nor as vitbank as English-speaking visitors ar prone to say.There are legion(predicate) stories about the city and its origination but the top story would be the arrival of Winston Churchill at the nearby Transvaal and Delagoa Bay Colliery during his escape from Boer imprisonment in Pretoria, on his way to Delagoa Bay (later Lourenco Marques, and thus Maputo, in Mozambique). Some loc al residents, loyal to the Crown, assisted him in hiding and making the final subdivision of his escape, thus gaining Witbank the consequent credit once the details of these events could be made known.The town has grown since so from a farming community into a business destination where companies such as Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Evraz, Eskom, Exxaro, Joy, Komatsu, the Renova Group, SAB Miller, SAMANCOR, Shanduka Beverages, Xstrata and Zenith Inc amongst many others tolerate found substantial returns on their investments. Witbank is located along the railway line linking Pretoria to Maputo and for many years served as the transport gateway to the Mozambiquean port. In recent years, this line has been under frequent little terror of collapse due to underground coal fires in disused mines in the area.Two national highways, the N4 from Pretoria and the N12 from Johannesburg, converge at Witbank and then continue to Komatipoort, on the border of Mozambique. Together, these route s form the Maputo Corridor, a strategically important alternative to the South African ports of Richards Bay and Durban on the Indian Ocean shores of the country. Witbank is in a coal mining area with more than 22 collieries in the municipal radius. There are a number of power stations (such as the Duvha Power Station), as well as a brand mill (Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Limited) nearby which all require coal.The farm land surrounding Witbank is unfaltering being bought by investors, coal mining companies and real estate developers to accommodate the rapid growth of the city which is good for local businesses and residents. Likewise, the sustained growth of the commercial areas and suburbs has presented significant challenges to the municipal government. Potable water supplies, sewer treatment, electricity distribution, refuse collection and road maintenance are particularly affected, arousing sustained ire amongst the local residents.Relatively high summer rainfall since 2 008 has caused significant damage to municipal roads, creating large numbers of potholes and expiration large amounts of debris on the road surfaces. As Witbank is en route to travellers from the Gauteng province to the Kruger National Park, attempts agree been made to capture some of the potential phaeton spend. Apart from a some hotels, there are many guest houses. These vary from the utilitarian to the luxurious, and also cater for many of the business travellers visiting Witbank as well as those travelling to Nelspruit, Swaziland and Mozambique.A casino complex is accessible within a few hundred meters from the N4 highway, providing two hotels, cinemas, ten-pin bowling and restaurants as well as the traditional gambling facilities. The Highveld Mall is reinforced immediately next to the casino and is a retail hub for locals as well as for many residents of towns in the vicinity. Mpumalanga i/? m? pu? m l / (name changed from Eastern Transvaal on 24 August 1995), is a province of South Africa. The name means east or literally the place where the sun rises in Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu.Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, labor union of KwaZulu-Natal and bordering Swaziland and Mozambique. It constitutes 6. 5% of South Africas land area. In the north it borders on Limpopo, to the west Gauteng, to the southwest the Free State and to the south KwaZulu-Natal. The capital is Nelspruit (recently renamed to Mbombela). Prior to 1994, Mpumalanga was part of Transvaal Province. Mpumalanga expire Guide / Formerly known as the Eastern Transvaal, Mpumalanga is one of South Africas top tourist destinations.People are drawn to Mpumalanga by the magnificent scenery, by the fauna and flora and by the saga of the 1870s coin rush era and a wealth of enchanting tribal legends. Aptly know as enlightenment Country, few regions in the world can match the extraordinary beauty of the Mpumalanga Lowveld and escarpment. Mountains, panoramic passes, valleys, rivers, wat erfalls and forests mark the landscape. This is also Big Game Country, the setting for dozens of sanctuaries teeming with wildlife and birds. Among them, the Kruger National Park is world renowned, as are several of the luxurious private reserves on its western boundary.The entire Mpumalanga area offers special opportunities for bird-watching, hiking, horse-riding and fishing. Streams once panned for gold have become the haunts of eager anglers and lazy trout. Steeped in the history of pioneers, hunters and fortune seekers, fascinating gold rush towns abound. Barberton and Pilgrims Rest are among the most famous. A special, additional dimension occurs in the Middleveld region which is inhabited by Ndebele people, notable for their traditional costumes and attractively decorated houses.