Benjamin Franklin :: Biography Biographies Benjamin Franklin Essays

Benjamin Franklin In his many careers as a printer, moralist, essaylist, civic leader, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, and philosopher, Benjamin Franklin Became both a spokesman and a model for the national character of later generations of Americans. After less than two years of formal schooling, Franklin was pressed into his father's trade. At the age of 16, Franklin wrote some pieces in a courant,"Silence Dogwood." Though penniless and unknown, Franklin soon found a job as a printer. Aafter a year he went to England, where he became a master printer, sowed some wild oats, astonished Londoners with his swimming feats, and lived among the famous writers of London. In 17227, Franklin began his career as a civic leader by organizing a club of aspiring tradesmen called the JJunto, which met each week for discussion and planning. Franklin began yet another career when in 1740 he invented the Pennsylvania fireplace, later called the Franklin stove, which soon heated buildings all over Europe and North America. He also read treaties on electricity and and began a series of experiments with his friends in Philadelphia. Experiments he proposed, first tried in France in 1752, showed that lightning was in fact a form of el! ectricity. Later that year his famous kite experiment, in which he flew a kite with the wire attached to a key during a thunderstorm. His later achievements included formulating a theory of heat absorption, measuring Gulf Stream, designing ships, tracking storm paths, and inventing bifocal lenses. In 1751, Franklin was elected to the Pennsylvania Assembly, causing the beginning of nearly 40 years as a puublic official. At home from 1762 to 1764, Franklin traveled throghout the colonies, reorganizing the AAmerican postal system. He also built aa new house on Market Street in Philadelphia, now reconstructed and open to visitors, and otherwise provided for his family. From April 1775 to October 1776, Franklin served on the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety and in the Continental Congress, submitted articles of confederation for the united colonies, proposed a new constitution for Pennsylvania, and helped draft the Decclaration of Independence.

Commercialization of the Navajo Sand Painting Practice

For the West, art has traditionally been considered as the mark of civilization, in so far as humanity is able to capture and render the essence of beauty and preserve this through their â€Å"artwork.† ( Gilbert, 1982; Errington, 1994; Witherspoon, 1977)   Indeed, art may even be a purely Western construct â€Å"since textiles and jewellery, clothing and cosmetics (to mention only a few of the contexts where aesthetic choices operate) are not usually considered by us to be Art with a capital ‘A'.† (Gilbert, 1982: 168) The understanding and appreciation of non-Western â€Å"art† has therefore been problematic for many scholars, given that branding such cultural products and practices as such carries with it the enthnocentric connotations of the Western definition which usually defines â€Å"art† based on the value system of Western culture (Gilbert, 1982: 167-168; Errington, 1994: 203; Clifford, 1988:221) that, as Robbins (2005) points out, has become more and more concerned with the accumulation of material wealth and the derivation of fulfillment from the consumption of products (Robbins 2005:20) and where the perception of beauty is lamentably static. (Witherspoon, 1977:152) Critics have likewise noted that â€Å"art† in the West has often connoted being â€Å"art by intention,† which are produced and valued to be perceived for their beauty and for the monetary value that they carried.(Errington, 1994: 201) This is distinguished from what is considered as â€Å"art by appropriation† or the things that were produced for purposes other than art but are appraised to be of high value with antiquity or the possession of an indigenous or unique identity, thereby alienating them from the culture that produced them. Witherspoon (1977), for instance, emphasizes the importance of defining indigenous behavior, institutions, and practices within the context of their culture or at the very least, â€Å"against the backdrop of their view of the world or their ideological frame of reference.† (Witherspoon 1977:4) This includes confronting the fact that these cultures often evolve or even change with their exposure to other cultures and vice versa. The dilemma over the treatment and definition of non-Western art is illustrated, for instance, in efforts to preserve Navajo sand paintings so they could be sold and collected (Errington, 1994: 203). The sand paintings which were originally used in Navajo religious rites and healing ceremonies have been described as â€Å"true masterpieces of art† for their â€Å"instinctive awareness of the basic principles of design, colour harmonies, and contrasts.† (Foster, 1963:43) Ironically, the sand paintings were created by the Navajo not for art’s sake but as an integral part of religious healing ceremonies to locate and reestablish of an individual in his or her right place in the the universe and thus cure his or her illness. These paintings often utilized colored sand, cornmeal, and other bits of material to depict the Navajo’s vision of the cosmos and to symbolize their socio-economic life and other cultural elements.(Robbins, 2005: 14; Foster, 1963: 43) Foster (1963) notes that the Navajo was able to make over a thousand designs from symbols and patterns that were unique to them, and how, after the sand painting had been painstakingly drawn, the shamans would proceed to rub parts of the design on the individual who was to be cured while praying through chants. For the Navajo people, the sand paintings were indeed relevant not only as a religious tool but also as a source of magic. Horrified by the fact that these intricate sand paintings were often destroyed by being sat on or rubbed off during the healing process and thrown out afterwards, â€Å"concerned† individuals found ways to keep these intact using glue and other materials. (Errington, 1994: 203) This concern to preserve the end product of a cultural practice for its artistic or aesthetic value, however, contrasts sharply with the Navajo’s concept of beauty that lies more in the creative process that is inextricably linked with their way of life itself. Thus, beauty for the Navajo lies not in the sand painting that has served its purpose in curing a community member’s illness but in the entire religious ceremony where the sand painting is but a small component. The careless tendency to preserve or collect â€Å"art† from other cultures therefore engenders the superimposition of   another culture’s value systems and assumptions of meaning on the cultural practices or even the products of cultural practices (Errington, 1994: 205). This is especially true in the case of the sand paintings, where the preservation enabled them to become â€Å" durable and portable, able to be moved to new locations, and hung on the walls as â€Å"art†Ã¢â‚¬  (Errington, 1994:205). With this transformation from a religious and highly significant part of Navajo tradition to a home or museum artifact, the Navajo sand painting tend to lose its significance as it became divorced from the culture that produced it. Thus, the Navajo sand painting seem to have lost its meaning as it became more and more commercialized. Approriated as art, the practice became insignificant insofar as the culture and the community that practiced it disintegrated, devoiding sand painting of its ritual meaning and significance. Works Cited: Clifford, J. (1988). The Predicament of Culture. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Errington, S. (1994). What became authentic primitive art? Cultural Anthropology, 9(2). Foster, K. (1963). Navajo sand paintings. Man, 63. Gilbert, M. (1982). Art: the primitive view. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 22(2). Robbins, R. H. (2005). Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. Witherspoon, G. (1977). Language and Art in the Navajo Universe. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.                                       

The Enemy Within

Juan Conde Professor Muniz 19 November 2012 English 67 The Enemy Within Throughout life everyone is forced to face their own worst enemy and will have a lot of trouble confronting and dealing with them that worst enemy will always be themselves. This enemy brings many problems and inner conflicts that are difficult to solve. Everyone has their own way of coping with these problems, some more critical than others. In the book Drugstore Cowboy, by James Fogle, the main character Bob deals with this dichotomy in different was throughout the book and his two sides are very easily differentiated.Throughout the book Bob is faced with difficult decisions and has the choice of either being that humane and caring man or the cruel and manipulative man that he can be. As he is making these decisions Bob has to not only think of the situation but also make sure that his crew is safe or if he needs to use them. Bob is a very complex individual with two conflicting sides to him, one that is used t o show his humane and caring nature and the other is used to intimidate or manipulate people. Deep down, Bob is a caring and humane man.He protects his crew with his life; he puts himself on the line for his crew and for the people he cares about like his mother and Diane. This side of Bob is made very clear when he visits his mother and shows her nothing but respect and he even shows some humility when speaking to her. When Bob’s mom exclaims that Bob is a thief he replies, â€Å"Jesus, Mama, when have I ever stole anything from your house? Name me one thing I ever took from you without telling you? Just name me one thing? † (Fogle58). The way he replies and speaks to his mother shows that he has the outmost respect for her, his way of talking to his mother shows humility.When speaking with his mother he always calls her mama or mom; he never called her by her first name or by anything else. Bob also shows a lot of submissiveness when he is with his mom, it seems like he still feels like a little kid when he talks or confronts her. Bob would do anything for his wife, Diane. Bob loved Diane; when he first met her he felt like she wasn’t like other woman. Bob took Diane cross-roading but had the intentions of stealing her car, instead he fell for her. Fogle comes to explain how Bob felt about Diane, â€Å"Bob loved Diane body and soul by then.Even narcotics had never brought him the pleasure and satisfaction that Diane did back then â€Å"(166). It seems like Bob is truly a caring and humane person because of how he felt and still feels about Diane. Bob seems to put Diane before himself subconsciously he might not want people to see how much he really cares about her but deep down she means everything to him, he will defend her as much as he can. It also seems that Bob only wants to keep Diane happy but he thinks that the only way he can do that is with narcotics.Bob seems to always try to hide how he feels about the people close to him b ecause he is scared that something might happen to them and he just wants them to be safe and out of harm’s way; he is truly a caring and protective individual. On the other hand Bob can also be a very maniacal and manipulative, he can even seem inhuman and cruel; he uses any means necessary to obtain what he is after, he finds a way to manipulate and control people to make his plans go how he wants. Bob will use people to control a situation to go in his favor without any resentment about what happens to the other people.Bob show his manipulative side when he told his crew: â€Å"I just wrote the narcos and anonymously told them that the reason they could never catch Bob Hughes for possession of narcotics was that he had an arrangement with the guy that lived on the north side of him†(Fogle 82). Bob doesn’t seem to have any problem using people to get what he wants he doesn’t seem to have a conscience. Most of Bob’s actions show how he is a manipu lative man, he uses people in order achieve what he wants. Bob would go through any means necessary in order to get whatever he wants.Through Bob’s actions it seems that he is nothing but a selfish man that only cares about what he will receive from the situation. It seems that Bob only wants to do only what he will benefit from; he doesn’t seem to care about anything or anyone else. Bob is also cruel and inhumane towards his own crew. When Bob walks into the room after an attempt to get drugs he sees Nadine’s dead body and a hat on the bed; he then pays more attention and is more worried about having a hat on the bed than Nadine being dead. After seeing Rick balling and crying over her â€Å"Bob shook his head in disgust. ’She beat you, man.Your own woman beat you out of part of your own cut on a score. She got what she deserves’† (Fogle 134). This shows how Bob not only doesn’t care about what happened to her, but also he has been d esensitized to death, he only cares about the fact that she wasted the drugs and left them with the burden of having to get rid of a dead body. Bob only sees that because he feels like she cheated them out of the drugs and they can’t do anything about it. Bob also seems to react this way because of how Nadine has acted in the past, she would complain a lot and always wanted more than she could handle.Throughout the book Bob shows that he can and will use and manipulate people into doing what he wants so that he gets what he wants and whatever it is he has been working for. In both scenes Bob shows how he can get into people’s heads and make sure that they do whatever he wants them to do to achieve whatever he wants. Life is full of nothing but conflicts and difficult situations and everyone has their own way of dealing with them. Throughout the book, Drugstore Cowboy, Bob is put through various difficult situations which he handles in one of two ways: being a humane an d caring man or being a manipulative and maniacal man.Bob is depicted as both a caring and maniacal man in the sense that he cares a lot about his crew but also if the situation calls for it he will not care at all for them. Bob will manipulate anyone who gets in his way of obtaining what he wants, but he cares for those close to him but will sometimes even use them in order to get what he wants. Bob has a very complex way of living and thinking and it is showed in various ways throughout the book. Work Cited Fogle, James. Drugstore Cowboy. New York: Dell Publishing, 1990. Print.

LinkedIn

The evolution of social media has led to a dramatic change in the way people communicate professionally. In 2002, a professional networking corporation launched a business and employment website that has replaced the way individuals apply for jobs. The website named â€Å"LinkedIn† has made it easier for employers to find their employees. According to the Economist, â€Å"it is an online contact book† where one no longer finds the need to walk into a workplace with their resumes in hand when they can search for jobs from the comfort of their own homes. â€Å"LinkedIn connects individuals seeking or starting work, or simply wanting more from their careers†. Those seeking employment simply create a LinkedIn profile, listing valid information about themselves such as skills, qualifications, job history etc. This results in an online resume that can be viewed by other professionals and allows them to get in contact with you. According to one of its founders Allen Blue, it is a â€Å"network of people†; traditionally, employees seek employers. However, LinkedIn gives the employer the option to find the employee they are looking to recruit, making LinkedIn an online social network where employers and employees are able to connect with one another. In addition, LinkedIn has made it easier for companies to recruit persons with the required skills or assets by enabling the option to â€Å"actively search for Candidates around LinkedIn members by using keywords.† This means that employers can simply input the traits of interest and LinkedIn will provide a list of potential candidates that meet the employer's requirements. LinkedIn has created a massive change in the market for their labour-how they find jobs and how employers find them.While developments in social media have made it easier for individuals to find employment or recruit employees, it has also made it easier for employers to check up on the applicant that is about to undergo the hiring process. According to an article â€Å"56% of employers check applicants Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.† While this process may be invasive to some, it allows the employer to make a good judgement before hiring someone who may not be the best fit for the job. An individual's behaviour may contradict the mission or purpose of the organization. For example, if the owner of a rehab centre is looking to recruit new employees, a person who posts content of alcoholic beverages in multiple pictures of their Facebook profile is not someone that would fit the job position or title accurately. Though the individual may meet the employer's requirements and expectations, they have failed to make an appropriate judgment on the types of content they release to the public eye. When employers check an individual's social media networks, it is not for the purpose of invading one's privacy, but to prevent them from making a decision they may regret in the future.In addition to posts on social media, employers impose limits on employees towards what they can and cannot post out into the public. This relates to socially unacceptable behaviour that can lead to affirmative action taken against the individual for not abiding with the company's rules, leading to termination. An aggressive comment towards another individual or group that may indicate violence or considered offensive would be in contradiction with the company's terms or regulations. The employee would then receive disciplinary action due to negative impact imposed on the company. Furthermore, socially unacceptable behaviour on social media includes political or religious views or stereotypes. For example, topics that your parents don't allow you to discuss at the dinner table, your employer does not want it discussed on social media. Certain words can get a lot of recognition on social media especially if used in an incorrect manner.(hatecrimes) This can cause disorder and damage relationships in the work place as well as the general public.

CRM Model Assessment & Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

CRM Model Assessment & Design - Essay Example This was seen as a key driver to increase their business coverage. They also managed to be in partnership with Econocaribe Consolidators, Inc. and AmeriJet International, Inc. which is one of the largest freight forwarding carriers and they are based in the US in the United States while the latter is a leading cargo shipment company. Caribbean Cargo DC, LLC goals include providing services that are reliable, efficient and an exceptional customer service. With these services they hope to be recognized by the customer as the better option when it comes to freight forwarding. The marketing strategy in place is not specific as they do not have an ample program that can act as the dependable CRM strategy. According to Peppers and Rogers (2004) the IDIC methodology consists of 2 broad categories; analysis and action. Analysis includes the company’s initiative to identify and differentiate their customers while action involves interaction and customization. IDIC is a methodology that involves several aspects that ensure company prospers efficiently. These include: identification, differentiate, interact and customization. ... Later on the fill out forms and make deposit payments. This type of customer relationship leaves out the biggest aspect of maintaining a customer because they cannot distinguish whether the customer will be just a first time customers or return customers. In addition to that, it lacks proper channels to create personal relationships and interaction and finally customization of products so as to perfectly fit an individual customer needs. Most businesses that have not yet implemented the IDIC model still reap few benefits from the traditional CRM model. These include the ability to communicate with their customers, either first time customers or return customers and they can be able to negotiate on the charges involved as well as offer their customers discounts. With that, return customers may be offered discounts since the company may consider them as loyal customers. This may also act as a perfect channel where the loyal customers may promote the business to other clients who may al so be interested in the services offered, thus this may just be another method that is not reliable for a business to depend on. Some of the impacts of the company’s goals and marketing strategies include the fact that they have maintained the shipping business in the Caribbean with respect to their goals of providing services that are reliable, efficient and an exceptional customer service. The diagram (SWOT) below shows the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities that face Caribbean Cargo DC, LLC. Redesign the Customer Service Policies and Strategies With reference to the IDIC methodology, identification is a key step in IDIC. The current situation that they are

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

Hypercapitalism - Essay Example Moreover, the total production is normally given guidance and the interests distributed through market operation. It dominated the western world after mercantilism was called to a stop. In addition to that, this system enlarges production capacity by putting in use the excess production over consumption (Colker 111). The initial goals were to allow private ownership of property, provision of capital to the firms, freedom of competition for economic gain and profit motive. Hypercapitalism is a society in which the values of capitalism are given more consideration than the other existing values (Maaasik & Solomon 522).The given essay by pulling information from various reliable resources is going to dwell mostly on hypercapitalism. In the contemporary society, market forces have penetrated almost all aspects of life (Graham 58). Not forgetting, all the companies have emerged into one. We are forced to pay for most intangible things (Perelman 87). This issue drives me to another thing a ltogether; the elements of hypercapitalism. Basically, we have gotten two. That is, excess capitalism and payments of unreal things (Perelman 50). They say that the only way to make your dream come true is by waking up. I totally agree with that. It is high time we all come to our senses and deal with the emerging issue. We should be like the cactus as opposed to the ostriches. Why do I say so? It is only the cactus that raises its head in the desert. With the ostrich, it tries to hide the head in the ground and imagine that the danger is gone. Hypercapitalism is taking stand. This is why we even find companies e.g. the Diesel advising its audience consisting of children that the best way to show their creativity is by having sex (Maasik & Solomon 522). In the recent future, most firms are bigger than what they initially used to be. Also, they are found in many countries at once. They only major on advancing their profit. Barbie’s breast for instance, is out of proportion tha t if she were to be a human woman, she would probably fall on her face (Maasik & Solomon 375). They have indeed prioritized on that rather than anything else. Single world currency has become a cliche to most of them. Moreover, money is considered to be what matters most (Maasik & Solomon 522). Formerly, in the classical duration of the political economy, production of commodities majorly depended on labor (Graham 90). In that case, the level of unemployment was quite low as compared to today. Most firms lay emphasis on the commodities which have been turned into ‘exchange values’. They are then transformed into money and try their level best to ensure that they have maximized on the profit without having a look at the quality of their products (Perelman 69). Taking for instance, United States, the issue of poor parental care is normally attributed to the negative effects of capitalism. It has also made no steps to improve or to help parents to provide parental care. Ho w is this possible? The free market together with the self-government principles that gyrate around Americans capitalism does not allow us to have consideration for social problems. In most cases, the society tries offering assistance by paying leave, insurance and maybe by offering accommodation away from the workplace. All these do not help in that they only take care of the parents and not the infants. The role of capitalism is founded on the basis that goods are meant to be exchanged in the markets. With time, the role of property is changing gradually. When a child is growing up for instance, he or she believes that the status quo of an individual is determined by what they own. We tend to be bound up that the only way human affairs are structured is through selling and buying.

The Global Recession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Global Recession - Essay Example The demand for homes and mortgages continued to increase over the years as buyers became more confident in their buying decisions and the return on their investments thus creating a form of bubble that resulted in a continuing rise in home prices. To further induce the borrowing by home buyers loan terms were further relaxed as plenty of funds were available with the lenders and agencies causing a wide dispersion of credit facility without properly checks and balances (Jaffee 2008). Property agents were assigned the task of bringing potential home buyers to the agency in return for the additional benefits and incentives. At that time, the only aim of the financial institutions was to give loan to as many people as possible to earn more and benefit from the soaring prices of properties. But what they ignored in their greed was to check the repaying competency of their potential customers in order to avoid the future debacle. The financial prudence was ignored and people with low income or bad credit history were facilitated by the lenders. Favorable loan conditions were offered as a way to attract borrowers by lending companies that in fact led to solvency issues for them. Loans offered at variable low rates were expected to increase in the future and many borrowers took mortgages in their anticipation that the high prices will help them to refinance swiftly at more encouraging provisos (Jaffee 2008). However, this did not happen and conditions really worsened ov er a period of time.