Article Review on Mentoring in the Workplace

IntroductionMentoring and its application is very much the vogue today in corporate America. It is a strategy employed by companies or institutions to enhance professionalism and the increased transfer of learning and building of skills from the more adept and/or experienced to the junior or neophyte employee. It is also a way of improved retention rate within a company.DiscussionA survey conducted by the TWA, a publication of the Society of the Petroleum Engineers, revealed that in the integrated major oil companies, 36% responded on the subject matter they posed on mentoring. Another which participated came from the service and/or manufacturing companies (28%). The article substantially presented the essence of mentoring, what an ideal mentor is like, and the prevalence of the practice in organizations as well as the projected status this process would attain in the future (Tealdi and Donachie, 2007).An excellently done study, the article mentions the many-faceted concept that ment oring is today. It was able to give the reader a balanced idea whether this practice has done well in terms of its success in the application. For instance, the finding that the reasons other companies’ mentoring program did not do well was due to a â€Å"fragmented approach.†It is remarkable that the responses of employees on their company’s mentoring program range from satisfaction to what the editors say as â€Å"demotivated mentors and mentees.† This has shown that planning is crucial to its successful implementation. The successful ones had their focus on the technical advice and career development that are the most important issues for employees and their dream for advancement. This is a selling point for those institutions which are hesitant in their implementation (Tealdi and Donachie, 2007).The article also mentioned the nuances of the practice in terms of the different schemes each company that participated in the survey might utilize. This mean s that mentoring can be formal or informal, and it can be monitored or with minimal attention at all. However, as mentioned, a careful study on method, conceptual framework, system of monitoring and evaluation might be an effective preparation before the practice starts (Tealdi and Donachie, 2007).I think it will work in my workplace. Although, not as formally introduced and practiced as many other companies had done already, a few other co-workers had started an informal working relationship as mentor and mentee. This must be the reason that renewed interest and enthusiasm permeates the workplace milieu since its informal inception. I guess it will even work well if my organization’s leadership will institutionalize the program.ReferenceTealdi, Loris, John Donachie, Forum editors. Mentoring today for tomorrow: The Way Ahead  ©2003 –2007. Accessed June 25, 2007

Cultural Research Interview

This study seeks to explore the culture of Luo community in Kenya. It is not easy to study Kenya as a culture on its own due to its multi-cultural dimension. Therefore, one can only study it from the many cultures there are. It will explore Luo culture in various domains. The study will provide concrete examples to support the findings in each domain. It will also carry out a one-on-one interview with a Kenyan citizen and especially from Luo culture. The findings in the literature review will be compared with the data collected from the interview.This study also seeks to propose few recommendations and suggestions on applications to practice. Luo Culture in Kenya Kenyan as a multi-cultural nation has got forty two tribes with different cultures. Therefore, one can only explore certain aspects of Kenyan culture. This study narrows its scope to Luo Culture, whose community takes about 25% of the Kenyan Population hence being the third largest ethnic group (Ochieng, 2007). It is believe d that this community originated from the Southern part of Sudan, getting into Kenya through Northern Uganda and settled in Nyanza Province (Ochieng, 2007).It is also believed that their migration was in search of higher and cooler regions with adequate rainfalls (Isak, 1972). Today, they are popularly referred to as River-Lake Nilotes (Ochieng, 2007). This study chooses to explore on Luo culture due to its peculiar elements. In fact, it is considered to be one of those complicated cultures in Kenya especially on the issue of â€Å"wife inheritance† (Gay, 1981). When Kenya was still under British colonialism, the Luo people managed to defend their land; more so, they played a fundamental role in fighting for Kenya’s independence.It is also worth noting that this tribe produced and continues to produce a number of scholars and other educated men and women who have attained high levels of education from prominent universities all over the world (Liyong, 1972). Luo profes sionals are present in most parts of Kenyan economy; for instance, they serve in business and government ministries, educational institutions as professors, doctors, engineers and lawyers. Literature Review Communication The Luo community has got three languages.Two of the languages are widely used by all other Kenyan tribes, for instance, English and Kiswahili. English originated from the British colonial era and was declared by Kenyan government as the official language while Kiswahili is the national language (Sinaiko, 1995). The indigenous language of Luo community is referred to as â€Å"Dholuo† which is commonly used at home and in their everyday conversation (Sinaiko, 1995). In their culture, naming of children relate to where they were born, the exact time of day or the day of the week. This also includes the kind of weather at that time (Ocholla, 1980).For instance, the name Akoth (female) or Okoth (male) is given when one is born during a rainy season. In general, t he Luo culture names children on three formats, for instance, a Christian name like Peter or James then a second name like â€Å"Okoth† then a sir name like â€Å"Omondi† (Ocholla, 1980). Nutrition Luo community grows maize (corn), millet and sorghum. It also grows cash crops, for instance, tobacco, coffee, sugarcane and cotton. They also keep animals such as goats, sheep, poultry and cattle, which are later used to settle dowry prizes.Most importantly, fish in Luo culture means a lot; in fact, fishing is a major economic activity in Luo community (Parker, 1989). It is also worth noting that this community’s staple food consists of ugali (kuon) and fish. Ugali is prepared from maize meal mixed with boiled water until it becomes a thick porridge where fish becomes its preferred accompaniment. Additionally, the ugali food can be accompanied by green vegetables, meat or stew. Maize is a common food all over Kenya and most families grow it and sell it for a better i ncome (Parker, 1989).Luo culture abhors foods like rice and mixture of boiled maize and beans (Mboya, 1986). But sometimes, this mixture of boiled maize and beans which they refer to as (nyoyo) is typically consumed when the community members return from a hard day of work in the fields. The nyoyo can also be eaten with tea, porridge or stir fried vegetables (Mboya, 1986). This community likes traditional beer known as busaa which is prepared during special occasions or celebrations. Normally, they mix flour and water and leave it for sometime until it turns sour after which they heat it in a big pot.Men drink from the pot using long pipes while seated and women can join them or have their share on big mugs. They also feed on a mixture of milk and blood from slaughtered animals like cows or sheep. Family Roles and Organizations The Luo culture values family life and especially the gift of children. This culture believes that children belong to the father even in cases where both par ents separate (Mboya, 1986). In most cases, the father is left to take care of the children. The culture also expects men of great wealth to settle for many wives as a sign of social responsibility (Liyong, 1972).This notion is what has led to the issue of wife inheritance which is going to be explored later in this study. Once women get married they live in their husbands’ homesteads. Thereafter, married women are expected to build strong relationships between their family members and those of her husband. It is the women’s responsibility to nurture a warm and mutual relationship among all the in-laws. It is expected that married women will bear children for their husbands’ lineage (Southall, 1952). The more the wife bears more children the more she enhances her influence in the lineage of her husband.These children later take care of their interests. As indicated earlier, men pay the bridal dowry which allows women to maintain ties with their loved ones throug hout their lives (Southall, 1952). Polygamy is also acceptable in the Luo culture so long as traditional practices and regulations are adhered to, for instance, a special recognition of the first wife (Mboya, 1986). Normally, the husband has to separate the wives where the first wife’s house and granary are constructed behind the homestead opposite the main gate (Mboya, 1986).The rest of the wives’ houses and granaries are positioned to the right and left sides from the first wives’ premises and in the order of their marriage (Mboya, 1986). The same case applies to the sons who are given homes adjacent to the main entrance of the compound and in the order of their birth (Southall, 1952). The husband builds himself a house at the center of the compound (Southall, 1952). Luo culture believes that once the dowry has been paid in full and that the spouses have born children, divorce can no longer take place. Even if the two separate they are still considered to be m arried.In case the wife does not bear children, the husband can divorce her or replace her with another wife. The wife receives the blame in cases of infertility. Young girls are expected to help their mothers and their mothers’ co-wives in tilling the land owned by their fathers, brothers and paternal uncles (Ocholla, 1980). It does not matter whether the girl gets to school and attains good education she still has to help in tilling the land. On the other hand, boys and youthful men spend more time with livestock and engage in lots of social labor (Ocholla, 1980). Biocultural EcologyLuo community, just like many other communities in Kenya, consists of black people with strong physical structure. Malaria is considered to be a major killer in Luo culture. Moreover, kwashiorkor which derives from lack of enough proteins in the body, affects most children (Themes in Kenyan History, 1990). Most families do not afford to prepare a balanced diet neither do they have knowledge abou t nutrition and health standards (Themes in Kenyan History, 1990). In villages, preventive medicine is preferred and in fact most communities in the rural settings have clinics with medical workers.The medical workers try the best they can to help the communities maintain good sanitation, nutrition, prenatal care including other practices that can help reduce the risk of diseases (Themes in Kenyan History, 1990). Luo culture faces great challenges from HIV/Aids pandemic which has left many children orphans. Relatives to bereaved children adopt them with the hope that the enormity of HIV crisis will come to an end (IPAR, 2004)). It is however believed that the rate of HIV infection is very high in Luo Culture.Moreover, it suffers from food shortages and records the highest rates of infant mortality in Kenya (IPAR, 2004). It does not have good facilities for clean water supply a situation that has led many residents succumb to water-borne diseases, for instance, typhoid fever, amoebic dysentery and common dysentery including diarrhea (IPAR, 2004). Most girls suffer from teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases (IPAR, 2004). High-Risk Behaviors As indicated earlier, Luo culture faces great challenges from HIV infections. This has been attributed to irresponsible sexual behavior among the youths.As such, Luo culture does not value male circumcision instead they remove their young men six front teeth both from the upper jaw and the lower jaw. Unfortunately, this right of passage does not meet dental health standards since it is done manually and in a very rough way (Stein, 1985). Wife inheritance is another strange cultural practice whereby a widow is remarried by the deceased’s brother who must meet all her marital requirements, for instance, conjugal rights. According to Luo culture, adolescent period should prepare a girl for marriage and family life.In the traditional settings, girls obtain tattoos on their backs and having their ears pierce d as well. The unfortunate thing is that the materials used to carry out these practices are never sterilized (Stein, 1985). Girls come together among peer groups where they get to share their sexuality, for instance, discussing boys and their personal attributes. On the same note, older women provide sex education to the teenage girls. Lovers secretly meet near these huts although pregnancy outside marriage is strictly prohibited (Southall, 1952). Fertility and Childbearing PracticesLuo culture discourages people from noting when a woman is pregnant for they believe that it would bring problems and troubles from jealous ancestors (Mboya, 1986). Older women and wives accompany expectant mothers throughout their pregnancy and during nativity. In this community, twins are not received very well. They believe that twins originate from the evil spirits and so they treat such cases with special attention. The twins’ parents are required to assume certain taboos. In order to preven t the calamity that may befall the twins’ parents, the community members engage in obscene dancing as well as using foul language.Only in this way can the burden of giving birth to twins be lifted (Gay, 1981). As mentioned earlier, women receive much of the blame in case of infertility in marriage. This culture believes that infertility is as a result of blasphemy in the ancestral lineage of the woman. They believe that unless the spirits and ancestors intervene, the woman will never give birth (Gay, 1981). As can be seen, it can be argued and justifiably so that control of fertility is attributed to the mercy of the ancestors. In other words, Luo culture believes that fertility is given by the ancestors to the favored ones.In a more traditional setting, incest has been associated with most pregnancy complications. However, the husband including other relatives should make sure that after the woman gives birth they slaughter a goat or sheep for her where she gets to eat it at intervals. This ritual is compulsory and if one fails to honor it either the mother or the child can experience more complications even to the point of dying (Mboya, 1986). Men shouldn’t watch women giving birth unless on serious conditions. They are supposed to be far away from the scene.If a woman gives birth traditionally, she has to sit on a stone with her legs apart where other women support her to give birth. Immediately she gives birth the child is rushed in the hut for other rituals which involve cleaning the umbilical cord and cutting part of it to be buried. This is believed to be a sign of appreciation to the ancestors (Liyong, 1972). Death Rituals It is worth noting that Luo culture performs about fourteen rituals for the dead (Wakana, 1997). Table 1 in appendix A summarizes the rituals from the first step to the last.Whenever a person dies women come out with long, quivering wail which is seconded by sound of drums. Strictly, the death announcement has to take p lace either in the morning or in the evening. Luo culture prohibits death announcement during the day although this varies across persons, age, sex and occupation (Wakana, 1997). If, for instance, a child dies in the morning the announcement follows immediately but in the case of elderly men, women have to wait until sunset to start wailing (Pritchard, 1965). The bereaved family stays throughout in the compound of the deceased until the burial day.Other members of the community gather to console the family (Wakana, 1997). Digging of the grave takes place at round 9 p. m. and goes until 3 to 4 a. m. of the burial day (Millikin, 1906). One or two weeks after the burial cholla begins where several relatives to the deceased take their cattle to his compound at around seven o’clock in the morning. It is however important to note that this ritual is only performed for dead men. The men gather there, kill a cock without using a knife and share its pieces of meat.They then blow horns of buffaloes and rhinoceroses (oporro) and play drums (bul) as well. These men later attract a long procession composed of more men, women and children; it becomes longer and noisier as communities sing and play the instruments even louder (Milikin, 1906). Spirituality It is believed that Christianity has penetrated the lives of Luo community hence changing some of their traditional religious beliefs. However, a greater part of Luo culture still engages in traditional rituals (Ocholla, 1980). The new Christian movements in this community are Catholicism and Protestantism.Despite their Christian beliefs, they still belief in the intercession of their ancestors in their lives (Ocholla, 1980). Traditionally, it is believed that the ancestors reside in the sky or underground and their souls undergo transmigration either through animals or new born babies (Themes in History, 1990). In actual fact, they carry out ceremonies whenever naming of a child takes place to determine if a particu lar spirit has been reincarnated (Themes in History, 1990). Additionally, it is believed that the ancestral spirits communicate with the living in their dreams (Ocholla, 1980).Luo Culture believes that failure to remember or respect the spirits may have adverse effects in their community (Sinaiko, 1995). It is worth noting that they refer to spirits as jouk which means â€Å"shadow† and they refer to God as Nyasaye which translates as â€Å"he who is begged† and also Were which translates as â€Å"certain to grant requests† (Sinaiko, 1995). Ancestral worship plays a predominant role in their traditional religion. Ancestral spirits are believed to be actively involved in the world. This strong belief is very evident in the belief system of many Luos (Sinaiko, 1995).Health Care Practices It is unfortunate to remark that Luo culture does not have elements that can promote community health. In other words, it is not a culture that motivates the Luo people to maintai n healthy standards. Most of the beliefs and practices are geared towards appeasing the ancestors and thus forget the well being of the entire community at present. This is why this culture cannot be regarded as a past or present oriented culture because many of its emphases lay on their destiny (Isak, 1972). Even in matters regarding health, they call upon their ancestors to intervene.It is also important to note that they believe that being healthy is a favor from their forefathers and being unhealthy is a curse from the same forefathers. It becomes complicated to guide them through a causal health understanding of their diseases. Inasmuch as healthcare practitioners would want to address the why of their health issues the big challenge would be to convince them out of their traditionally held beliefs. The elders who serve as traditional doctors are revered by this community and they rely on their guidance in curing certain diseases (Southall, 1952).However, with the HIV endemic t hat has swept away many families leaving most children orphans, has led Luo culture to seek other better ways to deal with their health issues. Obviously, given that HIV/Aids has no cure they started realizing that traditional practices cannot address the problem (IPAR, 2004). Although their folklore practices do not directly address health issues, they got some moral stories that can be useful in giving care to the sick. For instance, among the commonly told story is refereed to as â€Å"Opondo’s Children† which talks of a man who gave birth to monitor lizards instead of human babies (Mboya, 1986).With time, the parents decided to throw them away due to their inhuman conditions. One day, they decided to retain one of their babies who at the age of adolescence loved to bathe in the riverside. In the process of swimming the child turned into a fully functioning human being. Passers by noticed and ran back to the village with this news which pleased the community members . The child was accepted in the community and received a lot of love and support. From this story, Luo culture believes that they have a duty towards the sick especially the physically handicapped (Mboya, 1986).Client Interview Data This section discusses some of the findings established during the interview process. The participant is a Kenyan citizen and from a Luo culture. The impressive thing in this study is that much of the ideas established in the literature review were re-affirmed during the entire interview process. However, the interviewee was assertive that Luo culture has changed tremendously and that Luo people are becoming more scientific in their thinking. Communication According to the interviewee, communication in Luo culture just requires respect and clarity.In general, young ones should not scold their parents and the same case applies to husbands in respect to their wives. However, this study leant that Luo culture prohibits pointing another person using an index finger; to them it means fate to the pointed person. He confirmed that Luo culture has become an interactive one where people can share their feelings with one another. It had been mentioned that men could not interact with women or children could not interact with their elders, today things have changed. The format for giving names is still evident where children are given names according to seasons, events or calamities.Nutrition This study learnt that Luo culture will never have other preferred staple foods apart from fish and ugali. The interviewee confirmed that this is not only a matter of culture but it is also because of the meaning of such food to their lives. He believes that Luo has many intelligent people â€Å"genius† because of feeding on fish. Moreover, they are healthy and strong because of combining fish with ugali which is actually a carbohydrate. Family Roles & Organizations The interviewee remarked as follows, â€Å"if there is anything that Luo culture has failed in, it is its perception on family†.This study learnt that modern Luo families want to treat their family matters as personal. In fact, most families have begun migrating to urban places just to experience peace and autonomy. However, the interviewee remarked that most parents still uphold cultural values meant to discipline their children. In other words, most families still hold to those traditional ways of bringing up their children. Husbands still remain the heads of their families and with the duty of educating their children. But all the same, wives are supposed to help financially especially if the spouses are both working. Workforce IssuesThe interviewee remarked that Luo culture has evolved where traditional practices have become a collective responsibility. Today, men and women can go fishing and even engage in its selling. Moreover, all genders have become professionals in different fields. High Risk Behaviours Indeed, the interviewee confirmed that Luo c ulture still engages in high risk behaviors which in the interviewee’s opinion are backward. First he sighted the â€Å"wife inheritance issue†; here he said that most women or men contract HIV Virus due to this practice. He said the following, â€Å"I still do not understand why Luo culture has to push for wife inheritance.Somebody dies of HIV/aids and the community very well knows about it, but the brother to the deceased goes ahead to have intercourse with the woman. † He also said, â€Å"This does not apply only to HIV/Aids only but it also extends to other diseases like diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and meningitis†. This study learnt that there are women who get re-married to their in-laws who have terminal illness hence affecting their health both physically and psychologically. This study also learns that Luo culture still faces serious problems with HIV/Aids due to unsafe sex among the youths and commercial sex workers where most of them are young g irls.The interviewee had this to say, â€Å"Sex is deeply entrenched in the Luo culture such that it cannot be comprehended in isolation†; he also said â€Å"females who are poor resort to sexually irresponsible behavior just to get money which is not even more than five dollars. † The interviewee also mentioned the issue of polygamous marriages where men engage sexually with many women hence contracting serious sexual transmitted diseases. This study also learnt that consumption of illicit brews and drugs and the growing establishments of entertainment houses have left many youths with poor health conditions hence dying at a very young age.As mentioned earlier, female genital mutilation and removal of teeth poses great risks. The interviewee had this to say: â€Å"these practices are very risky since they are carried out under unhygienic conditions and even the equipment used is never sterilized. This is why they keep on contracting germs and HIV virus†. Pregna ncy and Childbearing Practices The interviewee believes that causes of teenage pregnancies are as a result of ignorance on the side of the girls. According to him, most girls do not know how to go about their productive life.But, he was very happy to remark that nowadays women give birth in the hospitals and rarely will women give birth in traditional settings. There are no taboos associated with marriage in the Luo culture today, only that the husband should take very good care of the wife. He also remarked that among the most improved health practices among Luo women is care for the mother before and after birth. Apart from traditional food, anything to do with the medication of the mother and the child is as prescribed by a qualified doctor. Health Care Practices & PractitionersThe interviewee was very optimistic that in few years to come Luo culture will have the best medical practitioners ever. According to him, most Luo men and women have undertaken courses in medicine and oth er health care modules. â€Å"Today, Luo culture has evolved from a culture of traditional doctors to a culture of serious surgeons, physicians and mid-wives†. He informed this study that traditional medicine men cannot carry out any practices on complicated issues like pregnancy, eye-problems, heart failure, diabetes et cetera. They instead encourage the patient to seek professional help from a hospital.They only get involved in the treatment of minor illnesses like cold, flu, chicken pox, normal diarrhea, sore throats just to mention a few. Here, they prepare medicine from traditional herbs from different plants. Moreover, they make medicine for children using fat substances from the fish products. In fact, the interviewee remarked that Kenya’s medical sector borrowed from the Luo traditional doctors how to prepare medicine to prevent children from coughing. The medicine is popularly known as â€Å"cough syrup† which is a by product of fish in Luo culture. Res earch QuestionsThe research method selected for this proposed research study follows a qualitative approach. The qualitative method will be implemented because it follows the approach that allows for the collection and analysis of data that could not described through a quantitative approach. This approach is descriptive and inquisitive in nature, which is selected because of its relevance to the type of data collected and because of the purpose of the study. Contrary to the quantitative research method, participants from this study will be encouraged to use their personal experiences to interpret and answer interview questions.Their demographic background will also be significantly considered for the interpretation of the test answers (Leed & Omrod, 2005). Any form of quantifiable data that can be found in this study, will be analyzed according to descriptive statistics. Alise (2008) pointed out that under the qualitative research method, there is an interaction between the researc her and the participants. The following are the research questions: 1) To what extent does Luo culture hinder effective health safety measures? 2) How does Luo culture affect health care practitioners? Is there any competition between healthcare practitioners and traditional doctors?Recommendations for Research Based on the findings of this study, it further recommends that: a) There be an empirical investigation carried out in this community in order to ascertain the findings of this research b) Health agencies to study this culture more closely in order to help it improve on community health c) To explore other cultures in Kenya that might be having similar challenges Applications to Practice In order to carry out ethnographic fieldwork among Luo Community and generate information based on qualitative analysis, it would be beneficial to learn more from medical anthropologists and professors.Moreover, there should be more research from the libraries to gain more insight on Luo cult ure and to familiarize more on the best methods to gather and record information. Medical volunteers are traveling to work with the Luo community to cooperate with the traditional healers and record their conversations about herbs. They should make sure there is an interpreter available. The team can take pictures and identify herb clippings for their easier recognition. The volunteers can carry out prior research to compare with the current clinical use of the herbs and their dosages.Summary/Conclusion This study has established that Luo culture has got three languages namely: English, Kiswahili and Dholuo. However, Dholuo is commonly used. Luo culture gives names according to seasons, events, calamities or time. Luo are mixed farmers since they grow crops and keep animals at the same time. Luo culture values ugali and fish which serve as their staple food. Marriage is regarded in high esteem and especially when children come by. Children remain with the father even in cases of sep aration or divorce for that matter. Luo community constitutes of black people.Among the most common diseases affecting this community are malaria, malnutrition, kwashiorkor, typhoid, amoeba and HIV/Aids. The high risk behaviors include removal of teeth, tattoos, genital mutilation and other rights of passage that use non-sterilized equipment. Luo culture has got fourteen death rituals although their applications vary from age, sex, or occupation of the deceased. Moreover, this culture does not promote community health per se. Traditional doctors have an influential role although they recognize the role of professional medical practitioners.The folklore activities provide wonderful moral stories that encourage the community to take care of the sick and especially the physically handicapped. The client interview data strongly brings out Luo community as a changing culture, and in deed, for the better. However, the high risk behaviors still pose a great challenge to the health well bei ng of its members. References Alise, M. (2008). Disciplinary differences in preferred research methods: A comparison of groups in the Biglan Classification Scheme. Retrieved from North Central University website: http://learners. ncu. edu/library/ncu_diss/default.aspx. Pritchard, E. E. 1965 (1949). Luo tribes and clans. In (E. E. Evans-Pritchard, ed. ) The Position of Women in Primitive Societies and Other Essays in Social Anthropology, pp. 205-227. Faber and Faber Ltd. , London. Gay, D. (1981). Modern Kenya. New York: Longman Isak, D. (1972) Out of Africa. New York: Random House Institute of Policy Analysis & Research (IPAR), (2004). HIV/Aids Scourge in Nyanza Province: Poverty, Culture and Behavior Change. Journal of African Medical Care, Vol. 10, Issue 11. Kenya in Pictures, (1988). Minneapolis, Minn. : Lerner Publications Co. Leed, P. D. and Ormrod, J. E. (2005).Practical Research: Planning and Design (8th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. Liyong, T. (1972). Popular Culture of East Africa. London Mboya, P. (1986) (unpublished). Luo Customs and Beliefs. , translated by Jane Achieng (1938, Luo Kitgi gi Timbegi). Millikin, A. S. (1906). Burial customs of the Wa-Kavirondo of the Kisumu Province. Man, 6 (35): 54-55. Ocholla-Ayayo, A. B. C. (1980). The Luo Culture: A Reconstruction of a Traditional African Society Ochieng, E. (2009). History of Luo Culture. Journal of Kenya’s Heritage, vol. 2 (22-45) Parker, S. (1989). Bitter Money: Cultural Economy and Some African Meanings ofForbidden Commodities. American Ethnological Society Monograph Series, no. 1. Washington, D. C Sinaiko, L. (1995). Holidays of the World Cookbook for Students. Phoenix, Ariz. : Oryx Stein, R. (1985). Kenya. Chicago: Children's Press Southall, A. (1952). Lineage Formation among the Luo. Memorandum of International African Institute, No. 26. Oxford University Press, London. Themes in Kenyan History (1990). Athens: Ohio University Press Wakana SHIINO, (1997). Death Rituals in Luo N yanza. Journal of Africa Study Monographs, 18 (3, 4) 213-228, Department of Social Anthropology, Tokyo Metropolitan University,

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Dental Office Network Systems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Dental Office Network Systems - Case Study Example Despite the robustness of the proposed network, the report will details its risks along with its benefits. Network Requirements The entire organization, which has five offices, must connect to a central repository where all data will be stored. Because of this reason, proposed network must have a server to store all files for the five offices. In addition, the need for a fast and reliable network calls for a fast network connection that supports high throughput such as T1 lines. In the new organization, four dentists are mobile, which calls for a provision of remote connectivity such as VPN along with switching services using routers and layer three switches. With the network responsible for securing patient’s data as per HIPPA laws, the network must allow data encryption and authentication of users who access the network. Safety of Information Safety of patient’s data is an paramount goal the proposed network must address effectively. Since the organization will be dea ling with crucial information about patients, all information about patients including admission and treatment records be safe and secure. This will be possible if the files server will encrypt data using encryption such as EAS. Moreover, the network must protect data during transmission using encryption techniques and technologies such as VPN. Among the five offices, the network must allow senders and recipients of data to authenticate before transmission of data. The VPN technologies will mobile workers to connect to the central file server securely without compromising on safety of data (Baldauf & Stair, 2011). The network must also have a firewall and intrusion detection system to prevent any unauthorized access to the organization’s data. Users will also need to authenticate their devices before using the network especially wireless access points due to security concerns. Network Type, Components, Devices, and Equipment for the Network A metropolitan network (MAN) system is the best network type that will match the requirement of the new organization. A MAN network has the capacity to span several cities and capable of delivering high bandwidth connections using existing telecommunication lines (Morley & Parker, 2009). The proposed network will have several components to link the five offices and the remote workers. Consequently, the proposed network will have five routers connected with serial cables in a mesh topology. These routers connect to layer three switches to enable packet switching and separation of departments using VLANS. The switches must have at least enough number of ports and support security protocols such as IPSEC. For remote workers, each will have a laptop and a VPN enabled dongle that will allow them establish a secure connection to the central database. With security being a vital issue, devices such as firewalls and backups devices must be located within the network to improve security and recovery process. Most important, t he network must have a network server that will store all data and identifiable using a static IP address and a secondary backup in the cloud to provide continuity during an outage. The servers must have power backup and standby power generators not to mention hot swap features to avoid taking the server offline during service. Network Design Diagram The network diagram for the proposed netw

Case study 3C Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case study 3C - Assignment Example 3. I guess that people paying for the lottery are mostly aware of the fact that they pay additional taxes if they understand how the state tax system works. Moreover, the amount of money a person pays for a lottery ticket is not that big to create problems for a person spending money on it. The Oregon Lottery was playing on some kind of local patriotism making its customers believe that buying lottery will contribute to the development of the state and this claim was unethical because it was only partially true. 4. Brands often make advertising statements exaggerating things and emphasizing something that is only half true. Oregon Lottery was using a deceitful tool for attracting clients, and their approach can hardly be called ethical. 1. Creative vagueness in statements is utilized to attract customers as in most cases there is a range of brands similar in their characteristics, and it is only advertising that can persuade a customer choose one product over another. However, if the information about the products would be as precise as facts in the news that could be very useful for consumers. 3. The response of Oregon Lottery on the accusation of Politifacts.com was as vague their advertising campaign: they decide to mothball this â€Å"97 percent† but claimed that they decided to stick to it nevertheless. It would be more optimal to provide public with facts and figures proving truthfulness of their statements. 1. I suppose that lottery can easily serve as a means of support of public education as any other legal business. The only thing is that consumers must be fully aware how much and why they are paying for. 2. An ethical campaign for a local lottery must first of all use truthful statements in advertising campaign. The possibility of financial profit can serve as a motto for the company as it is its primary goal. Moreover, the

Consumer Protection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consumer Protection - Essay Example When various competitors reach an agreement to limit the competition between them, the outcome is often an increase in prices. For that reason, price fixing is a huge concern of the Federal Trade Commission. An outright agreement between competitors to settle at particular prices is in most cases illegal regardless of whether the prices are fixed at a minimum, maximum or in a particular range. Illegal fixing of prices takes place when two or more competitors create an agreement that raises, lowers or stabilizes the price of any product or service without any form of reasonable explanation. Schemes to fix prices are in most cases developed confidentially and may be difficult to expose, but the agreements can be unearthed from circumstantial evidence. For instance, if directly connected competitors have an array mysterious identical contract terms or behaviors in regard to prices along with other factors, illegal pricing may definitely be the reason (Ftc.gov, 2014). When the competitors are also invited to coordinate the prices of goods and services, concerns are raised. This also happens when a particular competitor makes a public announcement that it is willing to put an end to a price war when there was prior announcement from a different competitor to do the same with the terms being so particular to the point that the competitors may consider it as an invite to set prices jointly (Ftc.gov, 2014). However, not all the likenesses in prices or adjustments in prices that take place simultaneously are associated with price fixing as in contrast, they are often the outcome of normal market conditions. For instance, the price of commodities like wheat is the same since the products are virtually the same and the prices charged by the farmers increase or decrease at the same time without the farmers necessarily agreeing among themselves. It the supply of the wheat declines as a result of a drought, the prices associated with all the

Quality Management principals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Quality Management principals - Essay Example The backbone of an organization is its clients or customers because of the mutual independence and this forces the organization to strive to meet and exceed the customer expectations. Customers will stick to an organization that upgrade its services and develops new products that are genuine. A leader should always ensure that there is unity and purpose for the internal environment of the organization that he or she guides. Leaders must be people whose intelligence quotient is very steady and high in order to make wise decisions. This means that a leader should clear visualize the mission and vision of the organization in the future (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). Leaders should develop a participative environment through the formation of partnerships. Other important principles that a leader should consider are encouraging innovation, change and operating in a secure environment. Individuals at all points are the core of the firm and their proper participation makes their ideas to be an important factor for the firm’s benefits. Workers will also perform perfectly in their areas of specialization when the appropriate work tools are available. Goals set for the employees must be realistic and empowerment of the various cultures of employees should be empowered and this will facilitate the idea of group work (Robbins & Coulter, 2012). Processes in an organization should satisfy customer needs. If they don’t then they are not the required processes. Processes are always flowing and focus on creating the appropriate methods for converting products into finished goods and services. Effectiveness and efficiency of an organization is done through identifying, understanding, and managing a system of interrelated process to a given objective. Since a system is identifying all interrelated processes and their interdependence then they should be properly managed. There are three factors to consider in order for

Contemporary Issues in Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contemporary Issues in Finance - Essay Example This paper is a brief article about the financial crisis which was being identified by the end of 2007 till the beginning of 2008. It was due to the ill-effects of the crisis that regulatory reforms were taken by US, UK and EU regions. This paper will thereby focus on the regulatory reforms adopted by these nations in the milieu of the 2008 financial crisis. Regulatory Framework of US Financial crisis is often termed as an unknown disturbance which leads to erosion of the total financial market of a country or a nation. By the end of 2007, with the identification of the financial crisis, US and other globalised economies become highly concerned about their survival as a global power. Most businesses ruined and were forecasted to lose approximately $ 2.7 trillion in this crisis (Rude, 2008). As a result, unemployment was at its highest stage. With this concern, the US government concentrated on keeping the banks and most significant businesses alive to overcome the unwanted danger. Th e crisis acted promptly drafting many important pieces of legislation or necessary changes and charting the post-crisis financial regulatory framework. But it was not an easy task; it comprised of numerous hurdles within it. The fundamental role in reforming the financial policies in the US was played by Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and Financial Stability Board (FSB). They developed a DFA (Dodd-Frank Act), which is a framework of reforms to prevent the consequences arising due to such turmoil (Rude, 2008). The vital elements in reformation of US economy relates to the steps taken to develop a financially stable future as well as resizing of the international financial system, so that the need of the economy can be better served (Rude, 2008). It is worth mentioning that the decline of capital regulation in US was not only due to the ad hoc financial events but was also due to a direct consequence of ineffective design and substance of regulatory capital initiates. T he detailed structure could not prevent the large financial institutions from failing. Apart from this, the unskilled leverage ratio turned out to be the most important constraint which ultimately proved beneficial (Rude, 2008). Requirement of capital was the most prevailing area of concern against bank failures after the crisis. Furthermore, the resolution procedures, another regulatory reform which was considered as a better process other than bankruptcy to deal with the problems of insolvency of financial institutions. This states that the framework of banks needed to be extended to other financial institutions in order to safeguard the large institutions in the financial services market. After the crisis, there was bail-out of many institutions due their inability to bear the failure of cross-border banks (Rude, 2008). This led to other regulatory reforms in the aftermath of the crisis, which resulted in dramatically increase of capital and liquidity buffers of the bank. The ref orms enforced after the crisis mainly focuses on two perspectives, i.e. market-restricting approach and market-harnessing approach. The market-restricting approach mainly concentrates on deflating the commercial institutions along with the intention to limit the size of these institutions and reduce the investments in the market. On the other

Modern Day Muscian Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Modern Day Muscian - Research Paper Example Music was affected with romantic revolution that swept the literature world (Blanchard & Acree, 183). The two artists worked exceptionally hard and extensively improved music industry. There were significant similarities and divergences on the historical period between Beethoven’s and Lennon’s music careers. The two artists existed in dissimilar centuries and historical periods. Beethoven began his musical career earlier than Lennon did, virtually because he was born before him. They lived in dissimilar societal settings that subsisted differently. At that epoch, man was inventing new ideas that would ease work. The development was also evidenced in the music world when Beethoven came up with nine symphonies and five piano concertos (Blanchard & Acree, 183). He majorly concentrated on romantic songs and composed orthodox music that influenced the appreciation of love songs. He influenced the populace to love and appreciate songs that pass indispensable message of romance to the masses. Conversely, Lennon came to existence much earlier in the twentieth century. The music world had experienced much of improvement since Beethoven passed away. Lennon came up with the rock style of music and was occupied in songwriting partnership that distorted the music panorama globally (Makela, 225). The historical period in which they existed was dissimilar from each other, and consequently prejudiced their compositions. The comparison that existed between Beethoven’s works of art and the historical period was that both composed songs that were sung using similar instruments. The piano was the main instrument used by two parties to make song enjoyable and fascinating to the public. The similarity that existed between Lennon’s works of art and historical period was that the songs passed the message of peace to public (Makela, 117). He also performed in groups which was a common thing done in the historical period. Another similarity was the instruments he used were

The Cultures of Colonial North America Essay Example for Free

The Cultures of Colonial North America Essay The Enlightment and the Great Awakening were both huge impacts on the colonial regions of North America. During the Enlightment, the thinkers were arguing that the universe was governed by natural laws that people could understand and apply to their own advantage. The writers were emphasizing rationality, harmony, and order. Sons were being sent to college during this time and many people were reading and writing. However the Enlightment did cause a decline in religious devotion. The Great Awakening was a response to the Enlightment because it challenged the rationalist approach to religion by having ministers preach more emotionally than rationally, by having people find relief in religious enthusiasm, and by having like-minded men be trained for the ministry. Before the Great Awakening, people were listening to ministers who were preaching rationally and not emotionally. The poor young people began to grow disaffected as they were forced to postpone marriages because of scarcity and expense of the land needed to farm a household. They refused to attend church meetings and would instead gather together at night for frolics, increasing their discontent. In the 1730s, Reverend Jonathan Edwards began a movement to challenge the rationalist approach on religion. He made the young people his target. He believed that their hearts needed to be touched in a way that appealed to their emotions. He preached and church membership began to grow with people wondering what they could do to be saved. People then began to listen to ministers preaching emotionally, rather than to ministers preaching rationally. People began to feel relief in religious enthusiasm. The people were going through economic and social stresses at this time, being unable to find land and unsure whether to marry, and to participate in the promise of a growing economy. This widespread colonial revival of religion became known as the Great Awakening. It is seen as the American version of the Protestant Reformation. Religious leaders established this with calls for piety and purity. During the Great Awakening, ministers began to be taught to preach emotionally. William Tennent established a school in Pennsylvania to train like-minded men for the ministry. His Log College evolved in the College of New Jersey. William Tennent toured with George Whitefield to deliver the famous sermon The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry. This sermon told Protestants to examine the religious convictions of their own ministries. Conflict did break out, and in some regions the church hierarchy divided into separate organizations. The Enlightment and the Great Awakening go hand-in-hand in impacting the colonies of North America. The Enlightment was a time when there was a decline in religious devotion, but the Great Awakening was a colonial revival in the spread of religion. The Great Awakening was a response to the Enlightment because it challenged the rationalist approach to religion by having ministers preach more emotionally than rationally, by having people find relief in religious enthusiasm, and by having like-minded men be trained tor the ministry. The Great Awakening helped many economically and socially stressed people find relief in religion.

Impacts on Market Structures

Impacts on Market Structures Market Structure La’Toni Rice Market structure, as it relates to economics has concerns. Our Market Structure is made of many different budgetary elements and variables, for example, the merchant, the purchaser, the value, item the presence of rivalry and the level thereof or the complete nonattendance. In light of the different stages and consolidations of the interrelationship of these variables, there are exactly four real sorts of market structures. There are four market types; perfect competition, monopoly, monopolistic competition, and oligopoly. Monopoly, alone hold the greatest market power. With relation to different market structures, these two are especially significant, perfect competition and monopoly. The products that form the basis of all market transactions may be either homogeneous or heterogeneous. Market Structures Perfect competition subsist when numerous firms offer an indistinguishable item to numerous purchasers; there are no limitations on entrance into (or retreat from) the business; created firms have no focal point over new firms; and dealers and purchasers are decently educated about costs. A firm in immaculate rivalry is a value taker—it cannot impact the cost of its item. The business interest bend is descending slanting. At the same time, a superbly focused firm confronts a consummately versatile request so the associations interest bend is flat. Negligible income, MR, is the change in aggregate income that comes about because of a one-unit expansion in the amount sold. In impeccable rivalry, peripheral income equivalents cost. A firm expands its benefit by preparing the amount of yield at which add up to income surpasses sum require by the biggest measure. An alternate approach to discover the benefit-boosting yield is to utilize peripheral examination. A firm expands its be nefit by preparing the amount of yield at which minimal income measures up to negligible expense. In the event that a firm close down, it causes a misfortune equivalent to its aggregate settled expense. The shutdown focus is the value that equivalents the base normal variable expense. A companys supply bend is its minor expense bend above least normal variable rate. (Amacher, R., Pate, J. 2013) In Perfect Competition Price = Average Revenue = Marginal Revenue, the relationship between elasticity of demand, price and total revenue is if demand is elastic then increase in price decreases total revenue and decrease in price increases total revenue, if demand in unitary elastic then decrease or increase in price has no effect on total revenue, if demand is inelastic then increase in price leads to increase in total revenue and decrease in price leads to decrease in total revenue. (Amacher, R., Pate, J. 2013). In long run equilibrium firm earns normal profit, thus price = marginal cost = minimum average cost, resulting in total revenue = total cost. (Amacher, R., Pate, J. 2013). A prime example of Perfect Competition is something purchasing identical looking cucumbers from your local farmers market, or buying an HTC on Amazon. The market supply curve in the short run indicates the amount supplied at each one cost by a settled number of firms. Market demand and market supply focus the business cost and amount purchased and sold. Each one firm takes the cost as given and produces its benefit augmenting yield. The point when value rises to the normal sum take, a firm makes zero monetary benefit, that is, its holders win an ordinary benefit. The firm makes a monetary benefit when value surpasses normal aggregate cost and causes a budgetary misfortune when value is not exactly normal sum cost. Oligopoly is a business sector structure in which a little number of firms contend and common or legitimate restraints anticipate new ones. Firms in oligopoly would make the same financial benefit as a monopoly assuming that they can act together to limit yield to the restraining monopoly level. When we think of Oligopoly one thinks of Exxon, ATT. In spite of the fact that each one firm can make a bigger monetary benefit by expanding generation, this movement diminishes the investment benefits of alternate firms. A cartel is a gathering of firms acting together to utmost yield, raise cost, and consequently build investment benefit. The duopolists difficulty is that each one firm, taking activities to augment its benefit by expanding creation, could wind up with a more level benefit on account of the self-interest of alternate firms, taking comparable profit amplifying movements to stretch their productions. Monopoly is a market is a business sector with a solitary supplier of a good or service that has no close substitutes and in which common, proprietorship, or lawful restraints, which prevent section, avert competition. A solitary or single-price monopoly is an imposing monopoly that offers every unit of its yield for the same cost to all its clients. A value separating monopoly infrastructure is a syndication that has the capacity to offer diverse units of a goods services with many distinctive costs. A monopoly requires that barriers to entry into the market must be so high that no other firms can enter. There are four barriers high enough to keep out competing firms: A government blocks the entry of more than one firm into a market; one firm has control over a key resource necessary to produce a good; there are important network externalities in supplying the good or service; economies of scale are so large that one firm has a natural monopoly. Monopolistic competition is a market structure in which a substantial number of firms contend; each firm produces a separated item; firms contend on item quality, value, and showcasing; and firms are allowed to enter and passageway. The four-firm fixation proportion and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index that measure the degree to which a business is commanded by a little number of firms. A firm in monopolistic rivalry expands benefit by generating the yield at which peripheral income breaks even with minor expense. For example Reebok will probably always compete against Nike, just as HTC will continue to compete with Samsung, as will Sony and RCA rivalry continue. The value is controlled by the interest. Entrance and passageway bring about zero financial benefit in the long- run. Monopolistically intense firms have abundance limit in long-run balance since they process less than the proficient scale. In monopolistic competition cost surpasses negligible expense which shows wastefulness however the wastefulness emerges from item variety. To maintain economic benefit, firms in monopolistic competition develop and create new items, and acquire colossal expenses to guarantee that purchasers like the contrasts between their own particular items and those of their rivals. Offering expenses, for example, publicizing, are a settled cost and expand the aggregate expense. Yet they may lower normal aggregate expense assuming that they build the amount sold by a vast measure. When we think of Real-life example of Market structures it is practically difficult to think about just one immaculate case of an industry, or market, that shows flawless attributes. Take for example Teletech which was once located in my city, Birmingham is now located in Englewood Oregen, and is now [emailprotected] Virtual Solutions. [emailprotected] serves clients in every vertical industry and across multiple geographies. (www.teletech.com). [emailprotected] Virtual Workforce Solutions addresses the following: Full Service, Provides clients with the ability to extend their footprint into an at-home solution while allowing the TeleTech experts to fully support the model Business Continuity, the ability to utilize a set-up and standby support model with Virtual support. Hub and Spoke- Allows clients to extend their brick-and-mortar centers to address seasonality impacts, avoiding the cost of investing in additional facilities. (www.teletech.com.) Americans now use VoIP phones, with 42 million users estimated (Suzukamo). According to Infonetics research, North American VoIP service revenue was up to $1.3 billion in 2004. Sales are expected to reach $29.9 billion in 2012 (Francis). Our text describes Barriers to entry as impediments that make it troublesome, immoderate or even inconceivable for new firms to enter an industry. Case in point, licenses make it inconceivable for opponents to prepare machines or pharmaceuticals that have been created by a specific firm. Also, if a mining organization controls the main wellspring of a specific mineral, on the other hand adversaries will be unable to give that mineral along these lines contend with the organization. Also, a few firms by righteousness of their size delight in respectable expense funds, and these economies of scale can additionally be incomprehensible for newcomers to match, hence likewise making a considerable hindrance to new contestants Competitive Pressures can be better understood when using simple logic If your firm is inefficient but operating, then high barriers prevent others from being able to establish a competing business making the inefficient business more likely to continue to exist. When the option of honestly creating a product to compete many produce substitutes, for example hip and lip injection. High barriers to entry = lower competitive pressures. This ensures that new companies cant jump in and compete to their advantage. Price elasticity of demand is a term in economics often used when discussing price sensitivity. The formula for calculating price elasticity of demand is: Price Elasticity of Demand = % Change in Quantity Demanded / % Change in Price Price elasticity of demand measures the responsiveness of interest to changes in cost for a specific great. In the event that the price elasticity of demand is equivalent to 0, interest is splendidly inelastic (i.e., demand does not change when value changes). Price values between zero and one show that request is inelastic (this happens when the percent change sought after is less than the percent change in cost). The point when elasticity of demand of interest equivalents one, interest is unit flexible (the percent change is then equivalent to the percent change in cost). At last, if the quality is more terrific than one, interest is splendidly versatile demand is influenced to a escalating degree by progressions in cost. Businesses evaluate price elasticity of demand for various products to help predict the impact of a pricing on product sales. Typically, businesses charge higher prices if demand for the product is price inelastic. Price takers must offer their items at the market cost. Since each of their value is small contrasted with aggregate business yield, value takers can offer their sum yield at the market price. Notwithstanding, they cant offer their output at a value more amazing than the business cost. In a price takers market, each firm handles indistinguishable items (homogenous products) the yield supplied by a that single firm has almost no impact available value every vender confronts a flat (or consummately versatile)demand curve. Value grabbers are organizations whose item has a descending slanting interest. The sum the organization can offer is contrarily identified with the cost charged. The firm picks the cost, however the amount sold hinges on upon the cost charged. Although Government plays a pevital role in our economy, their main role is to correct problems how ever associtated with external costs and benefits, public goods, and imperfect competition. (Amacher, R., Pate, J. 2013). The intervention taken on by Government to correct market failure is a great attempt in bringing markets closer together with very successful outcomes and thereby reducing any attached deadweight losses. Although theses attempts have been made they are not guaranteed. Governments may try to change the procurement of certain merchandise and administrations dependent upon a regularizing judgment that buyers will devour an excessive amount of or excessively little of the products. Merchandise for which such judgments are made are called legitimacy or bad mark products. Governments redistribute salary through exchange installments. Such redistribution frequently runs from individuals with higher earnings to individuals with more level salaries, however other exchange installments head off to individuals who are generally more contented. It can be said that the positive effects of International Trade (IT) on Economic Growth1 (EG) were first pointed out by Smith (1776). If you walk into your local Publx and have your choice of are able to buy Europian bananas and pineapples and a bottle of French bottle of De Luze Cognac, you are experiencing the effects of international trade. International trade permits us to extend our businesses for both merchandise and administrations that generally might not have been accessible to us. It is the motivation behind why you can pick between a American, Eurrpean, or German auto. As an after-effect of universal exchange, the business holds more excellent rivalry and in this manner more aggressive costs, which carries a less expensive item home to the purchaser. The economic system will continue to grow and flurish and Market structure, will continue to be composed of various economic dynamics and variables Government will continue to play a pevital role in our economy. We know we cannot abolish Government nor their decision, but we can continue to make ourselves knowldgable of changes that take effect in our economy. Assuming that firms have utilized an incredible arrangement of money making a productive brand, this may also cripple new firms from entering the industry as they may be unwilling to utilize the measure of money significant to match the made affiliations brand power. If firms have used a great deal of cash making a fruitful brand, this may additionally debilitate new firms from entering the industry as they may be unwilling to use the measure of cash important to match the created associations brand power. References Withagen, C. A., Florax, R. M., Mulatu, A. A. (2007). Optimal Environmental Policy Differentials in Open Economies under Emissions Constraints. Journal Of Economics (Zeitschrift Fur Nationalokonomie), 91(2), 129-149. doi:http://dx.doi.org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1007/s00712-007-0259-1

Friday Night Lights - Just Read It ! :: friday

Friday Night Lights - Just Read It ! Meat head, dumb jock. These are just two of the many derogatory labels given to football players. Is it possible for me, a meat head, to hear the criticisms dealt to the sport of football? Is it possible for me, a dumb football jock, to understand and be objective about the issues raised in the book, Friday Night Lights? Yes, because I'm not the stereotypical football player like those described of Odessa, Texas. The football players in Odessa were generally a wild party crowd. It was typical that late in the fourth quarter, when the game was in the bag, the players would begin talking on the sidelines about what parties they were going to after the game, what girls they were going to try to pick up, and laughing about how drunk they were going to get. They cared nothing for academics. The senior star running back, Boobie Miles, was taking a math course that most students took as freshmen. Many of the senior players' schedules consisted of nothing but electives. For the Oddesa footbal players, school was nothing more than a social get-to-gether, served up to them as a chance to flirt with girls and hand out with their friends. They knew that their performance in class didn't matter; the teacher would provide the needed grade to stay on the team. It wasn't uncommon for players to receive answer keys for a test or simply to be exempt from taking the test at all. Some didn't know how they would cope without football after the season was over. They ate, drank, and slept it. On the whole, these 16 and 17-year-old boys' identity was wrapped up in a pigskin. The Odessa football players couldn't be objective about criticisms of football. Their total self-esteem depended on how they did on Friday night. This was the glorified culmination of their football career: wearing the black MoJo uniform in the stadium under the big lights. Football was more than just a game to them; it was a religion. It "made them seem like boys going off to fight a war for the benefit of someone else, unwitting sacrifices to a strange and powerful god" (Bissinger, p.11). Because football was so meaningful in their lives, to criticize it was to criticize everything they'd worked so hard for and lived for.

Government Essay -- Governmental Politcs Political Essays

Government Government! You can't live with it! You can't live without it! It is the "common cold" that everyone dreads. The American Heritage College Dictionary, Third Edition defines government as, "The exercise of authority in a political unit in order to control and administer public policy." Webster's Desk Dictionary of the English Language defines government as, "The political direction and control exercised over a nation, state, community, etc." The common individual might define government as the root of all evil. The thing about government is that no one stops to think about how government came about. Government falls into two categories; monarchy or a republic. A monarchy is a form of government that is always headed by a monarch (king, queen, emperor, etc.) These monarchs develop this status most often by heredity. Monarchies are divided into three different magnitudes; limited, constitutional, and absolute. A limited monarchy is where the sovereign's powers are limited to ceremonial events. They do not interfere with politics. Most countries that have a limited monarchy have a Prime Minister that takes care of the political business. An example of a limited monarchy is in the United Kingdom. Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch. She is the one that holds all the ceremonies, cuts ribbons, and kisses babies. Prime Minister John Major has all political responsibilities. A constitutional monarchy is when the monarch's power is defined in the constitution of that country. The king has the ability to veto bills, but is just like any other citizen of that country. He is not above the law. An example of this type of monarchy is Sweden, or Norway. The last type of monarchy is an absolute monarchy. This monarch ha... ... as a result of conquest and force. Karl Marx was a tremendous supporter of the force theory. He believed that government is genuinely bad and people should try to revolt. He predicted that government would eventually vanquish and the world would be completely government free. Obviously Marx's prediction did not happen. One particular event that occurred was the Industrial Revolution. More jobs resulted from the industrial revolution giving people fewer reasons to revolt. All theories could apply to our government. What it comes down to is that we have a government, we are stuck with a government, therefore we should do our best to make our government the best that it can be. There are many aspects to a government. One should take a good look at other countries and be thankful for the type we have. Government may be the root of evil, but it is a necessary evil.

Native Americans vs. European Colonists Essay -- religious beliefs, e

The European colonists and the Native Americans of North America had very different views on nearly everything they encountered in their lives. Living in vastly different cultures lead both groups to have two extremely different outlooks on four main topics; religious beliefs, the environment, social relations, and slavery, differences which the colonists used to their advantage when conquering the peoples of the New World. The colonists, by saying that the Native Americans were primitive and savage because of their differing and seemingly illogical attitudes, were able to do things that they could never have done to people they believed to be equals. Whether this was a conscious or subconscious method on the part of the Europeans remains hotly debated, but the fact remains that by pointing out the differences of the two main cultures as a negative denoting European superiority, the colonists were able to take the Native American lands and goods without much remorse. When this country began, there were few European colonists with the modern perspective of tolerance towards different cultures. Hardly anyone sought to learn about the Indian culture, very few adopted it as their own, and the majorities were often fearful and anxious toward their new neighbors. These four main differences in religious beliefs, the environment, social relations, and slavery, were what sparked the ill treatment towards the Native Americans, an atrocious treatment that would continue for the next three hundred years in America. Religious beliefs were very important to the first European Colonists who came to America. In Europe during the 1600’s, religion was something that decided a lot of things in a person’s life; what part o... ...iogrosso "The Joy of Sects" and Books on Spirituality and World Religion, Religion Discussion Weblog, Editorial Consultation, Spiritual Direction. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. . Popick, Jacqui. "Native American Women, Past, Present and Future." Lethbridge Undergraduate Research Journal 1.1 (2006). Web. 3 Mar. 2011. . Pritzker, Barry. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2000. Print. Roe, Melissa A. "Indentured Servants." EH.Net | Economic History Services. Lafayette College. Web. 4 Mar. 2011. . Taylor, Alan. American Colonies: The Settling of North America. London: Penguin, 2002. Print. Wiesner, Merry E. An Age of Voyages, 1350-1600. New York: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

Media and Islam Essay

An area of popular research throughout the last two decades is the study of mainstream media and it’s depiction of individuals that follow the Islamic faith. It is evident that Muslims encounter countless stereotypes through the lens of Western media consumers. This essay will highlight events occurring after the September 11, 2001 World Trade Centre attacks and ultimately display the Islamophobia present within politics. It is through this research that I will outline the stereotypes prevalent whilst providing contemporary media examples. Overall, this essay will argue that Islamophobia is prevalent in contemporary Western media; however, combating this Islamophobia is also evidently visible. Furthermore, due to certain media structures such as corporate ownership dominance and cultural consensus, Islam is viewed as the antagonist of Western culture. Overall, this essay will focus on the two evident spectrums of media coverage of Muslims and their religion as a topic of disco urse. Through this essay I will aim to conclude that though extreme Islamophobia is prevalent in Western media, there is many media outlets that look to eliminate Islamophobia and Xenophobia altogether. The media coverage that will be analyzed will be highlighting Quebec’s political party; Parti Quebecois’ proposal for secular changes to the Quebec Charter and the recent Boston Marathon Bombing media coverage. I will begin this essay by defining the phrase â€Å"Islamophobia† and it’s significance within Western media coverage. Islamophobia is an ideology that radiates negative meanings to Muslims and Islam, thereby giving rise to negative attitudes and discriminatory practices against Muslims and Islam (ethnic). It is the fear of followers of the Islamic religion and negative views on the religion as a whole. Islamophobia leads to many negative depictions of Muslims. Moreover Islamophobia is described as the belief that Islam is inferior to the west (GoG ale). Also, it is studied as, â€Å" barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist; Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a clash of civilizations† (GoGale). If one were to have the same views against another religion or ethnic group in the West, it would be considered racism. However, as stated by Gema Martin-Munoz, this is not the case with Islam. She claims â€Å"Hostility towards Islam is used to justify discriminatory practices against Muslims and the exclusion of Muslims from mainstream society. Anti-Muslim hostility is seen as natural or  normal† (GoGale). Islamophobia and the Hijab: It is one of the reasons that the hijab is a controversial issue in contemporary Western societies and media. The lack of knowledge of reasoning behind the decision of Muslim women to cover their heads leads individuals to assume that these specified women are oppressed as a result of clear sexism in the Muslim religion. Also, Islamophobia is also prevalent with regards to the hijab as many Western media outlets describe it as a symbol of terrorism (examples will be described shortly). Overall, Islamophobia in the West is the fear and negative depiction of Muslims and Islamophobia with regards to the hijab is to view one choosing to wear it as a representation of oppression and terrorism. I will begin this section by summarizing the events for the two aforementioned political events. First, the Boston Bombing occurred on April 15, 2013 at the Boston Marathon. Two brothers were considered the alleged criminals for building and planting two pressure cooker bombs that exploded near the finish line of the marathon. This caused the death of three people and wounded more than 260 (Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Seeks Dismissal of Some Charges). Tamerlan Tsarnaev aged 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev aged 20, were involved in a police chase that evidently resulted in the death of the older brother, Tamerlan, during a police shootout, while Dzhokhar was eventually caught hiding in the Boston town of Watertown (Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Seeks Dismissal of Some Charges). Fox News stated, â€Å"Authorities say he and his older brother, Tamerlan, ethnic Chechens from Russia who emigrated to the United States as children, planned and carried out the attack to retaliate against the U.S for its involvement in Muslim countries† (Kelly). Authorities said Dzhokhar had scratched anti-American messages on the inside of the boat, including â€Å" The U.S Government is killing our innocent civilians† and â€Å"We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all† after the death of his older brother (Kelly). Radical Islamic views were deemed the motive behind the attacked by the alleged criminals. Further, the younger Tsarnaev brother was caught a few days after the bombing and is now facing over 30 federal counts, including the use of weapons of mass destruction (Boston Marathon Bombing Suspect Seeks Dismissal of Some Charges). Power is a critical aspect of gaining an  audience for the media. Individuals and groups that possess power are deemed newsworthy. These organizations become the center of attention and information during political events and are the dominant hub of information that consumers are exposed to. This directly correlates to Fox News as it holds a large amount of power in regards to television. Specifically, in 2013 Fox News was the number one ranked news station for the twelfth consecutive year. As studied by TVNEWSER, â€Å"Fox News remained on top in 2013, capping off its 12th consecutive year as the most-watched cable news network among both total viewers and A25-54 viewers (Knox). This ranking is due to its news content being exposed to almost two million consumers daily (Knox). Ultimately, this creates a problem, as Fox News is an obvious right wing conservative news channel. It is to be noted that Fox News is commonly witnessed using the news channel to express the partisan beliefs of its owners and news team. The power Fox News holds has played an integral part in the framing of Muslims accompanying the Boston Marathon Bombing attacks. Framing is defined as the way in which we talk about an issue or event that puts it into a context, and it has important implications for public opinion and the alternatives available for addressing the issue (Ridout, 150). Following the bombings in Boston, framing was observed through Fox News and its’ media outlets. Specifically, on April 20th, 2013 (five days after the bombing) Fox News correspondents indirectly claimed Islam as the evident factor behind the motive of both of the main suspects, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The heading during this specified newscast was â€Å" The Mind of A Terrorist, Factors t hat May Lead to a Radical Path†. As the newscast prolonged correspondents were expressing radical frames to the brothers. Specifically, they continued to frame the plot and reason behind the alleged attack to directly correlate to the Islamic religion of the two brothers. As the panel discussed, one correspondent questioned the wife of the older brother, Tamerlan, and her involvement in the alleged plot. He stated, â€Å"I just wonder that if under questioning she can honestly say that she had no idea that her husband who spent a year away and prayed five times a day, that she had no indication that he was capable of this† (The Mind of a Terrorist). Stating this, the correspondent undeniably created a relation to terrorism and the Islamic act of praying five times a day. This correspondent framed the bombing to put terrorism in the same context as the  religion of Islam. Additionally, with the large consumer numbers of Fox News, this opinion had reached a number of pe ople providing them with a framed context on a political event. Fox News continued their coverage of the Boston Bombing whilst focusing on and stressing the Muslim religion of both the Tsarnaev brothers. At the same time, media outlets that disregarded their religion were ignored as importance of their Islamic roots grew rapidly. Overall, the power of Fox News in contemporary media enables the outlet as newsworthy, regardless of the content media and partisan biases present within the origins of the organization as a public outlet. Though the Boston Marathon Bombings were encircled around the fact that there were two male Muslim victims, the media found a way to deepen the Islamophobia already prevalent with attacks on the hijab. Specifically, the wife of Tamerlan, Katherine Russell was a convert who wore the hijab. This directly made her a terrorist in the eyes of Fox News and its’ correspondents. One example of this was witnessed by Ann Coulter, a Fox News correspondent and avid Conservative. When speaking about Katherine’s knowledge of her husbands alleged plans to bomb the Boston Marathon, she spoke about her extremely negatively. When her peers stated that Katherine must have had ideas that Tamerlan was having terrorist-like thoughts, Coulter stated, â€Å" I don’t care if she knew about this. She ought to be in prison for wearing a hijab† (Insider). This is a clear example of cultural consensus. As explained by Professor Katherine Bullock, the cultural elite in Western society deem the Western states as the hero, the Muslims as the villain and the citizens of the state as clear victims (Bullock). Also, it is important to note that with regards to Fox News, there is a lack of diversity in views. The news channel has correspondents that share similar views and as a result, the consumer receives and interprets one-sided media coverage. This is a clear problem with Western media outlets as the lack of diversity supports bias opinions. Overall, Fox News is a prime example of the stereotypes Muslim’s face in Western contemporary societies. The Parti Quebecois’ Quebec Charter Proposal: Differentiating greatly from that of the Western media views on the Boston Marathon Bombings, the media coverage of the proposed Charter changes by the Parti Quebecois was vastly different. The media coverage around the party’s  disapproval of overt and conspicuous religious symbols worn within the government was relatively negative. This evidently shows a different perspective showing that that combating of Islamophobia is prevalent in some Western media outlets. The change to the Quebec Charter was issued by the Parti Quebecois; a popular political party of Quebec. In early September of 2013, the Parti Quebecois held a press conference at the National Assembly in Quebec City (global). At this press conference, the Bernard Drainville, the Minister responsible for Democratic Institutions and Active Citizenship discussed how his party planned to shed light on religious accommodations and Quebec values (global). With the ultimate goal of religious neutrality of the state, he s tated, â€Å"these offer harmonious relations and social cohesion for a Quebec that is increasingly multiethnic and multireligious† (global). In other words, the Part Quebecois aimed to eliminate large religious symbols identifying a specific individual’s religious beliefs and values. It is to be noted that the main purpose of this mandate was to instill equality between both sexes along with religious neutrality within the government institutions of the province of Quebec. These five proposals are as listed: 1. Enshrine the questions of religious accommodation in the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms by outlining the separation of religion and state, the religious neutrality of the state and the secular nature of its institutions, taking into account our common historical heritage; 2. Ensure that religious neutrality for government employees in the performance of their duties is established in law; 3. Outline what is considered conspicuous religious symbols for government employees during working hours (the proposal is subject to a right of withdrawal for a period of up to five years, renewable for certain sectors); 4. Ensure that the face is visible when giving or receiving government services 5. Establish a policy to implement the religious neutrality of the state and the management of religious accommodation for government agencies. Drainville concluded the press conference by stating, â€Å" Our proposals will be a source of greater understand ing, harmony and cohesion for all Quebec and all Quebecers, regardless of their religion or origin† (global). This was an evident political issue, as all public servants were no longer allowed to publicly associate themselves with the religions they previously followed. However, public servants were allowed to wear inconspicuous religion symbols such as  necklaces, rings or earrings with religious symbols, e.g the Star of David (global). The controversy arose as individuals realized that the Parti Quà ©bà ©cois would be preventing individuals from wearing things such as a headscarf, hijab, turban or kippa (global). This evidently would strip public servants of the fundamental rights stated under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Specifically, the Fundamental Rights section within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states, â€Å"2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association.† (Charter) The proposed Quebec Charter changes would contradict those within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This caused a clear backlash as individuals stated that the charter changes were unconstitutional and racist. The criticism witnessed through media ultimately showed the combating of the Islamophobia of the Parti Quebecois. Canadian newspapers and stations discussed this issue heavily and conclusively noted this new proposal as racist and xenophobic. CBC News reported differing opinions than that of the Part Quebecois evidently labeling the Charter proposal as racist. For example, CBC interviewed William Steinburg, the mayor of Montreal town Hamstead as he stated, â€Å" We will not comply with a racist and immoral law† and further continued stating, â€Å" In the event that the Quebec government passes this odious bill, which will force people to choose between their religious beliefs and their jobs, it will not be enforced in Hampstead† (CBC). Steinburg irrefutably is combating Islamophobia and Xenophobia altogether that was brought upon by the Parti Quebecois. Another CBC article reported on the hijab and its relation to the proposed secular Quebec Charter as they interviewed non-Muslim university professors donning the hijab to protest against it. It interviewed Nora Jaffary of Concordia University and McGill University’s Catherine Lu. Both women chose to wear the hijab to protest the Charter changes. Nora Jaffary stated that for many Muslim women that reside in Quebec, the hijab and veiling in general, is not  something that is forced upon them by parents or husbands and continued by stating that the proposed ban on the hijab would target groups of minorities in the Canadian province of Quebec (cbc). Specifically she believed it would target and single out Muslim women (cbc). The article continued by stating that if more people joined the protest alongside Jaffary and Lu, there could be a major impact on the pr oposed legislation. Overall, CBC News showed its’ stance on the proposed secular Charter changes in Quebec. The media outlet continuously spoke against the Charter changes and advocated the fundamental freedoms of Muslim women and all other minorities that would be stripped of their right to practice religion as inhabitants within Canada. News coverage by a different Canadian media outlet showed similar results. Specifically, when analyzing Global News media coverage of the Quebec Charter changes, it was evident that Global News also looked to eliminate discrimination and as a result, Islamophobia. For example, a post doctoral individual from Concordia University, Emmanuelle Richez, commented on this Charter change with negativity as he stated, â€Å" So they’re not saying it, but it’s going to be more constraining for people that are not part of the religious majority†. Overall, the Parti Quebecois stated that it was attempting to move towards religious equality, however, it was attempting to ban fundamental freedoms of the Canadian people of religious freedom and forcing assimilation.

Ferdinand de Saussure Essay

Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain of its own. [1][2] The preferred object of stylistic studies is literature, but not exclusively â€Å"high literature† but also other forms of written texts such as text from the domains of advertising, pop culture, politics or religion. [3] Stylistics also attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language, such as socialisation, the production and reception of meaning, critical discourse analysis and literary criticism. Other features of stylistics include the use of dialogue, including regional accents and people’s dialects, descriptive language, the use of grammar, such as the active voice or passive voice, the distribution of sentence lengths, the use of particular language registers, etc. In addition, stylistics is a distinctive term that may be used to determine the connections between the form and effects within a particular variety of language. Therefore, stylistics looks at what is ‘going on’ within the language; what the linguistic associations are that the style of language reveals. * | Early twentieth century The analysis of literary style goes back to Classical rhetoric, but modern stylistics has its roots in Russian Formalism,[4] and the related Prague School, in the early twentieth century. In 1909, Charles Bally’s Traite de stylistique francaise had proposed stylistics as a distinct academic discipline to complement Saussurean linguistics. For Bally, Saussure’s linguistics by itself couldn’t fully describe the language of personal expression. [5] Bally’s programme fitted well with the aims of the Prague School. [6] Building on the ideas of the Russian Formalists, the Prague School developed the concept of foregrounding, whereby poetic language stands out from the background of non-literary language by means of deviation (from the norms of everyday language) or parallelism. [7] According to the Prague School, the background language isn’t fixed, and the relationship between poetic and everyday language is always shifting. [8] Late twentieth century Roman Jakobson had been an active member of the Russian Formalists and the Prague School, before emigrating to America in the 1940s. He brought together Russian Formalism and American New Criticism in his Closing Statement at a conference on stylistics at Indiana University in 1958. [9] Published as Linguistics and Poetics in 1960, Jakobson’s lecture is often credited with being the first coherent formulation of stylistics, and his argument was that the study of poetic language should be a sub-branch of linguistics. [10] The poetic function was one of six general functions of language he described in the lecture. Michael Halliday is an important figure in the development of British stylistics. [11] His 1971 study Linguistic Function and Literary Style: An Inquiry into the Language of William Golding’s ‘The Inheritors’ is a key essay. [12] One of Halliday’s contributions has been the use of the term register to explain the connections between language and its context. [13] For Halliday register is distinct from dialect. Dialect refers to the habitual language of a particular user in a specific geographical or social context. Register describes the choices made by the user,[14] choices which depend on three variables: field (â€Å"what the participants†¦ are actually engaged in doing†, for instance, discussing a specific subject or topic),[15] tenor (who is taking part in the exchange) and mode (the use to which the language is being put). Fowler comments that different fields produce different language, most obviously at the level of vocabulary (Fowler. 1996, 192) The linguist David Crystal points out that Halliday’s ‘tenor’ stands as a roughly equivalent term for ‘style’, which is a more specific alternative used by linguists to avoid ambiguity. (Crystal. 1985, 292) Halliday’s third category, mode, is what he refers to as the symbolic organisation of the situation. Downes recognises two distinct aspects within the category of mode and suggests that not only does it describe the relation to the medium: written, spoken, and so on, but also describes the genre of the text. (Downes. 1998, 316) Halliday refers to genre as pre-coded language, language that has not simply been used before, but that predetermines the selection of textual meanings. The linguist William Downes makes the point that the principal characteristic of register, no matter how peculiar or diverse, is that it is obvious and immediately recognisable. (Downes. 1998, 309) Literary stylistics In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Crystal observes that, in practice, most stylistic analysis has attempted to deal with the complex and ‘valued’ language within literature, i. e.  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœliterary stylistics’. He goes on to say that in such examination the scope is sometimes narrowed to concentrate on the more striking features of literary language, for instance, its ‘deviant’ and abnormal features, rather than the broader structures that are found in whole texts or discourses. For example, the compact language of poetry is more likely to reveal the secrets of its construction to the stylistician than is the language of plays and novels. (Crystal. 1987, 71). Poetry As well as conventional styles of language there are the unconventional – the most obvious of which is poetry. In Practical Stylistics, HG Widdowson examines the traditional form of the epitaph, as found on headstones in a cemetery. For example: His memory is dear today As in the hour he passed away. (Ernest C. Draper ‘Ern’. Died 4. 1. 38) (Widdowson. 1992, 6) Widdowson makes the point that such sentiments are usually not very interesting and suggests that they may even be dismissed as ‘crude verbal carvings’ and crude verbal disturbance (Widdowson, 3). Nevertheless, Widdowson recognises that they are a very real attempt to convey feelings of human loss and preserve affectionate recollections of a beloved friend or family member. However, what may be seen as poetic in this language is not so much in the formulaic phraseology but in where it appears. The verse may be given undue reverence precisely because of the sombre situation in which it is placed. Widdowson suggests that, unlike words set in stone in a graveyard, poetry is unorthodox language that vibrates with inter-textual implications. (Widdowson. 1992, 4) Two problems with a stylistic analysis of poetry are noted by PM Wetherill in Literary Text: An Examination of Critical Methods. The first is that there may be an over-preoccupation with one particular feature that may well minimise the significance of others that are equally important. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) The second is that any attempt to see a text as simply a collection of stylistic elements will tend to ignore other ways whereby meaning is produced. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) Implicature In ‘Poetic Effects’ from Literary Pragmatics, the linguist Adrian Pilkington analyses the idea of ‘implicature’, as instigated in the previous work of Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. Implicature may be divided into two categories: ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ implicature, yet between the two extremes there are a variety of other alternatives. The strongest implicature is what is emphatically implied by the speaker or writer, while weaker implicatures are the wider possibilities of meaning that the hearer or reader may conclude. Pilkington’s ‘poetic effects’, as he terms the concept, are those that achieve most relevance through a wide array of weak implicatures and not those meanings that are simply ‘read in’ by the hearer or reader. Yet the distinguishing instant at which weak implicatures and the hearer or reader’s conjecture of meaning diverge remains highly subjective. As Pilkington says: ‘there is no clear cut-off point between assumptions which the speaker certainly endorses and assumptions derived purely on the hearer’s responsibility. ’ (Pilkington. 1991, 53) In addition, the stylistic qualities of poetry can be seen as an accompaniment to Pilkington’s poetic effects in understanding a poem’s meaning. Stylistics is a valuable if long-winded approach to criticism, and compels attention to the poem’s details. Two of the three simple exercises performed here show that the poem is deficient in structure, and needs to be radically recast. The third sheds light on its content. Introduction Stylistics applies linguistics to literature in the hope of arriving at analyses which are more broadly based, rigorous and objective. {1} The pioneers were the Prague and Russian schools, but their approaches have been appropriated and extended in recent years by radical theory. Stylistics can be evaluative (i. e.  judge the literary worth on stylistic criteria), but more commonly attempts to simply analyze and describe the workings of texts which have already been selected as noteworthy on other grounds. Analyses can appear objective, detailed and technical, even requiring computer assistance, but some caution is needed. Linguistics is currently a battlefield of contending theories, with no settlement in sight. Many critics have no formal training in linguistics, or even proper reading, and are apt to build on theories (commonly those of Saussure or Jacobson) that are inappropriate and/or no longer accepted. Some of the commonest terms, e. g. deep structure, foregrounding, have little or no experimental support. {2} Linguistics has rather different objectives, moreover: to study languages in their entirety and generality, not their use in art forms. Stylistic excellence — intelligence, originality, density and variety of verbal devices — play their part in literature, but aesthetics has long recognized that other aspects are equally important: fidelity to experience, emotional shaping, significant content. Stylistics may well be popular because it regards literature as simply part of language and therefore (neglecting the aesthetic dimension) without a privileged status, which allows the literary canon to be replaced by one more politically or sociologically acceptable. {3} Why then employ stylistics at all? Because form is important in poetry, and stylistics has the largest armoury of analytical weapons. Moreover, stylistics need not be reductive and simplistic. There is no need to embrace Jacobson’s theory that poetry is characterized by the projection of the paradigmatic axis onto the syntagmatic one. {4} Nor accept Bradford’s theory of a double spiral: {5} literature has too richly varied a history to be fitted into such a straitjacket. Stylistics suggests why certain devices are effective, but does not offer recipes, any more than theories of musical harmony explains away the gifts of individual composers. Some stylistic analysis is to be found in most types of literary criticism, and differences between the traditional, New Criticism and Stylistics approaches are often matters of emphasis. Style is a term of approbation in everyday use (â€Å"that woman has style†, etc.), and may be so for traditional and New Criticism. But where the first would judge a poem by reference to typical work of the period (Jacobean, Romantic, Modernist, etc. ), or according to genre, the New Criticism would probably simply note the conventions, explain what was unclear to a modern audience, and then pass on to a detailed analysis in terms of verbal density, complexity, ambiguity, etc. To the Stylistic critic, however, style means simply how something is expressed, which can be studied in all language, aesthetic and non-aesthetic. {6} Stylistics is a  very technical subject, which hardly makes for engrossing, or indeed uncontentious, {7} reading. The treatment here is very simple: just the bare bones, with some references cited. Under various categories the poem is analyzed in a dry manner, the more salient indications noted, and some recommendations made in Conclusions. Published Examples of Stylistic Literary Criticism G. N. Leech’s A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry (1969) Laura Brown’s Alexander Pope (1985) Roy Lewis’s On Reading French Verse: A Study in Poetic Form (1982) George Wright’s Shakespeare’s Metrical Art. (1988) Richard Bradford’s A Linguistic History of English Poetry (1993) Poem The Architects But, as you’d expect, they are very Impatient, the buildings, having much in them Of the heavy surf of the North Sea, flurrying The grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them With a hoarse roar against the aggregate They are composed of — the cliffs higher of course, More burdensome, underwritten as It were with past days overcast And glinting, obdurate, part of the Silicate of tough lives, distant and intricate As the whirring bureaucrats let in And settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, Awaiting the post and the department meeting —  Except that these do not know it, at least do not Seem to, being busy, generally. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost Vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier Of concrete like rib-bones packed above them, And they light-headed with the blue airiness Spinning around, and muzzy, a neuralgia Calling at random like frail relations, a phone Ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, That they become attentive, or we do — these Divisions persisting, indeed what we talk about, We, constructing these webs of buildings which, Caulked like great whales about us, are always. Aware that some trick of the light or weather Will dress them as friends, pleading and flailing — And fill with placid but unbearable melodies Us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass.  © C. John Holcombe 1997 Metre Though apparently iambic, with five stresses to the line, the metre shows many reversals and substitutions. Put at its simplest, with: / representing a strong stress representing a weak stress x representing no stress, and trying to fit lines into a pentameters, we have -| /| x| x| x| /| -| | x| /| x| | But| as| you’d| ex| pect| | they| are| ve| ry| x| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| | x| x|. Im| pat| ient| the| build| ings,| hav| ing| much| in| them| x| x| | x| /| x| x| | /| /| x x| Of| the| heav| y| surf| of| the| North| Sea,| flurr| ying| x| /| -| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| | The| grit,| | lift| ing| the| pebbl| es,| fling| ing| them| | x| /| -| /| x| | x| /| x| | With| a| hoarse| | roar| a| gainst| the| agg| re| gate| x| | x| /| | x| /| /| x| x| /| They| are| com| posed| of,| the| cliffs| high| er| of| course| | /| x| | -| /| x| / | x| | | More| burd| en| some,| | un| der| writ| ten| as| | x| /| x| /| -| /| -| /| x| /| | It| were| with| past| | days| | o| ver| cast| | x| /| x|. | /| x| | -| /| x| x| And | glit| ter| ing,| ob| du| rate,| | part| of| the| -| /| x x x| /| -| /| -| /| x x| /| x x| | Sil| icate of| tough| | lives| | dist| ant and| in| tricate| -| | x| /| x| /| x| | -| /| x| | As| the| whir| ring| bu| reau| crats| | let| in| x| /| x x| /| x| | x| /| x| /| x| And | set| tled with| cof| fee| in| the| con| crete| pal| lets| x| /| x x| /| x| | x| /| x| /| x| A| wait| ing the| post| and| the| de| part| ment| meet| ing| x| | x| /| x | /| x| x| | /| x| Ex| cept| that| these| do not| know| it, | at| least| do| not| -| /| x| /| x| /| x| /| x| | x|. | Seem| to| be| ing| bus| y| gen| ER| all| y| | x| /| x x| /| x| | x| /| x| /| x| So| per| haps| it is| on| ly| on| those| cloud| less| al| most| -| /| x| /| x| | x| /| x x| | /| x| | Vac| uumed| af| ter| noons| with| ti| ER u| pon| ti| ER| x| /| x| | /| /| -| /| x| /| x| | Of| con| Crete| like| rib| bones| | packed| a| bove| them| | x| /| | /| x| | x| /| /| x| | | And | they| light| head| ed,| with| the| blue| air| i| ness| | -| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | x| /| x x| | | Spin| ning a| round| and| muz| zy,| a| neu| ral| gia| | -| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x x| /| |. | Cal| ling at| ran| dom like| frail| re| lat| ions a| phone| | -| /| x x x| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | Ring| ing in a| dist| ant| of| fice they| can| not| get| to| x| /| x| /| x| /| x x| /| /-| | | That| they| be| come| at| ten| tive, or| we| do| these| | x| /| x x| /| x x| /| | x| /| x| /| Di| vis| ions per| sist| ing, in| deed| what| we| talk| a| bout| -| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | | | We,| con| struct| ing these| webs| of| build| ings| which| | -| /| x| /| | /| x| /| x x| /| x| | Caulk| Ed | like| great| whales| a| bout| us are| al| ways| x| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | |. A| ware| that some| trick| of the| light| or| weath| ER| | | | /| x x| /| -| /| x x| /| x| | | Will| dress| them as| friends| | plead| ing and| flail| ing| | | x| /| x| /| x| | x| /| x x| /| x x| And| fill| with| plac| id| but | UN| bear| able | mel| odies| -| /| x| | -| /| x x x| /| | /| | | Us | in| deep| | hint| erlands of| in| curved| glass| | Poets learn to trust their senses, but even to the experienced writer these (tedious) exercises can pinpoint what the ear suspects is faulty, suggest where improvements lie, and show how the metre is making for variety, broad consistency, shaping of the argument and emotive appeal. Though other scansions are certainly possible in the lines above, the most striking feature will remain their irregularity. Many lines can only roughly be called pentameters; Lines 16 and 17 are strictly hexameters; and lines 27 and 28 are tetrameters. In fact, the lines do not read like blank verse. The rhythm is not iambic in many areas, but trochaic, and indeed insistently dactylic in lines 9 and 10, 21 and 22 and 28. Line 27 is predominantly anapaestic, and line 3 could (just) be scanned: x x| / x| /| x x | /| | /| x x | Of the| heavy| surf| of the North| Sea| | flurr| ying|. Reflective or meditative verse is generally written in the iambic pentameter, and for good reason — the benefit of past examples, readers’ expectations, and because the iambic is the closest to everyday speech: flexible, unemphatic, expressing a wide range of social registers. Blank verse for the stage may be very irregular but this, predominantly, is a quiet poem, with the falling rhythms inducing a mood of reflection if not melancholy. What is being attempted? Suppose we set out the argument (refer to rhetorical and other analyses), tabbing and reverse tabbing as the reflections as they seem more or less private: {8} 1. But, as you’d expect, 2. they are very impatient, the buildings, 3. having much in them of the heavy surf of the North Sea, 4. flurrying the grit, 5. lifting the pebbles, 6. flinging them with a hoarse roar against the aggregate they are composed of — the 7. cliffs higher of course, more 8. burdensome, 9. underwritten as it were with past days 10. overcast and glinting, 11. obdurate, 12. part of the silicate of tough lives, 13. distant and intricate as 14. the whirring bureaucrats 15. Let in and settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, awaiting the post and the department meeting — 16. except that these do not know it,  17. at least do not seem to, being busy, 18. generally. 19. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier of concrete like rib — bones packed above them, and 20. they light-headed 21. with the blue airiness spinning around, and 22. muzzy, a 23. neuralgia calling at random like 24. frail relations, a 25. phone ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, that 26. They become attentive, 27. or we do — 28. these divisions persisting, 29. indeed what we talk about, 30. we, constructing these webs of buildings which 31. Caulked like great whales about us, are 32.  always aware that some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends, 33. pleading and flailing — and 34. fill with placid but unbearable melodies 35. us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass. The structure should now be clear. Where Eliot created new forms by stringing together unremarkable pentameters, {8} this poem attempts the reverse: to recast an irregular ode-like structure as pentameters. And not over-successfully: many of the rhythms seemed unduly confined. But once returned to the form of an eighteenth century Pindaric ode, however unfashionable today, the lines regain a structure and integrity. Each starts with a marked stress and then tails away, a feature emphasized by the sound patterns. {9} Sound Patterning To these sound patterns we now turn, adapting the International Phonetic Alphabet to HTML restrictions: 1. But | as | you’d | expect | u | a | U | e e | b t | z | y d | ksp kt | 2. They | are | very | impatient | the | buildings | A | a(r) | e E | i A e | e | i i | th | – | v r | mp sh nt | th | b ld ngz | 3. Having | much | in | them | of | the | heavy | surf | of | the | North | Sea | a i | u | i | e | o | e | e | e(r) | o | e | aw | E | h v ng | m ch | n | th m | v | th | h v | s f | v | th | n th | s |. 4. flurrying | the | grit | u E i | e | i | fl r ng | th | gr t | 5. lifting | the | pebbles | i i | e | e | l ft ng | th | p b lz | 6. flinging | them | with | a | hoarse | roar | against | the | aggregate | they | are | composed | of | i i | e | i | e | aw | aw | e A | e | a E A | A | a(r) | o O | o | fl ng ng | th m | w th | – | h s | r | g nst | th | gr g t | th | – | k MP zd | v | 7. the | cliffs | higher | of | course | more | e | i | I e | o | aw | aw | th | kl fs | h | v | s | m | 8. burdensome | u(r) e e | b d ns m | 9.underwritten | as | it | were | with | past | days | u e i e | a | i | (e)r | i | a(r) | A | nd r t n | z | t | w | w | p st | d z | 10. overcast | and | glinting | O e(r) a(r) | a | i i | v k St | nd | gl NT ng | 11. obdurate | o U A | bd r t | 12. part | of | the | silicate | of | tough | lives | (a)r | o | e | i i A | o | u | I | p t | f | th | s l k t | v | t f | l vz | 13. distant | and | intricate | i a | a | i i e | d St NT | nd | NT r k t | 14. as | the | whirring | bureaucrats | a | e | e(r) i | U O a | z | th | w r ng | b r kr ts | 15. let | in | and | settled | with | coffee | in | the | concrete | pallets | e | i | a | e ie | i | o E | i | e | o E | a e | l t | n | nd | s tl d | w th | k f | n | th | k Kr t | p l Ts | awaiting | the | post | and | the | department | meeting | e A i | e | O | a | e | E e | E i | w t ng | th | p St | nd | th | d p tm NT | m t ng | 16. except | that | these | do | not | know | it | e e | a | E | U | o | O | i | ks pt | th | th z | d | n t | n | t | 17. at | least | do | not | seem | to | being | busy | a | E | U | o | E | U | E i | i E | t | l St | d | n t | s m | t | b ng | b z >/td> | 18. generally | e e a E | j nr l | 19. so | perhaps | it | is | only | on | those | cloudless | almost | vacuumed | afternoons | O | e(r) a | i | i | O | o | O | ou e | aw O | a U | a(r) e oo | s | p h ps | t | z | nl | n | th z | kl dl s | lm St | v k md | ft n nz | with | tier | upon | tier | of | concrete | like | rib | bones | packed | above | them | and | i | E e(r) | e o | E e(r) | o | o E | I | i | O | a | e u | e | a | w th | t | p n | t | v | k nkr t | l k | r b | b nz | p Kt | b v | th m | nd | 20. they | light | headed | A | I | e e | th | l t | h d d | 21.with | the | blue | airiness | spinning | around | and | i | e | U | (A)r i e | i i | e ou | a | w th | th | bl | r n s | sp n ng | r nd | nd | 22. muzzy | a | u E | e | m z | – | 23. neuralgia | calling | at | random | like | U a E a | aw i | a | a o | I | n r lj | k l ng | t | r nd m | l k | 24. frail | relations | a | A | e A e | e | fr l | r l zh nz | – | 25. phone | ringing | in | a | distant | office | they | cannot | get | to | that | O | i i | i | e | i a | o i | A | a o | e | oo | a | | f n | r ng ng | n | – | d St NT | f s | th | k n t | g t | t | th | | 26.they | become | attentive | A | E u | a e i | th | b k m | t NT v | 27. or | we | do | aw | E | oo | – | w | d | 28. these | divisions | persisting | E | i i e | e(r) i i | th z | d v zh nz | p s St ng | 29. indeed | what | we | talk | about | i E | o | E | aw | e ou | in d | wh t | w | t k | b t | 30. we | constructing | these | webs | of | buildings | which | E | o u i | E | e | o | i i | i | w | k nz str Kt ng | th z | w bs | v | b ld ngz | wh Ch | 31. caulked | like | great | whales | about | us | are | aw | I | A | A | e ou | u | a(r) | k kd | l k | gr t | w lz | b t | s | – | 32. always | aware | that | some | trick | of | the | light | or | weather | will | dress | them | as | friends | aw A | e (A)r | a | u | i | o | e | I | aw | e e(r) | i | e | e | a | e | lw z | w | th t | s m | tr k | v | th | l t | – | w th | w l | dr s | th m | z | Fr ndz | 33. pleading | and | flailing | E i | a | A i | pl d ng | nd | fl l ng | 34. will | fill | with | placid | but | unbearable | melodies | i | i | i | a i | u | u A(r) a e | e O E | f l | w th | PL s d | b t | n b r b l | m l d z | | 35. us | in | deep | hinterlands | of | incurved | glass | u | i | E | i e a | o | i e(r) | a(r) | s | n | d p | h NT l ndz | v | nk v d | GL s | Sound in poetry is an immensely complicated and contentious subject. Of the seventeen different employments listed by Masson {10} we consider seven: 1. Structural emphasis All sections are structurally emphasized to some extent, but note the use (in decreasing hardness) of * plosive consonants in sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 10-13, 19, 28-50; 31 and 35. * fricative and aspirate consonants in sections 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 19, 25, 28, 32, 35. * liquid and nasal consonants in sections 3, 4, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 31-35. Also: * predominance of front vowels — in all sections but 6, 7, 11, 16, 17, 19 and 31. * predominance of vowels in intermediate positions — only sections 16 and 17 having several high vowels and section 3 low vowels. 2. Tagging of sections Note sections 1, 7, 13 and 15. 3. Indirect support of argument by related echoes * Widely used, most obviously in sections 3-7, 12-13, and 15. 4. Illustrative mime: mouth movements apes expression * Sections 2, 6, 11-13, 19, 31 and 35. 5. Illustrative painting * Sections 3-6, 10-13, 15, 19 and 33. Most sections are closely patterned in consonants. Those which aren’t (and therefore need attention if consistency is to be maintained) are perhaps 8, 9, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 27. Originally the poem was cast in the form of irregular pentameters. But if this is set aside in favour of the 35 sections listed above, how are these sections to be linked in a self-evident and pleasing form? A little is accomplished by alliteration: * f in sections 3 to 7. * s and t in sections 12 to 15 * w in sections 29 to 32 And also by the predominance of front and intermediate level vowels, but these do not amount to much. Certainly we do not find that the overall shaping of the poem emphasizes the argument or content. Sociolinguistics Language is not a neutral medium but comes with the contexts, ideologies and social intentions of its speakers written in. Words are living entities, things which are constantly being employed and only half taken over: carrying opinions, assertions, beliefs, information, emotions and intentions of others, which we partially accept and modify. In this sense speech is dialogic, has an internal polemic, and Bakhtin’s insights into the multi-layered nature of language (heteroglossia) can be extended to poetry. {11} Much of Postmodernist writing tries to be very unliterary, incorporating the raw material of everyday speech and writing into its creations. This poem seems rather different, a somewhat remote tone and elevated diction applying throughout. Let us see what’s achieved by grouping under the various inflections of the speaking voice. * urgently confidential But, as you’d expect, cliffs higher, of course, that they become attentive or we do * obsessively repetitious flurrying the grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them†¦ Burdensome, underwritten†¦ overcast and glinting, obdurate * over-clever silicate of tough lives  distant and intricate constructing these webs of buildings distracted and/or light-headed except that these do not know it at least do not seem to with the blue airiness spinning around calling at random like frail relations * melancholic and/or reflective some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends pleading and flailing and fill with placid but unbearable melodies. The exercise hardly provides revelation. Heteroglossia is an interweaving of voices, moreover, not shifts of tone or reference. And yet there is something very odd about the opening line. Why should we expect the buildings to be very impatient? This is more than the orator’s trick of attracting attention, since the animate nature of buildings and their constituents is referred to throughout the poem. To be more exact, the attitude of the inhabitants — observers, bureaucrats, architects — to the buildings is developed by the poem, and is paralleled by the tone. But why the confidential and repetitious attitude at the beginning. Why should we be buttonholed in this manner? Why the But, which seems to point to an earlier conversation, and the urgency with which that earlier conversation is being refuted or covered up? Because the blame for something is being shifted to the buildings. What error has been committed we do not know, but in mitigation we are shown the effect of the buildings on other inhabitants. Or perhaps we are. In fact the whirring bureaucrats seem to grow out of the fabric of buildings, and we do not really know if the we, constructing these webs of buildings is meant literally or metaphorically. The poem’s title suggests literally, but perhaps these constructions are only of the mind: sections 17, 20-29, 32 and 34 refer to attitudes rather than actions, and there is an ethereal or otherworldly atmosphere to the later section of the poem. So we return to heteroglossia, which is not simply borrowed voices, but involves an internal polemic, {12} that private dialogue we conduct between our private thoughts and their acceptable public expression. The dialogue is surely here between the brute physicality of a nature made overpoweringly real and the fail brevity of human lives. That physicality is threatening and unnerving. If the we of the later section of the poem is indeed architects then that physicality is harnessed to practical ends. If the constructing is purely mental then the treatment is through attitudes, mindsets, philosophies. But in neither case does it emasculate the energy of the physical world. Architects may leave monuments behind them, but they are also imprisoned in those monuments (us in deep hinterlands) and hearing all the time the homesick voice of their constituents. Conclusions: Suggested Improvements The greatest difficulty lies in the poem’s structure. An pentameter form has been used to give a superficial unity, but this wrenches the rhythm, obscures the sound patterns and does nothing for the argument. If recast in sections defined by rhythm and sound pattern the form is too irregular to have artistic autonomy. A return could be made to the eighteenth century Pindaric ode in strict metre and rhyme, but would require extensive and skilful rewriting, and probably appear artificial. A prose poem might be the answer, but the rhythms would need to be more fluid and subtly syncopated. Otherwise, blank verse should be attempted, and the metre adjusted accordingly. The internal polemic is a valuable dimension of the poem, but more could be done to make the voices distinct. http://www. textetc. com/criticism/stylistics. html1. On StylisticsIs cognitive stylistics the future of stylistics? To answer this question in the essay that follows, I will briefly discuss Elena Semino and Jonathan Culpeper’s Cognitive Stylistics (2003), Paul Simpson’s Stylistics (2004), and a recent essay by Michael Burke (2005). However, because questions are like trains – one may hide another – any discussion of the future of stylistics raises intractable questions about stylistics itself. French students of stylistics, for example, will come across definitions of the discipline like the following. According to Brigitte Buffard-Moret, â€Å"si les definitions de †¦ [la stylistique] – que certains refusent de considerer comme une scien