Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Self Evaluation Essays

Self Evaluation Essays Self Evaluation Essay Self Evaluation Essay Self-Evaluation from Employee It’s easy to say you can use any performance review phrase, change it to â€Å"I† or â€Å"me† and be finished with your performance review – but it’s not always that simple. You want your phrases to be honest, accurate, but not too harsh. Phrases criticizing performance need to be well balanced. We’ve compiled a list of hundreds of self evaluation phrases you can use to complete your performance review and receive the high marks you deserve. We’ve separated the phrases by topical area, then by positive and needs improvement. Find the right balance to describe yourself and speed up your performance review paperwork. This is part 1 of a several part series on self evaluations. Self Evaluation Sample Templates Writing a great self evaluation during performance review time can be a difficult task. How exactly do I describe my performance in Training or Leadership? We’ve written 450 self evaluation paragraphs in 30 categories – by exceeds expectations, meets expectations, and below expectations. These paragraphs make completing the self evaluation easy – simply copy and paste into your document. This ebook is available for instant download for $18. 5. - Top of Form Bottom of Form Attendance and Punctuality Self Evaluation Positive Phrases I am a reliable employee who arrives on-time and leaves on-time. My break times are well planned and do not exceed the allotted time. I arrive each day fully prepared to tackle my responsibilities. I am reliable and do not have any attendance problems. I   ensure my team adheres to their lunch schedules and breaks. I meet all company standards for attendance and punctuality. I begin each day refreshed and ready for any challenges I will face. My attention to punctuality has paid off this year, I consistently arrive on time. I start and end meetings on time. I schedule time off well in advance. I am conscientious of others when scheduling time off. Attendance and Punctuality Needs Improvement Self Evaluation Phrases I am occasionally late for work and will improve this area by focusing on showing up on time each day. I need to improve showing up to work on time and keeping a normal work schedule. Over the next year, I’m going to improve meetings so they run to their prescribed time. Some of my breaks may run a little long, but I will improve my schedule. I will work on taking heavy traffic and weather into account for arrival time. I will continue to work on punctuality. Attitude Positive Self Evaluation Phrases I always try to keep a positive attitude, a smile on my face, and demonstrate how much I enjoy my job. I try to be cheerful to help those around me feel welcome and appreciated. I have an even demeanor through good times and bad. I do this to help others keep their â€Å"enthusiasm† – both positive and negative – in check. I have a calm personality to keep an even attitude. I bring a high level of enthusiasm to my job. I try to always set a good example for the team and be here when they need a lift. I maintain a positive mind-set. Even though we have difficult situations and decisions to make, I maintain a positive outlook. I maintain a positive attitude. I like to build trust with my team by being a positive force on the team, congratulating high performers on successes, and working with those that need assistance to improve. Attitude Needs Improvement Self Evaluation Phrases At times, I can be brisk and to the point. I don’t mean to offer a negative impression, but sometimes I am very focused on the work at hand. Due to the demanding nature of our business, my team may at times think I am insensitive, but we have to get the job done, on time, and on budget. I am working to improve how I deal with others and customers. Though some may struggle with my personality, I believe I effectively use it to manage my employees. Communication Positive Self Evaluation Phrases I keep managers and coworkers informed of my work progress. I report all necessary information to my coworkers. I am excellent at keeping written information about my assignments and projects. One of my strengths is the use of candor and effective communication with my employees. One of my core strengths is the ability to immediately connect with someone. I am a very competent communicator. I clearly communicates with my employees and they understand my expectations. I am clearly good at communication as evidenced by my effectiveness in resolving customer problems. At first, communication was not my strongest attribute. However, after a lot of work, I have become a very good communicator. Communication Needs Improvement Self Evaluation Phrases Though some may believe I withhold information from my co-workers, I provide all information as required. My written communication is great, but I need to improve my verbal communication skills. My verbal communication skills are very good, but I need to work on my written communication skills. I believe I effectively communicate with my fellow team members, but I must improve communication with my management team. Communication is a weakness which I know I must improve. Creativity and Innovation Positive Self Evaluation Phrases My ability to change direction when required is an asset to the team. I am an innovator at heart – my skill at inspiring new ideas adds a lot to the team. I have an imaginative personality and am very resourceful in times of need. I have a creative touch in a sometimes normal role within our team. I add an artistic flair to everything I produce which makes my projects much more fun than most. When a major problem arises, I use creative problem solving to look at different sides of an issue I think outside the box when crafting solutions. I demonstrate a key ability to craft creative solutions to problems. I show ingenuity when facing difficult situations. Whenever we need a fresh look at a problem, I try to provide a novel perspective. I don’t rely on common methods to solve a problem, but address each situation with a innovative viewpoint. I constantly search for new ideas and ways to improve efficiency. I create an exciting atmosphere for his team: one in which new ideas are rewarded and encouraged. Creativity and Innovation Needs Improvement Self Evaluation Phrases I find at times that I am more practical than creative in many aspects of my job. Over the next year, I plan on working to improve my imagination at work to think more creatively. Innovation is not at the heart of what I do – I am more of a task oriented person. There are times when creative solutions are just not called for, but I have a creative mind and have a tendency to go there immediately. Sometimes I have difficulty thinking outside of the box and creating innovative solutions. I plan on improving innovation this year by seeking out new opinions and ideas. I have a tendency to ask for help from other people more frequently than researching potential solutions and fixes. Customer Satisfaction Positive Self Evaluation Phrases I take great pride in my work with our clients. I skillfully overcome client objections. I consistently receive high marks on my customer satisfaction surveys. I understand the latitude to ensure customer satisfaction and do everything necessary to retain customers. I am able to handle clients well. I am very good at keeping happy customers and successfully up selling them at the same time. I deal with customer complaints with a calm demeanor. I am very good at handling difficult situations with customers. I work with customers very well. I am very good at dealing with irate customers in a calm and rational manner. I believe no problem is too big that cannot be solved with care and understanding. I listen to our customers and resolves their problems in an agreeable manner. I understand how to listen to customers and extract those details which make a big difference when dealing with our clients. Customer Satisfaction Needs Improvement Self Evaluation Phrases Sometimes, I do not follow up with customers quickly enough. Though I have some low marks on customer satisfaction surveys, I am working to improve those scores. I continue to work on improving my ability to overcome customer objections. I understand the importance of customer service training, though I do believe I’ve received enough training to be successful. I am much better about handling telephone customer service than in person situations.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Abraham Lincoln and the Telegraph

Abraham Lincoln and the Telegraph President Abraham Lincoln used the telegraph extensively during the Civil War, and was known to spend many hours in a small telegraph office set up in the War Department building near the White House. Lincolns telegrams to generals in the field were a turning point in military history, as they marked the first time a commander in chief could communicate, practically in real time, with his commanders. And as Lincoln was always a skillful politician, he recognized the great value of the telegraph in spreading information from the army in the field to the public in the North. In at least one instance, Lincoln personally interceded to make sure a newspaperman had access to telegraph lines so a dispatch about action in Virginia could appear in the New York Tribune. Besides having an immediate influence on the actions of the Union Army, the telegrams sent by Lincoln also provide a fascinating record of his wartime leadership. The texts of his telegrams, some of which he wrote out for the transmitting clerks, still exist in the National Archives and have been used by researchers and historians. Lincoln's Interest in Techology Lincoln was self-educated and always highly inquisitive, and, like many people of his era, he had a keen interest in emerging technology. He followed the news of new inventions. And he was the only American president to obtain a patent, for a device he designed to assist riverboats to cross sandbars. When the telegraph changed communication in America in the 1840s, Lincoln would certainly have read about those advances. Its likely he knew about the wonders of the telegraph from newspaper articles he read in Illinois before any telegraph wires had reached that far west. When the telegraph started to become common through the settled parts of the nation, including his native Illinois, Lincoln would have had some contact with the technology. As a lawyer working for railroad companies, Lincoln would have been a sender and receiver of telegraph messages. One of the men who would serve as a government telegraph operator during the Civil War, Charles Tinker, had done the same job in civilian life at  a hotel in Pekin, Illinois. He later recalled that in the spring of 1857 he chanced to meet  Lincoln, who was in town on business related to his legal practice. Tinker recalled that Lincoln had watched him sending messages by tapping the telegraph key and writing down incoming messages he converted from Morse code. Lincoln asked him to explain how the apparatus worked. Tinker recalled going into considerable detail, describing even the batteries and electrical coils as Lincoln listened intently. During the campaign of 1860, Lincoln learned he had won the Republican nomination and later the presidency via telegraph messages which arrived in his hometown of Springfield, Illinois. So by the time he moved to Washington to take up residence in the White House he was not only aware of how the telegraph worked, but he recognized its great usefulness as a communication tool. The Military Telegraph System Four telegraph operators were recruited for government service in late April 1861, soon after the attack on Fort Sumter. The men had been employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and were enlisted because Andrew Carnegie, the future industrialist, was an executive of the railroad who had been pressed into government service and ordered to create a military telegraph network. One of the young telegraph operators, David Homer Bates, wrote a fascinating memoir, Lincoln In the Telegraph Office, decades later. Lincoln In the Telegraph Office For the first year of the Civil War, Lincoln was barely involved with the militarys telegraph office. But in the late spring of 1862 he began to use the telegraph to give orders to his officers. The Army of the Potomac was becoming bogged down during General George McClellans Peninsula Campaign in Virginia, Lincolns frustration with his commander may have moved him to establish faster communication with the front. During the summer of 1862 Lincoln took up the habit he followed for the rest of the war: he would often visit the War Department telegraph office, spending long hours sending dispatches and waiting for responses. Lincoln developed a warm rapport with the young telegraph operators. And he found the telegraph office a useful retreat from the much busier White House. One of his constant complaints about the White House was that job seekers and various political figures wanting favors would descend upon him. In the telegraph office he could hide away and concentrate on the serious business of conducting the war. According to David Homer Bates, Lincoln wrote the original draft of the Emancipation Proclamation at a desk in the telegraph office in 1862. The relatively secluded space gave him solitude to gather his thoughts. He would spend entire afternoons drafting one of  the most historic documents of his presidency. The Telegraph Influenced Lincoln's Style of Command While Lincoln was able to communicate fairly quickly with his generals, his use of communication was not always a happy experience. He began to feel that General George McClellan was not always being open and honest with him. And the nature of McClellans telegrams may have led to the crisis of confidence that led Lincoln to relieve him of command following the Battle of Antietam. By contrast, Lincoln seemed to have a good rapport via telegram with General Ulysses S. Grant. Once Grant was in command of the army, Lincoln communicated with him extensively via telegraph. Lincoln trusted Grants messages, and he found that orders sent to Grant were followed. The Civil War had to be won, of course, on the battlefield. But the telegraph, especially the way it was used by President Lincoln, did have an effect on the outcome.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Recognizing and Managing Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction Research Paper

Recognizing and Managing Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction after Myocardial Infarction - Research Paper Example I agree with this thesis particularly because the absence of symptoms or signs of LVSD in myocardial infarctions makes a timely diagnosis of the condition to be significantly crucial for the survival of the affected patients. Epidemiological data on the etiology of Asymptomatic left ventricular Dysfunction in Europe and America suggests that nearly 60% of patients develop the condition after suffering from myocardial infarction. According to Gheorghiade  and Bonow (1998), â€Å"myocardial infarctions survivors usually have an increased risk of LVSD.† Consequently proper and early disease management models should be established to ensure cases of the disease are detected and managed effectively. Similarly, a number of critical pathways can now be effectively used to improve detection and detection of asymptomatic LVSD. On the other hand, one-half of LVSD patients are asymptomatic. In this regard, the early detection and management of the condition in post-myocardial patients can significantly help nurses to reduce mortality in the asymptomatic cases. Some of the evidence-based practices and techniques employed in the early diagnosis of the disease include radionuclide imaging, echocardiography, and ventriculography (Goldberg  and Jessup, 2006). All these strategies are important in the intervention of the dysfunction and the improvement of the quality of life in the affected patients. A number of evidence-based practices can be employed in the assessment of LVSD in patients who have suffered from myocardial infarction. One of the effective multidisciplinary approaches is carrying out an assessment of the disease in myocardial infarction survivors (Timmins and Kaliszer, 2001). Additionally educating such patients on their conditions can help doctors and clinicians to detect and prevent some the risk factors that may increase progression to heart failure.

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

New york landmarks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

New york landmarks - Essay Example Accordingly, it stood as the tallest building in the world for more than forty years. It was replaced by the World Trade Center as the tallest building in City of New York but regained this important position following the horrendous destruction of the World Trade Center in the infamous attacks of September 11, 2001. The Statue of Liberty is a pure copper monument which stands overlooking Manhattan on the Island of Liberty. It is officially entitled Liberty Enlightening the World and was a monument donated to the City of New York by the French government on the 100 year anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence. What is significant about the Statue of Liberty is that it is a beacon of hope and signifies the important role that liberty played in the development of the United States of America. Liberty Island is an important transit point for migrants and travelers who arrive by ship. Accordingly, this monument has come to signify the United States to millions of people account the world. Madison Square Garden is an iconic sports stadium found in Midtown Manhattan. It was built more than one hundred years ago and is home to the New York Nicks, the New York Rangers and a whole host of other events including concerts and conventions. In its present location for more than sixty years, Madison Square Garden presently sits at Pennsylvania Plaza in midtown Manhattan and is representative of the sports entertainment community in New York. The Chrysler Building is an Art Deco landmark – not too dissimilar to the Empire State Building – and was the tallest building in the world until the construction of the Empire State Building in 1931. It is a landmark because of the stylistic interpretation of the designers and can be seen far and wide from the shores of the surrounding boroughs. It represents the Art Deco design par excellence and is viewed as an important landmark on the Manhattan horizon. Finally, the World

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Night of the Living Dead Essay Example for Free

Night of the Living Dead Essay American  independent  black-and-white  horror film  and  cult film  directed by  George A. Romero   Night of the Living Dead  was heavily criticized during its release because of its explicit content, but received critical acclaim and was selected by the  Library of Congress  for preservation in the  National Film Registry  as a film deemed culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. reviewers cited the film as groundbreaking. Pauline Kael  called the film one of the most gruesomely terrifying movies ever made — and when you leave the theatre you may wish you could forget the whole horrible experience. .  . . The films grainy, banal seriousness works for it — gives it a crude realism. [62]  A  Film Daily  critic commented, This is a pearl of a horror picture which exhibits all the earmarks of a  sleeper. Since the release, critics and film historians have seen  Night of the Living Dead  as a subversive film that critiques 1960s American society, international  Cold War  politics and domestic  racism. Elliot Stein of  The Village Voice  saw the film as an ardent critique of American involvement in  Vietnam, arguing that it was not set in  Transylvania, but Pennsylvania — this was  Middle America  at war, and the zombie carnage seemed a grotesque echo of the conflict then raging inVietnam Pauline Kael,  5001 Nights at the Movies  (Henry Holt and Company, 1991 Elliot Stein, The Dead Zones: George A. Romero at the American Museum of the Moving Image,  The Village Voice(New York), January 8–14, 2003 http://www. filmsite. org/posters/psyc2. jpghttp://www. filmsite. rg/reddot. gif  Alfred Hitchcocks powerful, complex psychological thriller,  Psycho  (1960) is the mother of all modern horror suspense films it single-handedly ushered in an era of inferior screen slashers with blood-letting and graphic, shocking killings The master of suspense skillfully manipulates and guides the audience into identifying with the main character, luckless victim Mari on (a Phoenix real-estate secretary), and then with that characters murderer a crazy and timid taxidermist named Norman (a brilliant typecasting performance by Anthony Perkins). Hitchcocks techniques voyeuristically implicate the audience with the universal, dark evil forces and secrets present in the film. Psycho  also broke all film conventions by displaying its leading female protagonist having a lunchtime affair in her sexy white undergarments in the first scene; also by photographing a toilet bowl and flush in a bathroom (a first in an American film), and killing off its major star Janet Leigh a third of the way into the film . Film reviews, for instance, will sometimes take up political or sociological concerns in the course of issuing formal-aesthetic judgments. Night of the Living Deaddramatizes the bewildering and uncanny transformation of human beings into non-human forms. Indeed, like all metamorphosis narratives, the film carries uncomfortable messages about identity — about what it means to be a human being and about the terror of alienation. The films power to unsettle its audience also derives from its focus on the taboo subject of cannibalism (which it depicts far more graphically than previous zombie films). In the eighteenth century, the English ironist Jonathan Swift (1996) wroteA Modest Proposal,a darkly satirical attack on the privations suffered by the Irish people at the hands of the English in which the author ironically proposed that infants be killed and eaten in order to solve the problem of poverty in Ireland. Night of the Living Deadalso uses cannibalism as a metaphor for exploitative power relations. Thus, while it deals with a quite different set of social problems, Romeros film can also be seen a sinister satire that exploits an outrageous premise in the interests of social and political critique. In his book  Understanding Popular Culture,  John Fiske writes: It is not violence per se that characterises popular culture, but only that violence whose structure makes it into a metaphor for the distribution of power in society. Fiske, 1989: 137) According to Fiske, then, violence is a metaphor for inequitable (and presumably unjust) power relations in society. It is important, however, to understand this point in historical context. Violence became more commonly depicted in films and on television in the late 1960s, during a socially turbulent period when social hierarchies were being challenged   Night of the Living Dead  draws on Alfred Hitchcocks  Psycho  (1960), especially in its film craft: the use of shadow and camera angles. Night of the Living Dead  (and, indeed, its worthy equels) reminds us of something that the recent outbreak of zombie films may have caused us to forget: the oppositional potential of popular culture. In this sense, the film is an undead classic that can still tell us something about who we are — and warn us about what we might turn into. Waller, Gregory A. (1986),  The Living and the Undead  (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press) Swift, Jonathan (1996),  A Modest Proposal and other Satirical Works  (New York: Dover) like most genre movies, reflect the values and ideology of the culture that produced them. Don Siegels  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  (1956), for example, about an invasion of alien seed-pods that replace people with emotional replicas, is typically discussed in relation to American contemporary culture in the 1950s. Unlike earlier horror films,  Invasion of the Body Snatchers  imagines infection on an apocalyptic rather than personal scale, as in the vampire myth, a clear reflection of Cold War fears of nuclear destruction. But even as Americans felt threatened by possible nuclear war and Communist infiltration, the film also expresses a fear of creeping conformism at home. Invasion  makes the commonplace seem creepy, and in the climax a mob of plain-looking townsfolk pursue Miles and Becky out of town in a horrific evocation of the kind of witch-hunting mentality witnessed in the United States just a few years before the films releaseRead more:  Critical debates Horror Films actor, children, cinema  http://www. filmreference. com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Horror-Films-CRITICAL-DEBATES. html#ixzz1qab4D5B2

Thursday, November 14, 2019

My Senior Year of High School Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

Having spent twelve years of my school life in just one small red brick building, the years tend to fade into each other. But the year I remember most clearly and significantly is my senior year of high school, where I finally began to appreciate what this institution offered to any student who stopped to look. Before, school had been a chore, many times I simply did not feel motivated toward a subject enough to do the homework well, and seeing the same familiar faces around ever since I was 5 years old grew very tiring soon enough. But I began to see things from a different angle once I became a senior. First of all, there are roughly only 800 students in my entire school, from kindergarten up to upperclassmen and women, and my graduating class of a mere 67 was the biggest in my school's history. So you were forever running into everyone you knew, and who you had known for your whole life. At times this was comforting, at others, slightly claustrophobic. After a while it was easy to feel that you knew practically everyone's middle name or favorite movie, and it was impossible to...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

How does Steinbeck prepare us for the end, and link it to the beginning? Essay

Steinbeck prepared us for the end by many different reasons that occur in the play. The Incident at weed, killing mice, killing a dog and crushing Curley’s hand is all evidence for this. The ‘weed’ incident prepared us for the end by alerting the readers that something has gone wrong at one place and how long will it be till something else like this occurs. â€Å"An’ you ain’t gonna do no bad things like you done in Weed, neither.† George liked to stroke mice in his hand, but he doesn’t know his own strength as he is a big bulky strong man. ‘I could pet it with my thumb while we walked along’ said Lennie, but as Lennie is so strong he just crushes the poor animal. Candy’s old dog was shot because it is wrong to let an animal suffer in pain. The dog â€Å"Got no teeth, He’s all stiff with rheumatism† and he is â€Å"ancient†. Lennie killed Curley’s wife by acciendent because they were in the barn together and Lennie was stroking her hair, but she didn’t want him to mess it up ‘You stop it now you’ll mess it all up’. And she yelled and Lennie put his hand around her mouth and said â€Å"Oh! Please don’t do that. George will be mad†. George broke her neck another incident were Lennie doesn’t know his own strength. Steinbeck links the beginning to the end with George and Lennie. They both continue through out the play reminding them selves of ‘The American Dream’, and that is what they talked about before going on to the ranch George thought it would be nicer to lay under the stars with one night relaxation. The last time they ever dream of ‘The American Dream’ is at the end when George shoots Lennie while he is dreaming of the rabbits. â€Å"Le’s do it now. Le’s get that place now† – was the last words he ever said. Lennie is the same old Lennie with a childlike mental age. George is always there to look after him and tell him what to do like in a adult child situation, â€Å"come on, give it to me†. Stienbeck always describes Lennie as a animal from the beginning to the end â€Å"snorting into the water like a horse†. They always argue and Lennie says he will go away, but george knows that his best friend wont be able to look after him self and will end up getting shot, at the end he says â€Å"I can go away †¦ an’ find a cave†. At the beginning Lennie says the same thing â€Å"go off in the hills†¦. I’d find a cave†. George said â€Å"somebody’d shoot you for a coyote if you was by yourself† Lennie is also a killer, he attacks Curley, curlys wife, kills mice and throws his dead pup on to the floor in anger. Lennie is not mean, he doesn’t want to cause pain or suffering. George knew that if he let Lennie live then he would sooner or later be found and caught, and would most likely be tortured by Curly then be put in a prison for the rest of his life or killed on the spot. George didn’t want to she George go through any pain or suffer so he put him out of his own misery, just like the dog!

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Fun Water Sports Essay

There are so many fun activities to do in, on, and around the water; thus, making it a difficult choice a as to which way to spend a day in the sun. Whether it’s a creek, lake, river or the ocean, there are may ways to have fun in the water, and stay cool. Surfing is a water sport in which the wave rider, referred to as a â€Å"surfer,† rides on the forward face of a wave, which is most often carrying the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable for surfing are primarily found in the ocean, however, modern-day surfing can also be done in man-made sources such as wave pools. Snorkeling is a form of recreational diving that allows swimmers to explore the surface of oceans or lakes, and dive to shallow depths. Basic equipment used in snorkeling are the dive mask, fins and a snorkel. The dive mask allows clear vision of the underwater environment without damage to the eyes. Fins allow a swimmer to propel, his or her self, through the water efficiently and with minimal disturbance to the environment. The snorkel is designed to allow you to submerge your face and head at the surface of the water, and still breath. Additional snorkeling equipment includes; snorkel, vests for floatation, and protective wet suits for cold water diving conditions. Tubing is a water sport that usually takes place on a large body of water such as a lake or river. One or more tube riders, (often called â€Å"tubers†) tether their tubes to a powered watercraft, such as a ski boat or a pontoon boat. The riders are then towed through the water by the watercraft. Noodling is a type of fishing for the thrill seeker. Although the concept of catching fish with only the use of the arm in the water is simple enough, the process of noodling is more complicated. The choice of catfish as the prey is not arbitrary, but comes from the circumstances of their habitat. Flathead catfish live in holes or under brush in rivers and lakes, thus making the fish easy to capture. To begin, a noodler (fisherman) goes underwater to depths ranging from only a few feet, up to twenty feet, and places his hand inside a discovered catfish hole. Assuming all goes as planned, the catfish will swim forward and latch onto the fisherman’s hand, usually as a defensive maneuver, as an attempt to protect it’s hole. The fish can be particularly large, in which case, the noodler can hook his hand around its gills to retrieve his catch. This sport has been outlawed in several states due to the many dangers, and risks of the sport. As you can see there are a verity of water sports to choose from when you plan your next out door adventure. From surfing crystal blue waters, to taking chanced in a merry catfish hole, there is a water spot to suit every type of thrill seeker.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Timeline of the Medieval Traders on the Swahili Coast

Timeline of the Medieval Traders on the Swahili Coast Based on archaeological and historical data, the medieval period of the 11th through 16th centuries AD was the heyday of Swahili Coast trading communities. But that data has also shown that the African merchants and sailors of the Swahili Coast began to  trade in international goods at least 300-500 years earlier. A timeline of the major events on the Swahili coast: Early 16th century, the  arrival of Portuguese and the end of Kilwas trading powerCa 1400 start of Nabhan dynasty1331, Ibn Battuta visits Mogadishu14th-16th centuries, a shift in trade to the  Indian Ocean, the heyday of coastal Swahili townsCa 1300, the  start of Mahdali dynasty (Abul Mawahib)Ca 1200, first coins minted by Ali bin al-Hasan in Kilwa12th century, a rise of Mogadishu11th-12th centuries, most coastal people converted to Islam, a shift in trade to the  Red Sea11th century, start of Shirazi dynasty9th century, slave trade with the  Persian Gulf8th century, the first mosque built6th-8th centuries AD, trade established with Muslim traders40 AD, author of Periplus visits Rhapta The Ruling Sultans A chronology of ruling sultans can be derived from the Kilwa Chronicle, two undated medieval documents recording an oral history of the large Swahili capital of Kilwa. Scholars are skeptical of its accuracy, however, particularly with respect to the semi-mythical Shirazi dynasty: but they are agreed on the existence of several important sultans: Ali ibn al-Hasan (11th century)Daud ibn al-HasanSulaiman ibn al-Hasan (early 14th c)Daud ibn Sulaiman (early 14th c)al-Hasan ibn Talut (ca 1277)Muhammad ibn Sulaimanal-Hasan ibn Sulaiman (ca 1331, visited by Ibn Battuta)Sulaiman ibn al-Husain (14th c) Pre  or Proto-Swahili The earliest pre or proto-Swahili sites date to the first century AD, when the unnamed Greek sailor who authored the merchants guide Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, visited Rhapta on what is today the central Tanzanian coast. Rhapta was reported in the Periplus to be under the rule of Maza on the Arabian Peninsula. The Periplus reported that ivory, rhinoceros horn, nautilus and turtle shell, metal implements, glass, and foodstuffs were imports available in Rhapta. Finds of Egypt-Roman and other Mediterranean imports dated to the last few centuries BC suggest some contact with those areas. By the 6th to 10th centuries AD, people on the coast were living in mostly rectangular earth-and-thatch houses, with household economies based on pearl millet agriculture, cattle pastoralism, and fishing. They smelted iron, built boats and made what archaeologists called Tana Tradition or Triangular Incised Ware pots; they obtained imported goods such as glazed ceramics, glassware, metal jewelry, and stone and glass beads from the Persian Gulf. Beginning in the 8th century, the African inhabitants had converted to Islam. Archaeological excavations at Kilwa Kisiwani and Shanga in Kenya have demonstrated that these towns were settled as early as the 7th and 8th centuries. Other prominent sites of this period include Manda in northern Kenya, Unguja Ukuu on Zanzibar and Tumbe on Pemba. Islam and Kilwa The earliest mosque on the Swahili coast is located in the town of Shanga in the Lamu Archipelago. A timber mosque was built here in the 8th century AD, and rebuilt in the same location, again and again, each time larger and more substantial. Fish became an increasingly important part of the local diet, consisting of fish on the reefs, within about one kilometer (one-half mile) from the shore. In the 9th century, connections between Eastern Africa and the Middle East included the export of thousands of slaves from Africas interior. The slaves were transported through Swahili coastal towns to destinations in Iraq such as Basra, where they worked on a dam. In 868, the slave revolted in Basra, weakening the market for slaves from Swahili. By ~1200, all of the large Swahili settlements included stone built mosques. The Growth of Swahili Towns Through the 11th-14th centuries, the Swahili towns expanded in scale, in the numbers and variety of imported and locally-produced material goods, and in trade relationships between the interior of Africa and other societies around the Indian Ocean. A wide variety of boats were built for sea-going trade. Although most of the houses continued to be made of earth and thatch, some of the houses were built of coral, and many of the larger and newer settlements were stone towns, communities marked by elite residences built of stone. Stonetowns grew in number and size, and trade blossomed. Exports included ivory, iron, animal products, mangrove poles for house construction; imports included glazed ceramics, beads and other jewelry, cloth, and religious texts. Coins  were minted in some of the larger centers, and iron and copper alloys, and beads of various types were produced locally. Portuguese Colonization In 1498-1499, the Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama began exploring the Indian Ocean. Beginning in the 16th century, Portuguese and Arab colonization began to decrease the power of the Swahili towns, evidenced by the construction of Fort Jesus in Mombasa in 1593, and the increasingly aggressive trade wars in the Indian Ocean. The Swahili culture fought variously successfully against such incursions and although disruptions in trade and loss of autonomy did occur, the coast prevailed in urban and rural life. By the end of the 17th century, the Portuguese lost control of the western Indian Ocean to Oman and Zanzibar. The Swahili coast was reunited under the Omani sultanate in the 19th century. Sources Chami FA. 2009. Kilwa and the Swahili Towns: Reflections from an archaeological perspective. In: Larsen K, editor. Knowledge, Renewal and Religion: Repositioning and changing ideological and material circumstances among the Swahili on the East African coast. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitututet.Elkiss TH. 1973. Kilwa Kisiwani: The Rise of an East African City-State. African Studies Review 16(1):119-130.Phillipson D. 2005. African Archaeology. London: Cambridge University Press.Pollard E. 2011. Safeguarding Swahili trade in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: a unique navigational complex in south-east Tanzania. World Archaeology 43(3):458-477.Sutton JEG. 2002. The southern Swahili harbour and town on Kilwa Island, 800-1800 AD: A chronology of booms and slumps.: Uppsala University.Wynne-Jones S. 2007. Creating urban communities at Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania, AD 800-1300. Antiquity 81:368-380.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Essay on Managing through Continuous Improvement

Essay on Managing through Continuous Improvement Essay on Managing through Continuous Improvement This is a free sample essay on Managing through Continuous Improvement: The corporate world in the new economic environment is experiencing a paradigm shift in management thought, where human resources have become the key asset of an organization and strategic human resource management is recognized as an important element to achieve competitive advantage. The emerging scenario is highly complex, necessitating speed, flexibility, precision, quality and willingness and the ability to change for survival and success. This involves the formulation of a strategy to reorient organizational cultures to bring about openness, transparency, and mutual trust and healthy competition among employees. The colour and complexion of industry has changed due to changes in technology and expansion of world markets. While organizations in he past had relatively stable and predictable environments, todays organizations have to cope with the unexpected. The development of a positive work culture, where employees work as teams, is perhaps one of the best ways to manage change. An increased number of human resource professionals have been included in the top management of Companies. This has led to a qualitative improvement in human resource interventions. Human resource management is being used as a business development tool. This includes the following initiatives taken by various organizations: Imparting new skills and upgrading existing ones through training and managerial conferences, encouraging creativity and identifying fresh talent. Infusing professionalism and dynamism, building a learning organizations, promoting corporate values, opening communication channels, designing accurate job description, monitoring achievements, giving incentives to encourage productivity, etc. With globalization and technological changes feeding each other, business paradigms have undergone a major shift. Information technology has resulted in flatter structures and less hierarchical control in organization. Competition has places several demands on Companies, especially in terms of revamping the organization to meet contemporary needs. In the current Indian scenario, while public services are being privatized, private sector organizations are also in the process of re-examining their structures and job roles. Traditional hierarchies are making way for innovative structure to manage organizations. ______________ is a professional essay writing service which can provide high school, college and university students with 100% original custom written essays, research papers, term papers, dissertations, courseworks, homeworks, book reviews, book reports, lab reports, projects, presentations and other assignments of top quality. More than 700 professional Ph.D. and Master’s academic writers. Feel free to order a custom written essay on Management from our professional essay writing service.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Existentialism and Marxism Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Existentialism and Marxism Paper - Essay Example This notion swept the world through a phase of political change that evolved generation after generation. There was also the concept of Existentialism that also spread through Latin America in a major manner. This concept was unique in that it stressed the significance of experience as compared to notions that come from other people’s views. This means that it identifies an individual to be a free being not to follow various factors from others. Many philosophers had different notions on the two different philosophies and the comparison of their views goes deep. Romero Francisco in Theory of a Man displays his vast and widespread support of the Existentialism notion. In this book, he argues deeply stating that the running of the society through material ideology is nothing but a waste of time due to the manner through which the society has progressed through the ages (Romero 134). The author states very clearly that he very much supports the effort and the changes observed in the behavioral sciences and that they have hopes in the future but rather discredits the pace through which they have had in the past days. Romero states that in Latin America, people were rather confused on the way to which they should follow in society and thus many of them did not have a sound decision but rather followed the mass (Romero 142). He states this to be the reason unto why societal progress has been very slow from those days, thus Existentialism credited, and the entire disregard pointed towards Marxism. He also goes ahead to state that the weakness of the human being is what made him believe in culture rather the scientific revolution of the age. He states that with the stand that he takes on the issue, he has no offence towards reductionism and that it is a concept feared only by those with developmental fear. A writer that is clearly against this notion is Enrique Dussel’s Philosophy of Liberation. In this book, Enrique goes a long way in explaining the mann er in which the Latin Americans were represented or rather took up Marxism and states that this was a rather conscious decision for them (Dussel 67). In the book, he majorly focuses on issues relating to Ethics and politics. Enrique states that human beings in the era needed a political scope of the world and notes a sociological view because understanding the society was not just enough. Enrique claims that for one to concentrate on the rather large Latin American society at the time, the basic philosophy to understand is that on politics. Enrique states that no society can run without the basic unit that is a government. It is due to this that he states that the formation of a government was important. It is from this governing body that unity was found to develop and as a single unit, there was the ability to move forward with decisions that are more informed rather than having an individual making a single decision (Dussel 154). This is because it would lead to confusion with on e another constantly ending in feuds and thus the importance of the Marxism movement in Latin America. Francisco Milro Quesda in Without Theory goes a long way in explaining the various concepts that show the reason as to why the Existentialism notion was rather important in the Latin American society. He states that many of the human philosophies going around are baseless and are bound to fail because they base the human experience in a manner that the issues that they faced were rather

Friday, November 1, 2019

Kants morally impermissible actions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kants morally impermissible actions - Essay Example Deontological ethical theory Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher proposed the theory of deontological ethical theory; this has the foundation on the point that only essentially good will is derived from a good thing. This implies that an action is evaluated when the motives or maxim behind it are evaluated, these can be looked at from two angles. First, evaluation of actions by taking into consideration their consequences, this is rejected, a person can control motives and purpose but lack the inability to control the consequences of his/her actions. Secondly what is ‘ought’ means ‘can’ this means that a person is held responsible morally only for a limited number of actions that are under his/her control. Logic as the Basis for Ethics: What action can be described as permissible and hence the converse implies impermissibility? An action is said to be permissible if its cause can be found to be logically consistent and an action is said to be impermissible if its cause is found to be irrational, inconsistent or contradictory (Sullivan 163). This arguments aid in avoidance of mistake and prejudice, provides tenable defense of moral motives, and implies a reply to moral skeptics. The argument can also be said to provide moral universality theory and to give the impression that immorality implies inconsistency and irrationality. For an action to be praiseworthy, the action must have foundation on a logically rational or consistent motive. A praiseworthy action is one that has foundation on a given motive that is obeying the moral law, moral laws are those that are consistent for everyone and are applicable to every other person. Permissible actions are as defined above are those that are because of a consistent motive and are done out of moral duty. The Categorical Imperative: Kant suggested that the moral duty is given to an agent by reason as a categorical imperative (McCracken 131) a person is told how to behave out of an imperative statement. Imperative statements can be considered on two occasions, hypothetical imperative is built on commands for accomplish a particular objective; categorical imperative is modeled on natural law. This becomes the focal point of Kant’s moral principle; to him the foundation of the principle cannot be anything but absolute. An attempt to rationalize morally impermissible behavior will prove self-defeating; this is known as morally impressible action (McCracken 131). An act is impermissible if and only if the action is acted upon the foundation of the maxim that a person cannot will to a universal law; therefore, the permissible action implies the converse. This implies that a person will do an action given the circumstance and because of a certain motiv e, this gives the reason for the action-the maxim. Every person will do actions given the set of circumstances and because of those motives; this means that a person’s actions is consistent with everyone’s actions. The murder example If a person is considering killing another person for egoistic reasons, because, the other person is committing adultery with his wife, consider the impermissibility of this case. The action, which is murder for egoistic reasons this gives the circumstance and finally the motive, is adultery. Every person will kill those people for egoistic reasons, because, these people have committed adultery with their wives. The first argument provides the maxim principle while the second argument provides the universal law; this cannot consistently will that people will commit all those actions this therefore means that the action is impermissible. This example above illustrate classifications of moral duties, the classifications are premised on these divisions, first, the duties to self by implication to others and perfect duties by implication imperfect duties. Perfect duties are done at every other chance whilst the imperfect duties are done at a unique chance but the agent must put thought to it. Violation of