Native American Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Native American Music - Essay Example Dance competitions are usually a part of a Powwow to promote interaction between the people within the same tribes or between different people from different tribes. The Grand entry marks the beginning of a Powwow. All the people enter the showground and everyone is asked to hoist up flags. These flags include different tribal flags along with a US flag which is raised in memory of all the wars and battles waged by the tribesmen in the country. The music for the songs and the dance competition is provided by the drums. The drum is specially designed to be large and a group of drummers beat it while the traditional songs are being sung. There is generally a starting song for the event, the grand entry song as a call for all the people who have participated, flag songs to show patriotism and respect and a closing song to mark the end of the Powwow. The Powwow is a way of the tribes’ thanksgiving to the creator and the dances are treated like an offering. The dance performances a re a way of celebration of the circle of life and for this reason the setting of the Powwow is also a circle. The area reserved for dancing is known as arbor and is also a large circular area within the location. Most of the cultural activities like contest dancing, drum competition, ceremonials, singing and cultural exhibition usually take place inside the arbor. Contest dancing is actually an evolution of the traditional dancing in which good dancers were awarded with small prizes. Now the dancers have huge fan following and are given heavy cash prizes for the entertainment they provide to everyone attending the Powwow. The other entertainment activities like gambling games, parades, food stalls, exhibition of arts and crafts usually take place outside the arbor. After the grand entry performance and the flag songs, there are traditional dances performed which include the sneak-up dance, victory dance, inter-tribal dance and veteran’s dance. An important part of the Powwow culture is the respect and veneration which they hold for traditions and individuals. Honoring songs are hence also an essential part of a Powwow. Honoring songs are sung not only for particular persons but also in reminiscence of a particular event. These songs may praise the valor of a hero or the administration skills of a well known leader of a particular tribe. These songs may also be sung in remembrance of a war or a particular cultural practice. Sneak up dance song: The sneak up dance is one of the most famous dances of the Native American tribes. The dance is actually a tableau of a scene which depicts how to ‘sneak’ up on an enemy or a prey. There are many different versions of this dance but all of them run on the same theme of using stealth to gain an advantage over the opponent. In the most famous and the oldest version of the dance, arbor represents a battle ground where some men have become wounded and need help from their companions. Before the start of t he dance, the wounded are escorted in the middle of the arbor. During the first part of the dance the wounded stay in their position motionless while the dancers dance with their heads facing the wounded. Then the rolling beat starts on the drums to create thundering sound which actually symbolizes the action and mayhem of the battlefield. The drum beats then become slow and the dancers slow their movement and advance towards the wounded. When the beating stops, the dancers freeze in

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

HUMAN COMPUTER INTERACION - Essay Example The variety of guests, with respect to their level of experience with technology, provided exposure to multiple genres of viewpoints and angles with which human computer interaction can be analyzed. The low tech guests provided the information regarding the expectations of users with technology and the common issues that are faced due to overestimation of the skills of the end users. The high tech guests provided valuable feedback regarding the technological methods with which human computer interaction can be enhanced and how user interaction with machines is influenced by different factors and circumstances. The liberty to inquire questions proved to be an effective method of letting the students clear out their confusions and concerns about the topic. The interactive session with the guests gave the students the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and set a broader perspective in their minds regarding the relation of human computer interaction with the environment of the users. Another mode of teaching that proved to help me understand the concepts were the presentation sessions of the students. I believe that an individual can understand any concept from his fellow students as effectively as any of his teacher since the young mind explains the content in the easiest manner. All students have more or less the same level of knowledge for a topic; therefore, they highlight the factors that prove to be easier for the other students to comprehend. It was a pleasure to attend the presentation sessions of my fellow students and learn about the different methods with which they approached the topic. My ‘Aha moment’ in this course was the freedom to choose any topic (within the context of technology) to write the responses and develop presentations. Research and exploration are the most effective modes to make the students understand the content and to enable them to think in a broader perspective. The

Diabetes mellitus type II care and management Term Paper

Diabetes mellitus type II care and management - Term Paper Example All these details are given below, reading which, will provide a clearer insight about the disease to the patients thereby increasing their awareness about it and also how to effectively manage this serious ailment. Unlike the people who suffer from type 1 diabetes, who does not at produce insulin, people with type 2 produce insulin but might not make adequate insulin or the body cannot use it well enough to manage blood sugar levels (called as insulin resistance). When the pancreas does not produce the required levels of insulin to manage the glucose, the resultant increase can enter your body cells leading to host of problems. As far as insulin resistance is concerned, insulin will not be able to play its role properly because the body’s cells remain unaffected by it (â€Å"The importance of monitoring blood-glucose levels,† n. d). Diabetes Type 2 and the resultant high blood sugar can cause series of ailments including heart disease, kidney failure, stroke, diabetic retinopathy affecting eyes, poor blood flow to the legs leading to amputations in certain cases, others. This presents a grave scenario for the patients. At the same time, although, there is no permanent cure for th is type 2 diabetes, it can be managed by eating aptly, exercising, and through medications or insulin therapy. Some patients suffering from type 2 diabetes will be able achieve their target glucose levels through apt diet management and effective exercise alone, however, majority of the sufferers will need oral diabetes medications or injection-based insulin therapy. The best suitable medication would differ from patient to patient because it depends on the individuals’ blood sugar level, their response to the initial treatment, other health problems, and so on, with doctors even prescribing a combination of drugs from different classes. In that direction, doctors are prescribing a combination of metformin and glyburide to help body cope up with high

Scientific Notation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Scientific Notation - Essay Example f writing 300,000,000 for the light’s speed in meters per second, by moving the decimal point from the rightmost zero eight places to the left until before 3, the value is reduced to 3 x 108 in scientific notation where 8 is a power of 10 that signifies the count of zeros responsible for the number’s lengthy structure. Basically, equations consist of variables that are normally combined with constants to form a specific relation between quantities that possess individual meanings such as cost (in dollars), number of years, population, number of items, or even revenue. Variables may be dependent or independent but by solving a system of equations, these unknown variables may be determined. In everyday life, when equations are solved, one is able to find out exact solutions of two functions whose intersection could mean a break-even point or a point where one relation bears equal advantage to the other. Obtaining real solutions in a process is essential in fields such as physics, chemistry, and other sciences that apply equations in

Film review 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film review 2 - Essay Example All of the characters have been showed struggling with their difficulties; a reality which can be seen in our daily day-to-day lives. It is evident to see white characters being more privileged and black characters being more suppressed. Jean and Rick Cabot being the privileged white people have appeared as confident, financially sound and powerful people who belonged to elite class of the society. On the other hand, Peter and Anthony appear as the suppressed, filled with hatred and struggling characters who have their hearts filled with hatred infused in them by the treatment they have received from the white people. The sight of Peter and Anthony scares Jean. To overcome her fear, she grabs tightly the arm of her husband that ultimately offends the black young men and as a result, they steal their car. Haggis has well portrayed the sense of insecurity felt by Jean in this scene. He has tried his best to demonstrate the racism and the common thought that how white people perceive bl acks. This scene not only approves the racism but the also the truth that why white people fear the blacks. People in America closely associate violence and cruelty with African-American community which is a true fact. On the other hand, Jean’s behaviour can be associated with prejudice she had for African-Americans and seeing that her car has been taken away on the gun point by the blacks; she confirms that her reaction against those people was right (Ray, 2007). The fight between the privileged characters and oppressed ones are clearly highlighted in the movie. Some characters have been shown struggling to meet their day-to-day necessities while some are shown enjoying the greater benefits; hence, giving rise to social rift and racism in the American society. Waking Up Phase in the End of Movie: Anthony being the victim of racism and discrimination extends his help to the Chinese people who were locked in the van. His action was to free them from the tyranny and suppression he had faced earlier. Anthony was the main character who was waking up to the liberation by extending his help to other people belonging to different race and ethnicity. He has tried to overcome the suppression he had to face in terms of Jean’s behaviour and his reaction he showed to her and her husband. But my helping the locked Chinese people, he has been shown as a person who stands more on his moral ground and confirms himself as a person with an enlightened soul. It can be concluded from the last scene that racism can be alleviated from the society. Anthony was going through the process of defence mechanism especially reaction formation, dissociation and displacement which holds a greater message for the audience and a lesson for the society to address the issue of racism by overcoming their internal grudges and shallows in personality. Analyzing the Movie on Personal Experiences: Crash revolves around the bitter realities of life. It shows how the life is and how we ex perience difference problems in our day to day life. The movie typically revolves around racism and social discrimination against minorities. Crash highlights the bitter truths. From the different scenes of the movie, I observed that none of the white characters of the movie were shown struggling with their finances; they were showed on good positions, enjoying all the benefits without worrying about managing their finances. However, on the other hand, black

Globalization of Labor Market Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Globalization of Labor Market - Research Paper Example It is not a new phenomenon as trade between countries has been in existence since the world war but modern globalization has been intensified by the use of new technology and conversion of governments into free market economies. It has led to a lot of positive as well as negative impacts on the economy. It leads to growth of the economy and creation of employment for a large population hence reducing poverty. Skill transfer between nations is also evident leading to labor productivity. However, it has been blamed for eliminating jobs and widening the pay gap between the skilled and un-skilled labor force. The growth of multinational companies has also led to a lot of changes in the labor market such as; low wages, segregation of women in service jobs and creation of sweatshops where women work under poor conditions. The paper will discuss the effects of globalization on the labor market. Effects of Globalization on the Labor Market Globalization has had a lot of positive and negative effects on the labor market. The IMF and OECD view globalization as contributing to positive change in the labor market. They argue that trade liberalization; improved technology, and foreign investments which characterize globalization are key drivers of the economy leading to creation of employment. ... To them, globalization is the worst thing that could have happened to the labor market as it leads to unemployment, migration of workforce, emergence of multinational corporations which are less concerned with workers welfare, widening pay gap between the skilled and un-skilled laborers, loss of jobs due to advanced technology, and emergence of export processing zones which mistreat workers (Winkler, 172-226). Liberalization of trade has led to emergence of network enterprises with diverse network of suppliers. The MNCs give contracts to those suppliers thus changing the nature of work from permanent employment to flexible employment where workers are employed on temporary basis or become part-timers and on-call workers. Most of the part-time jobs require less skills hence are dominated by women. Though some may argue that it is creation of jobs for women, these women earn low wages and work in poor conditions. This is because the MNCs threaten to take their jobs elsewhere if the wor king conditions are improved for example, to countries where labor is cheap. These jobs are mostly available in export processing zones. Furthermore, flexible employment has led to loss of job security as it is difficult to define the periods during which those workers are entitled to benefits such as unemployment benefits. Those workers who work under contracted suppliers or organizations do not know who their boss is thus they don’t know where to air their views (World Bank 101-120). Globalization has led to increased unemployment especially in the developed countries. For example, the unemployment rate of Germany rose from 5.7% in 1991 to 9.0% in 2007 (Winkler, 6). This is as a result of establishment of EPZs in the developing countries where labor is

Use of Literary Elements in Slaughterhouse-Five Essay Example for Free

Use of Literary Elements in Slaughterhouse-Five Essay Slaughterhouse-Five 1993. The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter. Choose a novel, play, or long poem in which a scene or character awakens thoughtful laughter in the reader. Write an essay in which you show why this laughter is thoughtful and how it contributes to the meaning of the work. English author George Meredith wrote, â€Å"The true test of comedy is that it shall awaken thoughtful laughter.† Slaughterhouse-Five would have been quite the comedy in Meredith’s eyes, because it is an extremely satirical work. Satire is writing that ridicules human weakness in order to bring about social reform. Ridicule, in this case, is humorous mockery of something, making people thoughtfully laugh about the situations which these characters find themselves in. In the Kurt Vonnegut novel Slaughterhouse-Five, the main character Billy wants only to have a normal American life, but his studies to become an optometrist are interrupted by his being drafted into the army during World War II and, as a prisoner of war, experiences the tragic bombing of Dresden. Then, he begins regular travels to the planet Tralfamadore. He also begins to become â€Å"unstuck in time;† he is time traveling. This essay discusses the use of satire in Slaughterhouse-Five to communicate to the reader the themes which are addressed in the book. In chapter four of Slaughterhouse-Five, satire is used through the comic depiction of a war film depicting the process of dropping bombs, all the way from mining the materials needed to make the bombs, to dropping them, to the planes landing back where they came from (74-75). This film, though, is described as it played backwards, as if somebody is rewinding a VHS cassette. Comic relief is the inclusion of something humorous often to heighten the emotional impact by means of contrast. The war film, when played backwards, conveys a very serious topic, but is lightened by the diverting and comical description of the reverse playing of the film. Comic relief is used to make the reader laugh and pay attention to what in other situations would be a very dry and boring scene, and likely think about it later. This part of the story addresses the destruction of war, a main theme  of Slaughterhouse-Five. By the use of comic relief, the reader is forced not to ignore the scene for fear of having to think about the destruction of war, satirically pointing out the reader’s distaste for tough topics such as the destruction of war. It also explicitly, yet not grossly, highlights the destruction of, specifically, dropping bombs as a wartime tactic. Farce is a comedy characterized by improbable plot situations, exaggerated characters, and broad satire. In Slaughterhouse-Five, one of the many instances of farce is the character Howard W. Campbell, Jr. (128-131). Campbell is an ex-prisoner of war who has turned his support to the Germans and is trying to form a unit of Americans who shift their allegiance to the Germans to fight against the Russian Communists. In his ridiculous and highly symbolic outfit, he tries to appeal to the American prisoners of war his ideas that the Germans are fighting for many of the same purposes as the Americans: against the Communists. Because of the outrageous and funny nature of Campbell, one is forced to think about the rash idealism which he stands for. Farce in this situation is used to denounce the metanarratives that are taught in war. It first emphasizes the craziness of the German ideal, and then the dogmatic wills of the Americans who do anything to reiterate their hatred for Communists. Then, when Edgar Derby, the leader of the American prisoners of war, stands up to speak against Campbell, the section is used to denounce the post-World War I anti-German metanarrative. Black comedy is the combining of morbid and serious topics with elements of low comedy to underscore the senseless futility of life. It is used as a form of comic relief in Slaughterhouse-Five while Billy is on a plane on the way to the convention of optometrists (155-156). His father-in-law asks the barbershop quartet to sing his favorite song. The song is quite comical and uses lots of low humor, such as cursing and parodying Polish accents. This reminds the author of a very serious time when Billy saw a Polish man being hanged in the street during World War II for having sexual intercourse with a German woman. The reader is pulled in by the funny song which is then related to the very serious topic of racial discrimination and hate. This connects to the theme of the terribleness of racial hatred. Irony is something that is opposite of what is meant, what is supposed to happen, or what makes sense. In Slaughterhouse-Five, irony occurs in the Kilgore Trout story about Jesus (109). He is a nobody, and for fun, the Romans crucify him. Then, they realize that he is the son of God and that he was an unfortunate person to kill. This causes the reader to rethink everything they have thought about the the gospel of Jesus Christ and free will, and also to laugh about their ignorance of this new idea of what really happened in the beginning of the New Testament. The theme addressed by this short story is that nobody is completely sure of what is going on, and somebody else such as God must be in charge, thus, there is no free will. Many themes are addressed in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel, Slaughterhouse-Five, like the denunciation of the metanarratives popularized during war, the disagreement with the legitimacy of the destruction of war, the horribleness of racial hatred, and the lack of free will. These topics are discussed in Slaughterhouse-Five through the use of humorous elements such as black comedy and farce. One may choose to think about these very important themes, and maybe they will affect one’s life.