Body Modification Essays - Human Body, Body Art, Culture

Body Modification Body modification and adornment is a universal culture. All civilizations have attempted to change their body in order to fulfill their cultural construct of beauty, religious and/or social obligations. Body adornment and modification is a very broad subject, ranging from ceremonial body paint to the amputation of appendages. In modern society many people today are looking more like tribal warriors of many African cultures. In fact many of these modifications actually do come from many ancient cultures. So why is body modification just now coming to the attention of the modern world? It is my belief that a greater amount of young adults are finding that imitating traditions of primitive cultures is an excellent way to express themselves. However, the quest for non-conformity is not the only reason people change their appearance. Dissatisfaction with ones appearance and fascination with alteration is also reason for one to modify their body. A piercing can be defined as any object, intentionally left in the body, for which there is no physiologically functional purpose, and must have be placed in an event which took a conscious decision. "Historically, piercing has had a long history in Europe, with references dating back to the Roman Empire. Soldiers in Caesar's army pierced their nipples, while male members of the Victorian Court wore Prince Albert piercings (piercing of the genitalia) as a 'dressing ring,' and was used to secure the penis to either leg with a string or thong, to suit the fashion at the time." Pants were cut very closely at the crotch, and would make the male genitalia very pronounced. I asked several men in an online chat room that had the same piercings mentioned above and typically their response was due to fascination or for sexual pleasure. "When viewed as a material aspect of our culture, popular piercing is an attempt to create an alien other: Something to shock and disconcert: An attempt to break out of the biological and cultural confines that limit the range of personal self-expression." Earlobe piercing is the most socially acceptable form of body piercing in industrialized countries. Modern ear adornments include the conch, the tragus, and two innovative cartilege piercings, the daith and the rook, which were introduced by California body piercer Erik Dakota. Other popular piercings in today's society include the navel, tongue, lip, eyebrow, and the nose. These are usually used to express ones eccentricity and individuality. Ear piercings are most widely practiced piercings among cultural groups in Africa, India, Indonesia, North and South America. In some third world countries ear piercings mark the life stages of an individual and to signify group affiliation. Ear cartilege piercings, especially popular among the Masai and Fulani, also emphasized beauty and wealth. Stretched earlobes are dominant among groups in Indonesia and South America. Stretched earlobes have increased in popularity among modern piercing enthusiasts. I noticed four men with stretched earlobes in about an hour time period on a recent trip to Philadelphia's South Street. I also observed over two-dozen shops on this one particular street in which piercings and tattoo services were offerd. Henna, also known as mehndi, is the painting of the body using temporary ink (usually a dark orange color) made from the herb henna, widely used in the Middle East. It's origins date back to 1700 B.C. in the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures. The patterns of henna painting vary from culture to culture. There are three main traditions that can be recognized, aside from the modern use of henna as a trendy temporary tattoo. Generally, Arabic (Middle-eastern) mehndi features large, floral patterns on hands and feet, while Indian (Asian) mehndi uses fine line, lacy, floral and paisley patterns covering entire hands, forearms, feet and shins; and African mehndi art is large, and bold with geometrically patterned angles. African mehndi patterns usually use black henna while Asian and Middle Eastern mehndi is often reddish brown. It is also a common custom in many countries to step into the mehndi, or simply apply the paste without creating a pattern in order to cool, protect, or treat the skin. This practice is rapidly growing in popularity because it is easy, temporary, and inexpensive. Tattoo as defined in Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary is an indelible

Abigail adam essays

Abigail adam essays Abigail Adams was a women of a unique personality . She was an intellectual because she wanted to have an education and demonstrated the desire to learn. As a mother, she passionately cared for her children during periods of disease and poor health that surround the country, that threatened her own life as well as others. As a wife, she stood by her husband during the early years of his political career when he often left her alone to care for their land and family. These roles illustrate her personality, and were especially evident during the presidency of her husband, John Adams. She was always her husbands number one supporter. Throughout the biography, Abigail Adams An American Woman, Charles Akers describes a strong modern women who had an impact on American Society and womens right. At age 15 Abigail met the man whose frequent absences, due to his duty to the Nation, would oblige her to exclaim she was bereft of my better half. During their four years of evolution from acquaintance, to friendship, to courtship, to engagement, and finally to marriage, John Adams could not resist the respect developed in him for her intellect, outspokenness- yet not overstepping the boundaries a woman at her time had in relation to a male, and acute point of views. John and Abigail married in the fall of 1764, and soon after that their lives began a journey of loneliness due to the demands that public service placed on him and his family, and the lack of hesitance with which he responded. During Johns absences, Abigail earned his love, respect, admiration and consideration even more so, as he considered her husbandry in the care of their property, their children and their overall affairs at home. John did not necessarily applaud her increasing dependency and freedom in speaking her mind, but did not, however, discourage it. She would become his dearest ...

Claims Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Claims - Essay Example In the company, there were different groups doing specific tasks and with different leaders and communication system. The groups are motivated in different ways in respect to their output. In my self assessment test, I was exceedingly interested in working in groups. I like being the group leader since I can manage the group dynamics. In my future career plans, I would like to own a company and manage it myself. The competences are incredibly essential in the entire running of the company. They are inter related in that they all aim at achieve organizational goals and objectives. The effectiveness of a manager is determined by the outcome of the organization in regard to the set objectives and goals. If the skills and competences are effective, the organization will manage to achieve their goals and objectives. In most organization, the managers lack some skills and competences leading to poor management. ... In the organization, different personnel did more work than others. The organization had a policy of rewarding people and groups based on the output they delivered. This was extraordinarily critical, and it encouraged people to work extremely hard to get more rewards (Scott, Spriegel and Clothier 22) Nominate one management skill to investigate in the next semester Decision making The main reason why I nominated decision making is due to its daily application in all level of management. When I was working, decision making was my chief problem. This is the process through which managers use to solve existing problems in an organization. It is the key aspects that single out the performance of a manager. In most organization, the success of any organization depends on the decision made by the management. When I was working as a scripter, my key weakness was making the right decisions on time. The manager of the company was always complaining about it, and this triggered me to find mean s to hasten my decision making skills. The main reason why I did not make decisions on time was due to the uncertainty of the outcome (Drucker and Maciariello 56) Guidelines that influence decision making 1. Define the problem. This involves identifying the decision that will help in the attainment of the organizational objectives. The problem may be short-term or long-term. 2. Identification of limiting factors. The decision maker should analyze the ideal resources that are required to implement the decision that is to be made. The manager must have adequate information, personnel, time, supplies and equipment. The manager should also take into account the internal and

Suggestions for Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Suggestions for Airlines - Essay Example This paper outlines that customers do not appreciate buying airline tickets at what they think is a fair price, only to find numerous surcharges added to the ticket. The price quote customers receive is misleading. It would be beneficial for airlines to sell tickets up front at the true price – the price of the ticket plus all the taxes. This idea is similar to the way gasoline is sold. A price of $3.19 per gallon is the final price with all taxes included. Similarly, an airline ticket of $319 should be the final price with all taxes included. Someone should not have to buy a $200 airline ticket only to find out the true total is $319. From this paper it is clear that if airlines continue to struggle financially, they should consider making part of the company available to the public via stocks in order to earn some money back. For airlines that are already available in stocks, they should consider releasing more shares to the public. The fourth thing airlines should do is provide incentives to current and potential future customers. The idea of frequent flyer miles does not seem to be working enough to sustain the airlines. Perhaps airlines could take a hint from retailers. They can offer coupons good â€Å"for a limited time only.† Or they could offer cash back good towards a future purchase. For example, for every $250 spent on an airline ticket, the customer receives a $25 credit toward the next ticket. By taking this action, airlines may be able to secure recurring customers. The last thing the airlines could do to help their survival is offer more for the same amount of money. More and more often peop le complain of poor customer service at airports and on airlines. Politeness goes a long way. A lot of courtesy can help retain customers and lack of manners can turn them away. Efficiency needs to be improved as well.

A Rose for Emily Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

A Rose for Emily - Essay Example The story brings opposite side of an individual different from the real life situation. This is seen in the character of Emily in the story. Emily is not able to grip death idea and instead suffers denial. When Emily’s father passed away, people in the town expected that she will be in a state of grief, but this was the contrary. Emily claimed that her father was not dead as people in town thought. Emily did not accept the fate of death and she held her father as if he was still alive. Emily did not accept death and as a result she killed Homer Barron to prevent him from leaving. Emily refused people to enter in her house because she kept the body of Homer Barron inside (Faulkner 2). Emily had a bad motive towards Homer Barron that resulted in murder. From the beginning of the story, Emily was not affected by the death, but this could not have made her act badly against Barron. Emily actions were as a result of supernatural forces. When Emily's father died, Emily did not care but held her father as if he was still alive. Emily remained stubborn and prevented changes brought about by the death or other means from taking place in town. She was also afraid of change and refused to allow the city people to include a number for mail in her house (Faulkner 22). After Emily’s funeral people were curious to know what she had been hiding from the house. The town people rushed and broke the house in which Emily lived in order to find out what she was hiding. People were surprised to find Homer Barron corpse decomposed on the bed together with a thread of Emily’s grey hair. Emily's characters and belief in death made her live an ordinary life.

Theories of Motivation and Stress in Organisations

Theories of Motivation and Stress in Organisations Many organisations have decided to reorganise their traditional hierarchical structure into modern team structures. Select the key theories in the areas of motivation and stress and link them to the challenges organisations implementing this type of change may face. One of the key factors in creating and maintaining a successful business is the ability to adapt to changes in the external environment, whether responding to competitors, customers, or the macro-environment, such as legal, environmental, or political changes, for example. The decision to reorganize traditional hierarchical structures into modern team structures is one such example of adapting to changes in the way businesses are run worldwide, and reaping the benefits of innovation. However, change, whether ultimately for better or worse, can have a direct impact on stress and motivation, particularly for workers if there is change in the workplace. Traditional hierarchical structures have certain characteristics and can be represented in Maslows hierarchy of needs diagram whereby there are many levels of management and command. There are very visible divisions of power and job roles are clearly defined. Communication usually starts from the top and works it way down via management. On the other hand, modern team structures are characterized by shared goals and responsibility, whereby communication is supposedly more fluid between workers, as the organizational structure is flatter. Team working, by definition, allows more interaction between people, and job roles may also be more fluid depending on what is needed to achieve shared goals. It can be argued that the transition from one structure to another can be linked to change in ones motivation to work. Motivation is described by Fincham and Rhodes (2005, pp732) as the extent to which an individual is engaged by the work role he or she occupies. Maslows hierarchy of needs is probably one of the most famous theories used in the study of motivation to analyse human behaviour at work, although according to Fincham and Rhodes (2005, pp197) his work wasnt originally intended to be and explanation of motivation in the workplace. Nonetheless, his hierarchy of needs is a founding example of content theory, which is based on the assumption that we can attribute a similar set of needs to all individuals (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp193). According to Maslow, there are five levels of need innate in all humans, which must be satisfied in turn. Once the first need is satisfied, unconsciously what then exerts a more powerful influence on our behaviour is the need at the next level up the hierarchy (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp193). The five levels of the hierarchy ascend from very basic Physiological needs such as food, warmth, clothing and shelter, to Security needs, whereby the person in question must feel safe and free from fear, in a comfortable environment. Once these needs are fulfilled, the attention is then turned to Social needs such as the requirement for supportive and fulfilling relationships with others. These first three levels chart a persons basic deficiency needs and are factors that figure in ones psychological growth. The next levels, Self-esteem needs, and ultimately, Self-actualisation needs, are what Maslow regarded as higher-order needs, and the development of these needs represents the end point of a gradual process of psychological maturation (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp195). Fulfilling Self-esteem needs would involve a requirement for recognition, and a building up of self belief, whilst fulfilling Self-actualisation needs are the ultimate goal of human beings according to Maslow. This would encompass all that is needed for someone to realize their full potential, and thus would differ depending on the person. Herzberg, another famous content theorist, builds upon Maslows hierarchy, which although is very interesting and a staple in most motivation theory books, is more or less unsubstantiated by empirical study. Herzbergs two-factor theory of motivation stemmed from interviews with a number of workers, where two factors emerged, hygiene, and motivators. Hygiene factors are similar to Maslows first three levels of need, and represent the need to avoid pain (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp199). In the sphere of work they represent primary needs we have as animals, that are minimum requirements that one must have in order not to be demotivated at work, but do not actually serve to motivate us. Motivators, on the other hand, represent Maslows last two levels of need, and reflect the need for self actualization. These would include things such as responsibility, recognition, promotion, achievement and intrinsic aspects of the job, and Herzberg argued that designing jobs which incorporated these t ypes of motivators would indeed increase motivation in staff. One could argue that the transition from one type of organizational structure to another should be designed to incorporate the motivators or higher level-needs for staff in order to ease transition. If any of these factors are being diminished because of the transition, then psychologically, this would have the effect of demotivating staff. However, the emergence of process theory in motivation has arisen out of some criticism of content theory which seems to lump all human beings together homogeneously, and assume everyone will and does act in the same way depending on external factors. If this were the case then this essay question would not exist as one would be able to design the transition so that all needs are not impacted on negatively. However, process theory realizes the role that an individuals cognitive processes have in determining his or her level of motivation (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp202). Theorists such as Adams regard Equity theory as fairly important in process theory as it describes a workers concern with fairness and equity, which is measured by how much reward is received in relation to effort (or inputs such as skill, experience, intelligence, seniority) they put in at work, compared to others around them, and indeed compared to their past work experiences. Vrooms expectancy theory builds upon this premise by suggesting that the link between effort and reward could be viewed as a process in which individuals calculated first whether there was connection between effort and their performance (expectancy), then the probability that valued rewards (valences) would follow form high performance (instrumentality) (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp208). In studies, Vroom was able to produce an instrumentality index from students who had rated the importance of various job goals, and in turn how well certain organizations would satisfy these goals. This index was used to predict which job each student should apply for. This type of theory highlights how differently individuals can perceive job satisfaction, and organizational structure transitions should be monitored in order to see how each worker could be affected by such change, and try to take steps to ensure workers will see rewards in changing into self-managed teams. Will they feel that extra work is needed, with little reward, or will the idea of building relationships with fellow staff and taking more responsibility for their work empower them? This will seemingly differ a lot from worker to worker based on process theory. A number of characteristics of self-managed teams seem to include motivators such as responsibility, shared goals and social cohesion, which would hopefully overcome initial fear of change. Whilst motivation must be maintained by the organization during a transition, the idea of stress, particularly during periods of perceived instability (a by-product of change) by workers and could impact negatively. There are a number of definitions for stress such as Edwards (cited in Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp62) who suggests that it comes from an inability to cope with the demands the environment makes a person, and is caused by a lack of fit with the environment. This could certainly be the case with regard to changing job roles, or indeed changing the structure within which you work, as the case would be in considering this essay question. A survey by the Confederation of British Industry in the UK found that stress was the second most prevalent cause of sickness absenteeism, costing industry around  £4 billion (cited in Fincham and Rhodes 2005, pp80). Therefore making efforts in limiting the kinds of causes of stress discussed later will make the transition from traditional hierarchical structures into modern team structures will be very beneficial for businesses. Given that a transition into self-managed teams, will mainly involve a change in job role, it is useful to look at the role stressors that have an impact on stress levels. The first type of stressor would be role ambiguity (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp63) and this is probably a pertinent one to start with it can be prevalent amongst matrix structure organisations and self-managed teams. It is argued that information sharing is increased within modern teams, however, this is an ideal, and is not always the case. Information deficiency, and an uncertainty about what your role encompasses can cause unrest and stress. If a worker is unable to clearly understand their place within a structure this has been found in studies to have repercussions in terms of reducing job satisfaction and increasing anxiety. It is likely that some of this could also be caused by a transition from another structure or role. If, in the case of this question, the role (in a team) is newly created, of which there is a one in three chance according to West et al 1987 (cited in Fincham and Rhodes 2005, pp66), then the worker will not have a point of reference, or a predecessor to look to, nor any advice from colleagues. It is crucial that a person is able to draw comfort from their social peers and not be left to muddle along. It could be argued that everyone will be in the same position if this were to happen to a whole organisation , and senior managers should try to invoke exercises such as team-building sessions to solidify the team and prevent alienation and thus stress from workers, where possible. Single role, and multiple role conflict are another set of factors that can impact on stress levels phenomenally for a lot of workers. Single role conflict tends to occur when there a number of elements to ones role and these elements cause conflict and paradoxes, and are therefore difficult to reconcile. Supervisors tend to suffer from this conflict particularly if they need to be command authority, yet maintain a social cohesion with work peers. The need to discipline a member of staff that they have a social affinity with could become stressful and cause upset. Multiple role conflict is an extension to this, but is more akin to conflict between roles at work and roles outside of work such as husband, mother, daughter, housewife etc. Cooper (2001) talks about the boundaries between work and home becoming blurred by technology (cited in Fincham and Rhodes, 2005), with the explosion in mobile communication and laptops making it all too easy to bring work home. Women, who are mothers and also work, can find that trying to juggle one role with another can cause them to feel more stressed out and can lead to neglect of both roles and feelings of personal failure because of this. Some form of stress seems to be inevitable with change of any kind, be it good or bad. However if the organisation making change is able to design teams and roles with workers health and wellbeing in mind, then this can be limited. Motivators are key components of roles that provide job satisfaction, although these can differ form worker to worker. A working mother could see a motivator, as flexible working hours within a team, in order to aid her role as carer. Making sure that there are processes in place to both address individual workers stressors, and to counteract these with appropriate means of motivation, even if it means having more informal meetings, and opening up lines of communication, will limit stress. However, it is important to remember that traditional hierarchical structures are also known to characteristically cause stress to employees. They tend to be bureaucratic in structure and can offer workers limited hope of changing unsatisfactory jobs or becoming more inn ovative within their roles. This can be termed as burnout and entrapment (Fincham and Rhodes, 2005, pp71) and reflects the reasons in which a business would choose to change the structure of an organisation into self-managed teams in the first place. Therefore, organisations should keep in mind that stress is endemic to work, but must be kept at manageable levels through the process of increasing workers motivation. Bibliography Fincham Rhodes, 2005, Fourth Edition, Principles of Organisational behaviour, Oxford University Press, New York

Napoleon - an enlightened despot Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Enlightened despotism is when there is an absolute ruler, in some cases a tyrant, who follows the principles of the Enlightenment through reforms. Permitting religious toleration, allowing freedom of the press and speech, and expanding education are a few main guidelines to being and enlightened despot. Napoleon I is often referred to as one of the greatest enlightened despots. Although, he did not follow the ideas of the enlightenment entirely, he managed his country in a way that he maintained complete authority as well as many of the gains of the French Revolution. Yes, Napoleon did want to do a few things for himself, but he also ruled for the majority in most cases, promote government-funded education, and supported many other enlightened ideas. But, most importantly, Napoleon did what he thought would make his country stronger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of Napoleon’s first areas of concern was in the strengthening of the French government. He created a strong centralized government and pretty much got rid of the hundreds of localized law codes that had existed during under the control of the monarchy. He also created an army of government officials. He had the entire country linked under a rational administration. He also was able to get an easy supply of taxes and soldiers under his new and improved French government. Before he could get very far, however, he had to gain public favor and shape the public opinion. To do this he used reforms of propaganda and thus caused people to think that they were getting the better end of the deal, but were actually, subconsciously giving Napoleon their approval for his actions. Among some of the methods he used for propaganda included getting all of the printers and book sellers to swear an oath to Napoleon and all newspapers fell under state control, so Napoleon gained access to almost everything that the citizens of France were able to read. Many of the gains from the French Revolution were kept, such as equality before the law, and careers open to talent. Some anti-revolution actions that Napoleon took included repressing liberty, restoring absolutism, and ending political liberty. He believed that allowing political freedom would end with a state of anarchy. He believed that he could solve these problems by acting in favor of the people’s interests as an enlightened desp... ...ig concepts, such as equality before the law, but he also did what would benefit his country. It is important to understand that since France had just exited a revolution, it was pretty fragile; one big mistake and France might have ended up in another one. Napoleon was not only a child of both the French Revolution and the Enlightenment, he was also a very intelligent person. His cunning and his wits led him to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest enlightened despot of all time. Works Consulted (none). â€Å"The Age of Enlightenment.† 17 Dec. 2004. 18 Dec. 2004. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Enlightenment Bergeron, Louis. â€Å"France Under Napoleon: Napoleon as Enlightened Despot.† 13 Dec. 2004. Gay, Peter. The Enlightenment: An Interpretation New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996 Kreis, Steven. â€Å"Europe and the Superior Being: Napoleon.† The History Guide: Lectures on Modern European Intellectual History. 13 May. 2004. 6 Dec. 2004. Karl, Kenneth. Cracking the AP European History Exam New York: Princeton Review Publishing, 2004: 118-120 Spielvogal, Jackson J. Western Civilization: Comprehensive volume California: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning, 2000: 517-518, 572-579, 917