Primate Evolution Essay Example for Free

Primate Evolution Essay The theory of evolution began when man first noted his distinct similarity to apes. The possibility of a common ancester with the modern apes had been discussed since the mid 1800’s, but it wasn’t until Charles Darwin published his book, On the Origin of Species in 1859, that the idea was considered legitimate. Since that time, fossil records have helped us to deliniate and define our evolutionary history and to describe the many human-like species that have lived on the earth over the last 8 million years. Charles Darwin studied a population of finches that had been isolated on the Galapogos Islands, and described the theory of natural selection, whereby over time, each finch had changed in ways that made it more successful in a particular niche. He observed fourteen different species of finches, all who were very similar, except for the size and shapes of their beaks. He noted how each type of beak was shaped very specifically for the type of food the bird ate and explained that the changes were due to the natural selection of the characteristics in a species that made it more successful at obtaining food and at reproducing. If a finch with a slightly longer beak was more efficient at eating termites from holes in trees, he would survive longer and reproduce more than his short beaked counterparts who ate termites. His offspring that inherited his slightly longer beak would also survive longer and reproduce more. Over time, the longer beaked finches would be more prolific than the shorter beaked version within that particular niche and the adaptation would flourish while the shorter beaked finches would die out. Eventually, speciation occured (the development into reproductively separate species), as the termite eaters with longer beaks became more distinctly separate within their environment and became reproductively isolated. This gradual change of a segment of a population into reproductively different species, in response to an environmental pressure (competition) for survival factors is called adaptive radiation. Although Darwin mentioned nothing about human evolution in his first book, his science minded peers were able to understand how his theory applied to humans. Initially there was much debate by the general population over the idea that humans could have evolved from the same lineage as an ape, but by 1870s, the scientific community had already come to the general conclusion that a fossil record would be found in Africa, where our great ape relatives were found. In the 1920’s, as predicted, Raymond Dart found bones from Australopithecus africanus, a hominid who lived between 2-3 million years ago in the Pliocene Era. They were discovered in a cave in Africa. From the skeletal structure he was able to determine that the specimen was bipedal; a defining trait of humans, and the size of its braincase was between that of modern humans and apes. Since that time, paleoanthropologists have been able to trace the evolutionary history of the primates including hominids, for some 85 million years and can determine many facts about their lifestyle through the study of fossils and other artifacts (O’Neal, 2006). There is not a complete record, and although paleoanthropologists have presented us with many pieces of the puzzle, we do not know exactly how man evolved into the species we are today. Some researchers have speculated that many of our developed traits were due to adaptations for an aboreal life. The premise of this idea is that as angiosperms became prevailant, an overlapping canopy developed that allowed cross movement from tree to tree. The canopy was a niche that had little competition and provided advantages for primates. Over time and through natural selection, primates took to the trees. They developed opposable thumbs and short finger nailed, grasping hands for holding onto branches, binocular vision for depth perception, and more complex brains to be able to better deal with balance and complex navigation (Simons, 1992). The difficulty with this idea is determining why, since there are other aboreal animals without these characteristics, primates developed them. There had to be some other factors that added the pressure for choice of these characteristics in primates. A primary characteristic of hominids is bipedalism. We likely developed from a chimpanzee-like, knuckle walking ancestor. The reason for the change from using all four limbs for locomotion to standing upright, on two limbs is unknown. There are several theories that focus on environmental conditions as being the motivating factor. One such theory is called the Savannah Hypothesis which proposes that due to drier conditions, the African forests thinned and disapeared. Bipedalism developed both as an adaptation to facilitate movement across the grasslands and as a way to give early hominids use of their hands for food cultivation and tool use since they were no longer needed for locomotion (Simons, 1992). The pressures that fuel evolutionary trends are those that are required for the species improved survival. We immediately think of food and shelter, but perhaps the most critical in insuring the continuation of a species is reproductive strategy. Primate reproductive strategies today include those that are monogmous (one male and one female), those that are polygynous (one male and multiple females), those that are polandrous (one female, multiple males), and those that are promiscuous (multiple males, multiple females). Eighty percent of primates practice polygyny, eighteen percent practice monogomy, with polandry seen only in some of the Callitrichids, the marmosets and tamarins, and promiscuity seen in chimps. The evolution of polygyny can be easily rationalized. In polygynous strategies, the egg has a high energy cost and the female puts her energy into childcare. Males may help with childcare as well, but females have a long period of gestation and then a period of lactation, so childcare is their primary focus. Females must focus also on food, not only for themselves, but for their offspring, whether directly or as an energy source for lactation. Therefore, female primates will naturally search for food sources. It is advantageous for females to congregate for childcare, for shared food sources and for safety. Reproductive success for a female primate is through the focused care of each individual offspring. Males do not have the same enforced biological costs throughout the reproductive process. Sperm are easily produced in large quantities at a low energy cost. Reproductive success for males is through the number off offspring he can produce. Under these circumstances, polygyny is the most efficient reproductive strategy for species survival (O’Neal, 2006). Mongomous primates have a different environment. Monogomy is driven by the spacial arrangements of females or when the male’s role in childcare is critical. When females do not gather, it is logistically not feasible for the male to obtain additional mates. Gibbon females will not tolerate another female in her claimed territory. The males might have the tendancy toward polygyny, but the females won’t allow it. Monogomy in tamarins is necessary because of the relative size of the offspring to parent size. The young, although still dependent on parental care, quickly grow to near adult size. It is nearly impossible for a single female to raise her offspring alone. Although reproductive strategy is varied among primates, each species’ tendancy is based on the evolutionary pressure for their survival and success. Recent fossil discoveries have been able to describe an evolutionary history that dates back as far as 4. million years ago to the Autraliopitecines. An almost complete skeleton was found in 1974 in Hadar, Ethiopia and adopted the name Lucy. This was the first human –like homonid. Lucy was bi pedal and had a large brain for her body size of 48 inches. Since that time, other fossils of Australopitecines have been uncovered, but Lucy remains the most complete, and is the standard for the species (Primate Info Net, 2008). Homo habilis is thought to have descended directly from a species of Australopithecine hominid and lived from approximately 2. 2 to 1. million years ago. Fossils found in Tanzania in 1962 by Louis and Mary Leakey show that Homo habilis was short and had long arms, like the Australipithecines, but had a decrease in facial protrusion, giving it a more human-like appearance. They used rudimentary tools in their hunting and gathering (Primate Info Net, 2008). Homo erectus had a larger brain case than Homo habilis and stood slightly more erect. They also had more sophisticated tools that were able to cut and slice. They had discovered the use of fire and were the first actual hunter-gatherer society. They lived approximately 2. 2 to 1. 1 million years ago and were the first to leave Africa and travel throughout the Great Rift Valley (Primate Info Net, 2008). . Homo sapiens archaic or Neanderthal Man inhabited Europe and parts of Asia approximately 1. 2 million years ago. They were a fairly sophisticated society. They buried their dead, had fire, ate meat and had modern tools like hand axes and knives. They were adapted to a colder climate with short, robust statures and large noses. Their brain capacity was greater than modern humans and they had language. There were probably only about 10,000 Neanderthals and they slowly disappeared as modern man, Homo sapiens sapiens began to appear 200,000 years ago (Primate Info Net, 2008). . Throughout man’s evolutionary history there has been a trend toward greater intelligence, mobility and refined physical and mental control. We are evolving each day towards a better version of ourselves. Are we the final model? Or will we eventually be replaced by a more efficient, successful hominid? In all likelihood, we will.

Indian Influence Essay Example for Free

Indian Influence Essay This paper aims to discuss the question of to what extent the Indians have influenced place names and the vocabulary of American English. Considering that Native American Indians are the oldest people in America, it is natural that their language and culture have had some influence upon the development of American English, as well as upon place names in America. It is believed that the first Native Americans arrived during the last ice-age, approximately 20,000 30,000 years ago . There are a great number of American place names, including those of large cities and states, which have been named after Indian words – it’s estimated that at least half of the states get their names from Indian words. These include Arizona, which comes from the Indian word Arizonac, which means little spring or young spring. Arizona has a history rich in legends of pertaining to the West. Here Indian chiefs Geronimo and Cochise led the fight against the frontiersmen. Tombstone, Arizona, was the site of the most famous shootout in the West, this being the gunfight at the O. K. Corral. Names of other states influenced by the Indians include Arkansas which comes from the Quapaw Indians, Iowa, which probably comes from an Indian name meaning â€Å"this is the place† or â€Å"the Beautiful Land†, Oklahoma, which is from two Choctaw Indian words meaning red people, and Wyoming, which is from the Delaware Indian word meaning â€Å"mountains and valleys alternating†, just like the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania. It can therefore be seen that the influence of American Indians has had quite a large impact on the naming of places in America. The vocabulary of American English has also been quite profoundly impacted. In a similar way that thousands of place names have been impacted by Indian words, so have many US English words have their roots in American Indian. These help in making the language the rich, cultural affair that it is today, and include not only words such as tomahawk from the Virginia Algonquian tamahaac, totem from the Ojibwa nindoodem, my totem, wampum from the Massachusetts wampumpeag , wigwam from the Eastern Abenaki wikwom but also moccasin from the Virginia Algonquian moose from the Eastern Abenaki mos, papoose from the Narragansett papoos, child, pecan from the Illinois pakani which are used with relevance to everyday American things. The word Podunk, meant to describe an insignificant town out in the middle of nowhere, comes from a Natick Indian word meaning swampy place. Many of these words borrowed from American Indians are nouns from the Algonquian languages that used to be common and widely spoken along the Atlantic coast. English colonists, who came across iar plants and animals which were strange to them at the time named them based on Indian terms. Naturally enough pronunciation changed and words were shortened in order to make them easier for the English tongue. But the fact remains that their roots are in American Indian words. Conclusion This paper shows that the Indians have influenced both place names and the vocabulary of American English to a large degree. REFERENCES Infoplease, 2005 American Indian Loan Words, retrieved 8 May 2006 from the website http://www. infoplease. com/spot/aihmwords1. html Native Americans, 2005, The Bravest of the Brave, retrieved 8 May 2006 from the website http://www. nativeamericans. com/ Fact Monster, 2005, American Indian Place Names retrieved 8 May 2006 from the website http://www. factmonster. com/spot/aihmnames1. html

Best Fit and Best Practice in HRM

Best Fit and Best Practice in HRM Today, many organizations are facing an increasingly competitive and hastily changing environment illustrated by various labor market, deregulation, globalization, improved information technologies, uninterrupted labor markets among other factors. For success in its operations, a company/firm should improve its performance through reduction of its operation costs, creation of new processes and products, increasing quality, productivity and speed market. Consequently, organizations have to center on their workforces capabilities. If a firm manages its human resources effectively, it will be able to generate and enhance commitment, synergy and motivation that will to a sustained competitive advantage. Studies have shown that human resource management is one of the avenues that an organization can use to shape her employees behavior and attitude. Human resource management practices form forums that ensure employees get highly involved in the activities of the organization and work hard to achieve her goals. The manner in which an organization manages her human resource institutes the conditions and tone that will govern the relationship between employers and employees. There are many ways of defining human resource management (HRM) practices. Bowman Swart (2007) looks at it as organizational activities directed at managing the pool of human resources and ensuring that they are directed towards fulfilling the goals of the organization. It has also been looked at as a set of internally consistent policies and practices that are developed and upon implementation, they will guarantee that the human capital of an organization add to the achievement of its business objectives. The approach to definition of human resource management practices may vary slightly but the bottom line of it all is organizing and managing the man power i n an organization. The connections between a firms performance and its human resource management practices are based on two approaches namely best fit (contingency) and best practice (universal) approaches. In best practice, a set of HRM practices are argued to be associated with improved firm performance in all types of organization and by allusion for al types of employees (Nahapiet Ghoshal, 1998). Conversely, the best fit approach argues that performance of a firm is maximized if the human resources policies are constant with the firms business strategies. Both the best fit and the best practice have an assumption that human resource policies take on will be implemented and as projected and have the same consequence on all employees that work in the firm. Researches on human resource management however show that that there is no consensus on which human resource management approach is looked at as suitable. Notwithstanding the inconsistence in both the best fit and best practice approaches, there is a momentous effect of human resource management practices on attitudes and behavior of employees based on the idea of social change. Studies reveal that employees of an organization infer organizational actions like human resource practices as indicators of how much an organization is committed to their welfare (Abraham et al., 2001). In response, the employees counter this gesture through improving their obligation to the organization. Particularly if the human resource practices of the an organization are professed as supportive, the employees will take it as their employer being committed to them through concern and high level of care , consequently they will work hard to and get very much engaged in the organization expressing their enthusiasm in hard work to achieve the goals of the organization. MANAGEMENT 4 The concepts of best fit and best practice are applied in strategic human resource management to the particular policy section of reward structures. Each of the approaches endeavors to explain the manner in which human resource policies generally and reward policies particularly can lead to better organizational efficiency (Zupan KaÃ… ¡e, 2007). Organizations can wok within the framework both the best fit and best practice. I agree with the best fit that suggests that a close alignment between organizational strategy and different systems that it employs like the rewards will go along way in improving the efficiency of the organization. The idea that pay should be linked strategy is not new but it got momentum from scholars in the 1990 talking about its merits as the â€Å"new pay†. It is evident tat all organizational systems have to start with a business strategy to achieve the goals it has set, failure to which it may face difficulties to carry on its operations. This is b ecause the strategy will clarify what the organization wants to achieve over a specified period of time. It will also set the conditions on the manner in which the organization will behave to achieve them; this means that the organization sets cope of standards on the way it is run (Boxall Purcell, 2008). Additionally the strategy will express the types of performance and the levels of performance it wants to employ to run in a organized and effective way. This is as a result of business strategy, organizational behavior and diving individuals being the benchmark for the reward strategy development. The contingent nature of a reward system should not be looked at as a set of compensation practices at all. Nonetheless, it should be treated as one way of thinking about role of a reward system in a complex organization setting. This goes against an assumption that is often made to mean that certain best practices have to be incorporated into an organizations  approach to pay (Simons, 2002). Having looked at best fit, the attention now is on best practice. This premise has been popular in human resource management over the last decade. Studies show that this model otherwise known as high commitment was initially stimulated by work of some United States of America academics, although it was recently developed by those in Britain (KaÃ… ¡e et al., 2009). Although both the models of best fit and best practice are assumed to be complimentary, the later is arguably seen as not having an element of discussion on the organizations strategy at all. Its fundamental benchmark is that all organizations who adopt the best practice strategy will attract super human resources, competencies and talent. According to the views of its proponents, the super human resources available has an effect of influencing the strategy that an organization adopts hence acting as the source of its viable advantage. Consequently for this approach, the organizations policy precedes its strategy. Coff (1997) asserts that there are mutually compatible bundles of human resource policies that sustain high standards of motivation of employees and also their commitment that has a positive impact on the performance of the organization. This is the approach that advocates of best practice say it stands for. However, there is no common ground on which these practices are, on a general scale they are composed of: extensive training, selective hiring, and structure to encourage employees participation, employment security and pay policies which lead in relation to industry competitors (Lengnick-Hall Lengnick-Hall, 2003). There is apparent point of disagreement between in the sector of pay linked to performance appraisal. Researchers have criticized merit pay in a number of ways as: there is subjectivity and unpredictability that reward political skills instead of performance, there is no concern for performance of the organization, it encourages short term focus, there is an emphasis on the individual success that undermines teamwork and lastly there is a tendency of such like a system to create fear at work place. Those who support either side of the human resource management approaches argue that both approaches, hest fit and best practice, will help an organization to achieve its goals and objectives. There are several ways that an organization employs when it comes to organizing its human resources that will help it achieve what it was set up for. The methods of achieving the objectives are: attracting and retaining employees, motivating the performance of employees, promotion of skills and culture in an organization, contribution to corporate culture of an organization among other things There are differences in which the two approaches handle attracting and retaining employees. The capability of an organizations reward systems in attracting and retaining its employees is of cardinal concern to many organizations (Cullinane Dundon, 2006). During economic expansions, times when the labor markets are tight and organizations are struggling to fill vacancies at the same time trying very to ho ld on to hold on to their qualified employees, this becomes a very crucial issue. This also happens during recessions as organizations sometimes become keen on getting the services of qualified employees. To cope with this, the best fit approach boasts of the composition of its reward package attracting many and various kinds of applicants. This argument holds water because drawing example, an organization offering a straight base salary and no chance for incentive earnings, naturally attracts and retains quite different individuals that as compared to one that gives big amounts of incentive pay. Organizations rewarding their employees with different performance related pay incentives have increased chances of attracting employees who are more problem solving and entrepreneurial compared to those offering a base salary. The best fit proponents basically assume that it is in organizations where good performance is recognized and rewarded that good performers tend to seek or employment. This is a correct observation because skilled personnel will take pleasure in working where they will be appreciated as good performers. Systems have a way of identifying poor and a good performer as not all employees turn over is harmful to performance of an organization. To this effect, a reward system has to promote the retention of good performers at the same time aiding the decision of poor performers leaving the organization. According to Dowling Welch (2006), there is also an emphasis on the importance of external competitiveness of an organization for attraction and retention of employees. According to best fit advocates, for effectiveness, a reward system must distribute rewards such that the most valuable employees of the organization will feel contended while relating their rewards with those of individuals performing same jobs in organizations of the same nature as theirs. However caution must be taken here because some studies have shown that in some organizations, it is more cost effective in keeping the wages low and accepting high employee turnover, particularly if the cost of replacing them is low as it is the in unskilled labor. Despite the fact labor markets are far from being perfectly efficient, it is evident that there is some relationship between the quality of a work force and organization attracts and how it pays its employees. This is quite true and it is convincing for the best fit a pproach as it gives the facts on the behavior of employees and pay. Looking in the manner in which the best practice deals with attracting and retaining the employees, it emphasizes on employees that will assist an organization in gaining and sustaining competitive advantage. It achieves this through externally competitive pay levels. According to this however, a combination of a number of a number policies that are interrelated are responsible for highly qualified individuals apply and remain in an organization. The recruiting procedures which provide a huge pool of qualified applicants, coupled with a dependable and valid routine has a significant influence on the quality and type of skills the new employees will have. The thorough process of selecting employees will make the selected candidates feel that they are joining privileged organization with elevated prospects. The best practice approach advocates for positively value low turnover with no cautions whatsoever as opposed to the best fit approach. This happens so as other related procedures a nd policies make sure that the employees chosen are the right ones for the job and are taken in at first instance (Galpin Skinner, 2004). The best practice takes into consideration todays global business employment to be of key importance in attraction and retention of employees as opposed to the other approach which that claims that employment security does not reflect the realities of todays competitive global business. This is due to employees being unlikely to make suggestions to increase the productivity whenever they fear that it will make them loose their job. Researchers assert that the cardinal concern in the design of a reward system is the plan works in employee motivation. There are various theories of employee motivation and there is no one particular that has been accepted universally. The different theories that exist handle different types of reward systems. The best fit approach believes that the payment system of an organization should reflect individual employee contributions (Fitz-Enz, 1993). Employees may at times cut down their efforts to look for employment in highly paying jobs in other organizations due to dissatisfaction originate from negative inequity and some other consequences. It is observed that highly dissatisfied companies are more strongly attracted towards an external market orientation. On the other hand, organizations that are based on a single industry or technology will naturally find themselves much calm with an internal-equity basis. Both types of inequity in an organization have serious consequence for an organization but the implications for external equity like absenteeism and turnover are more rigorous for a particular organization and should be given chief consideration (Lepak Snell, 199). This is clear evidence that the best fit approach in human resource practice has support for the contribution principle. It therefore has an implication that employees who remarkably contribute to the success of an organization ought to be able to compare themselves with significant others form both outside and inside the organization and still get contented with the pay they get. The best fit practice for that matter looks at it as an obligation of the design to promote development and make use of employee inputs that will promote the organization. The best fit approach also makes use of expectancy theory of behavior. The theory utters that individuals make choices depending on some factors like: there expectancy that th ere efforts will make them achieve certain standard of performance, believing that their performance will result significant upshots and the scale of value they place on those upshots (Intagliata, et al., 2004). It is line with best fit thinking as it gives a design framework for each element of a reward system to utilize to its best advantage. The best practice advocates depend on the content theories of motivation as the foundation of their system of reward. It is apparent that factors that get drawn in to produce job satisfaction and motivation are different from those ones that lead to job dissatisfaction. Motivators are the source of job satisfaction and are intrinsic to the particular encompassing recognition for the achievement, the work itself, responsibility and advancement or growth. The potential source of job dissatisfaction is extrinsic and is made up hygiene factors like salaries. The approach does not advocate for incentives for as it results to spiralling of wages and employees who search for the next pay increase. Research has shown that firms block the development of some behavior that front competitive advantage by picking on incentives. Looking at the above discussion, it is apparent the both the best fit and best practice approaches as employed in human resource management practices are all directed towards ensuring that an organization achieves its goals and objectives through organizing its strategies and man power. Through striking a balance between the contingent and universal approach, an ideal or more comprehensive model can be developed by looking at their limit ations and merits. The value of the universal (best practice) framework depends in the demonstration of the strategic significance of human resource management. High rates of significance in their tests were achieved by its proponents but it has limitations in both its methodological and theoretical domain. There is compatibility between the two approaches as the contingency approach comes in handy here to complement the universal model encompassing the external relationships

ABCs of Black and Blue :: Free Essay Writer

â€Å"The ABC’s of ‘Black and Blue’†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Black and Blue† was one of Armstrong’s greatest hits, it is hard to believe that a remade song could rank so high on his greatest. Armstrong had a unique way of taking a song that had already been published and making into his own work of art. â€Å"Black and Blue† is a song that can have a few different meanings depending on the way you look at it. â€Å"Black and Blue† can be described as abstract, bruised, and colorful. Armstrong was the greatest artist of his time and he shows us this in the ways he could take songs, manipulate them and make them his own. â€Å"Black and Blue† could be one of the best examples of this. The fact that Armstrong’s version of â€Å"Black and Blue† is more popular than the original version has a lot to say about his abilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abstract: consider theoretically or separately from something else, make a written summary of, a summary of a book or article, an abstract work of art. Armstrong was a great musician of his time and a musician is an artist. Therefor his works (songs) are considered art work. To many people of his time this art that he made may have seemed off the beaten path. To many this may have seemed abstract. He had a presence that would radiate through an audience manly from the way he held himself on stage, and compared to the many other performers of the time this was different from anyone else. The way Armstrong took this song, â€Å"Black and Blue,† from its original version, sung by Edith Wilson, and manipulated it to what it is now, could be said to be an abstract work of art. He had the raw talent to take a song and change it into something known as an Armstrong song, not a remake. â€Å"Black and Blue† was a song that was originally made to be sung by a woman, some how he pulled it off. The manor in which Armstrong preformed on stages may have been too soon for his time, meaning that the people may not have been ready for what he had to give them, but this may have also been perceived as abstract. An Armstrong performance was different from what everyone was used to seeing, he stepped out on his own and made it work, the fact that he was different and now accepted by many made him and his work abstract. ABCs of Black and Blue :: Free Essay Writer â€Å"The ABC’s of ‘Black and Blue’†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Black and Blue† was one of Armstrong’s greatest hits, it is hard to believe that a remade song could rank so high on his greatest. Armstrong had a unique way of taking a song that had already been published and making into his own work of art. â€Å"Black and Blue† is a song that can have a few different meanings depending on the way you look at it. â€Å"Black and Blue† can be described as abstract, bruised, and colorful. Armstrong was the greatest artist of his time and he shows us this in the ways he could take songs, manipulate them and make them his own. â€Å"Black and Blue† could be one of the best examples of this. The fact that Armstrong’s version of â€Å"Black and Blue† is more popular than the original version has a lot to say about his abilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Abstract: consider theoretically or separately from something else, make a written summary of, a summary of a book or article, an abstract work of art. Armstrong was a great musician of his time and a musician is an artist. Therefor his works (songs) are considered art work. To many people of his time this art that he made may have seemed off the beaten path. To many this may have seemed abstract. He had a presence that would radiate through an audience manly from the way he held himself on stage, and compared to the many other performers of the time this was different from anyone else. The way Armstrong took this song, â€Å"Black and Blue,† from its original version, sung by Edith Wilson, and manipulated it to what it is now, could be said to be an abstract work of art. He had the raw talent to take a song and change it into something known as an Armstrong song, not a remake. â€Å"Black and Blue† was a song that was originally made to be sung by a woman, some how he pulled it off. The manor in which Armstrong preformed on stages may have been too soon for his time, meaning that the people may not have been ready for what he had to give them, but this may have also been perceived as abstract. An Armstrong performance was different from what everyone was used to seeing, he stepped out on his own and made it work, the fact that he was different and now accepted by many made him and his work abstract.

The Banning Of Little House On The Prairie :: essays research papers fc

"The Banning of Little House on the Prairie" Objections to Little House on the Prairie arose in the mid 1990's. Until then, the book, as well as the rest of the series, was highly praised for children of all ages. In fact, Laura was such a highly praised author that a book award was named in her honor, The Laura Ingalls Wilder Award. It was established in 1954 by the American Library Association and was first presented to Mrs. Wilder herself for the Little House on the Prairie series. It is now presented every three years to an author who has produced a piece of work that has made a substantial and lasting contribution to children's literature. Little House on the Prairie was first challenged in 1993 by parents of students at Lafourche Parish elementary schools in Thibodaux, Louisiana. They were requesting the novel be removed on the grounds of it being "offensive to Indians." Parents recited excerpts from the book supporting their objections as follows: "naked wild men", "terrible men", and "glittering black eyes". A phrase repeated several times the Ingalls neighbor, Mrs. Scott, was also cited, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian." Further, another quote was given to the school board from when Ma and the girls were alone in the cabin since Pa was gone hunting. Two men from the Osage tribe visited the cabin in which Laura describes them as, "Those Indians were dirty and scowling and mean. They acted as if the house belonged to them." Wilder then goes on to describe how the Indians went through their cupboards and began to take food and tobacco and fur that was to be traded for plows and seeds until the Indian's companion stopped him. The school board denied the request and the book was retained. In 1994, the book was banned from elementary schools in Sturgis, South Dakota again on the grounds that "it contains statements that are considered derogatory to Native Americans." The objection presented to the Sturgis School Board were mainly cited in the Lafourche Parish challenge, and Sturgis evidenced significantly greater public support for the ban. Should we read this book? This is a question that can be answered in many shapes and forms. I think the Little House on the Prairie series is a delight to read, and a wonderful addition in any person's library. I own copy of the series myself and practically know it by heart.

The Nuances of Nature Essay -- Literacy Analysis, Robert Penn Warren

It is no secret that Robert Penn Warren’s novel, All The King’s Men, is a powerful peace of literature that gives useful insight into the lives of characters in the United States in the early twentieth century. Though many believe this novel should be considered for its political applications, it is the social aspects of this book that really provide Warren’s perspective on the human experience. Warren uses nature both as a guiding and transcendent force to steer his main character, Jack, along the path to realize his humanity and as a tool to reveal valuable insights on the communion of mankind. Jack is first described in relation to a â€Å"sunset on a summer day.† He is caught watching the â€Å"light stretching out† and proclaims himself to be â€Å"a brass-bound Idealist† (Warren 30). Jack effectively establishes his fundamental connection to nature very early on in the novel. He strengthens this connection when he describes Burden’s landing by how â€Å"the air would smell† and how the sights would look as well as his memories of fishing and sailing â€Å"all over that end of the Gulf of Mexico† (Warren 37-39). Already, his experience is defined by the variance within nature. As Jack grows up, he becomes more jaded and leaves his childlike state of mind. Maturing out of his idealist phase, Jack begins his romantic stage of characterization. This stage in Jack’s development is most effectively embodied in the image of Anne with her arms â€Å"still spread out wide† and her hair floating â€Å"free[ly] on the water from around her head† (Warren 118). It is clear that Jack idealizes Anne just by the way in which he describes her. He is content just to stare at Anne and relate her to nature, showing the true connection he feels to her. After Jack’s romantic ide... ...dentalism Web. American Transcendentalism Web. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. . Justus, James H. "All the Burdens of All the King's Men." The Achievement of Robert Penn Warren. Louisiana State UP, 1981. 192-206. Print. Mitchell, Mark T. "Theological Reflections on Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men." Business Library. Intercollegiate Studies Institute Inc, 2006. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. . Warren, Robert P. All The King's Men. 2nd ed. San Diego: Harcourt Brace and, 1996. Print. Harvest. Warren, Robert P., and Clark Eleanor. "Interview with Eleanor Clark and Robert Penn Warren." Interview. New England Review Autumn 1978, 1st ed., sec. 1: 49-70. JSTOR. Web. 8 Dec. 2011. .

Accounting Study Essay

a. Identify significant tax and nontax issues or concerns that may differ across entity types. b. Provide your recommendation for forming CCS as a C corporation, S corporation, LLC, or partnership. Explain your reasoning for your choice of entity, identify any issues that you may still be concerned about, and suggest recommendations for dealing with the concerns. Chapter 19 Problem 39 (LO2) Zhang incorporated her sole proprietorship by transferring inventory, a building, and land to the corporation in return for 100 percent of the corporation’s stock. The property transferred to the corporation had the following fair market values and tax-adjusted bases: FMV Tax-Adjusted Basis Inventory $ 20,000 $ 10,000 Building 150,000 100,000 Land 230,000 300,000 Total $400,000 $410,000 The corporation also assumed a mortgage of $100,000 attached to the building and land. The fair market value of the corporation’s stock received in the exchange was $300,000. The transaction met the requirements to be tax-deferred under  §351. a. What amount of gain or loss does Zhang realize on the transfer of the property to her corporation? b. What amount of gain or loss does Zhang recognize on the transfer of the property to her corporation? c. What is Zhang’s tax basis in the stock she receives in the exchange? d. What is the corporation’s tax-adjusted basis in each of the assets received in the exchange? Assume the corporation assumed a mortgage of $500,000 attached to the building and land. e. How much, if any, gain or loss does Zhang recognize on the exchange assuming the revised facts? f. What is Zhang’s tax basis in the stock she receives in the exchange? g.  What is the corporation’s tax-adjusted basis in each of the assets received in the exchange?