Slavery in the United States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Slavery in the United States - Research Paper Example In 1612 English planter John Rolfe who settled in Jamestown, Virginia was credited with successfully cultivating tobacco as an export crop in Virginia. Earlier English settlers did not like the taste of the tobacco grown there. In order to improve the taste Rolfe crossed the breed from Trinidad which had a sweeter taste with the Virginia tobacco to produce a plant that took well to the local soil. Rolfe was the first to cultivate these plants in North America and its export resulted in a boost of the Virginia colony’s economy. The popularity of tobacco in England and the available land in the Virginia colony led to plantations all over Virginia. Tobacco crops could best grow on extensive farmland. Growers constantly needed additional labor. Colonial leaders wanted indentured servants. That included â€Å"20 and some odd Negroes† brought to Virginia by a Dutch ship in 1619.† Blacks had been captured in Africa and were sold at auction in Jamestown. There have been c onflicting accounts indicating how the first blacks in America were treated. â€Å"The status of the first blacks in the New World remains somewhat mysterious, and any thesis about the change in black status generates sharp controversy.† ... e were many black indentured servants in Virginia and Maryland during the much of the 1600’s there was also enough white indentured servants that were able to work the plantations in those and other colonies. However during the 1660’s the supply of white servants declined due to the declining birth rate in England. This decline resulted in increased wages for the English so many chose to remain there. In order to make up for this loss planters in the Chesapeake region would get enslaved Africans to work their plantations.4 (Slavery Takes Root in Colonial Virginia). The number of slaves would increase in these colonies as years passed. In the 1660’s slavery spread quickly throughout the colonies. There were more slaves in the South where large plantations grew cotton and other crops. Initially there were no clear laws regarding slaves and some black and white slaves were given freedom after several years. During this time the American colonies passed laws that sti pulated relationships between slaves. One of these laws forbade intermarriage between white colonists and black slaves. Another law indicated that black slaves and the offspring of female slaves would be enslaved for the rest of their lives. These laws were known as slave codes. Under the slave codes slaves were also not allowed to own weapons, get an education, they needed permission from their masters if they wanted to move, and were prevented from testifying against whites in court. (Becker) Slaves on small farms had more freedom than plantation slaves. â€Å"This premise, combined with the natural population growth among the slaves, meant that slavery could survive and grow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Becker 1660 section) Some reasons why Africans were chosen as slaves was because that more miners were needed, the

Mastering Time Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mastering Time Management - Essay Example Successfully identifying the different tasks is one half of the time management battle. Managing these priorities with disciplined follow through is the other half. In order to be successful in today's world, the student, business executive, housewife or teacher must be able to identify and follow through with disciplined tenacity. In their breakthrough time management book The One Minute Manager, Johnson and Spencer developed the following four quadrant graph which can be used by any person seeking to develop a greater control over their time usage. The graph is based on breaking down tasks into 4 categories, and identifying their importance relative to your this category. Tasks which are not urgent or important can swallow hours of time, like a check written against a zero balance bank account, return nothing. Quadrant 2 tasks are not important, but urgent none the less. Sometime answering the phone or email can seem like an urgent matter. However, even these simple tasks can steal time from more important issues. Quadrant 3 and 4 are the most important tasks which cross your desk every day. Left unattended, these items typically are those which grow into major issues, or 'forest fires' which will require significant amounts of time and energy to subdue if not handled when they are first identified. Quadrant 4 tasks are already small fires which need immediate attention. Quadrant 3 contains those items which will become forest fires if not managed immediately. The key to successful time management is identifying first and foremost the quadrant 3 tasks and priorities. According to the authors, these issues will account for 80% of a person's success or failure in live. Quadrant 3 issues can be managed easily with maximum return on the time spent if they are successfully addresses while in quadrant 3. If these tasks grow to be both urgent and important, they will likely move to control the person, rather than the person controlling them. For example, paying government taxes each year is an important, but not urgent matter. However, if a person does not pay taxed or file returns for a number of years, and the matter comes to the attention of the IRS, the person no longer is in control of the process. The government agency will dictate how, and when, and how much will be paid. The agency will control the person rather than the person controlling the simple task of paying taxes little by little. The second half of effective time management is disciplined follow through. A person can be excellent on determining the priorities of their tasks. However, if he or she does not follow through, and effectively complete the tasks, he or she may as well live with no tasks or to do lists at all. Any person, regardless of talent, intelligence, or income level will be no more effective than his or her willingness to follow through, and do the work. The world is full of unemployed geniuses. Anyone can have great ideas, and bask their 'fifteen minutes of fame' only to disappear into oblivion. The person who consistently performs his or her prioritized tasks will eventually

Human Nature Essay Example for Free

Human Nature Essay After reading Mencius essay â€Å"Mans Nature is Good† and Hsun Tzu’s essay â€Å"Mans Nature is Evil† It made me realize that men are shaped by experience. People are born with a blank mind with a desire of some knowledge. Much of what we learn affects our behavior. Throughout our life, experiences have been shaping what we are. Both Mencius and Tzu believe the complete opposite, arguing that men are born with a nature of being good or evil. By reading these articles I’ve come to assume that people are born neither good nor evil; instead both of these are obtained through the filling of our mind with experiences and all this together has influenced what we become. Hsun Tzu’s theory about how human nature is inherently evil and Mencius about how we are good caught my attention, because it made me realize that man can go either way. Even though I don’t agree with either of them entirely, they opened my mind about how nature can turn one way or another. People are not born inherently good because if that’s the case then every society would have to be good and would not bother with problems like violence and other chaotic scenarios. To go into a good pathway, people must be straightened by mentors. Like Tzu uses on his essay â€Å"A warp piece of wood must wait until it has been laid against the straightening board, steamed, and forced into shape before it can become straight; a piece of blunt metal must wait until it has been whetted on a grindstone before it can become sharp† (101). Family, schools, and religion are a fair way to obtain this goodness. For example these three sources have taught us since childhood to be respectful. This is the kind of experiences one has to follow in order to be good. Family has taught us to have good manners; therefore they work as our mentors. It is just your choice whether to implement these experiences of being good into your life or to go by the experience you been having with the wrong people. People aren’t born evil either. Instead people learn this through experience as well. For example traumatic experience and experiencing poor family conditions can make a child into a delinquent. Mencius said that â€Å"If you plant the seeds carefully at the same time and in the same place, they’ll all sprout and grow ripe by summer solstice. If they don’t grow the same- it’s because of the inequities in richness of soil, amounts of rainfall, or the care given to them by farmers. And so, all members belonging to a given species of thing are the same† (97). In this metaphor Mencius is trying to say that if you are placed in a different habitat where you learn from the outsiders, you are grown by the influence of them, which in his opinion is evil. I found this to be true but also I want to add that it is not always evil, it can be for the good of somebodies development. Being with the family can be good however sometimes we experience inconsistent parenting or poor parenting where it affects our development. Sometimes people can’t avoid these kinds of experiences but others like being with friends and acting up to their level of immaturity can be avoided. It is up to the experiences you’ve had that will form into what you become. After going through both essays my mind is set into these ideas. People are born with a blank mind but also we can change after what become of us, either it is for the good or for the evil. Peers have much to do with a person’s behavior. As friends you might have the feeling of just fitting in, having to change your manners to feel part of the group. It depends much on our surroundings; this is what triggers our brain to learn from others and development starts operating. Society is an important factor to our development because it is that, what forms our way of living and thinking. People might not like society because they don’t agree with something cultural or religious but whatever the circumstances are they still are triggered by it. At last, my beliefs are now more explained and understood after going through the readings. These articles influenced me to the point that I now believe human nature starts as a blank mind which means we are born without any knowledge and habits. This is when experience comes in. Through our experience with everything around us we become what we are. Our experience since childhood has a great impact in what we are; in other words most of our nature comes from family. Nevertheless, I don’t mean that everyone is shaped from their parents, what I mean is that there are other sources from experience out there that shapes our development (nature). It is your choice to either keep following those experiences, whether the good or the evil, but any how nurture is what will define what you become. Works Cited Austin, Michael, ed. Reading the World: Ideas that Matter. New York: Norton. 2010. Print. Mencius â€Å"Man’s Nature is Good†. Austin 94-98 Tzu, Hsun â€Å"Man’s Nature is Evil†.

Essay --

Luis Soto Professor Santos Quià ±ones Appreciation of Hispanic Literature December 16, 2013 â€Å"El delantal blanco† â€Å"El delantal blanco† (1964) por Sergio Vodanović Pistelli es parte de una trilogà ­a en la comedia â€Å"Vià ±a † y es un ejemplo de la crà ­tica social en la sociedad. Vodanović nacià ³ en 1926 en Split, Chile y frecuentemente escribià ³ obras sobre la crà ­tica social y la claramente definida funcià ³n social esperada de las mujeres. Unos ejemplos de sus obras son â€Å"El prà ­ncipe azul† (1947), â€Å"No es honorable† (1952), y â€Å"Mi mujer necesita marido† (1953), entre muchos otros. No sà ³lo fue un dramaturgo, pero tambià ©n fue un abogado, periodista, crà ­tico de teatro, profesor y guionista. A travà ©s de sus muchas obras, fue el ganador tres veces del Premio de la Ciudad de Santiago y tambià ©n fue un miembro de la Academia Chilena de Bellas Artes (Friedman 310). En las obras de Vodanović, la crà ­tica social es prominente. Muchos de sus piezas critican y se burlan de las clases alta, la hipocresà ­a y el socio-econà ³mico corrupto. Esto es el caso de la obra â€Å"El delantal blanco† donde vemos el tema de desdoblamiento y la dualidad de ser. Los protagonistas son La Seà ±ora, una mujer rica de la clase alta y su Empleada, obviamente de la clase baja, que se hace evidente por su delantal blanco. Los personajes secundarios son Avarito, el hijo de la seà ±ora, algunos jà ³venes, y un caballero distinguido. En la exposicià ³n, el dramaturgo nos introduce a las protagonistas que està ¡n en la playa con Avarito. A travà ©s de las acotaciones escritas, el dramaturgo establece la escena. El plano textual se establece a travà ©s del dià ¡logo entre los personajes y tambià ©n a travà ©s de las acotaciones. Para analizar esta comedia, es necesario comprender los sucesos en la obra. La ... ...e la sociedad en â€Å"El delantal blanco† solamente percibe las apariencias irreales y externas. Citaciones Cortà ©s, Eladio, and Mirta Barrea-Marlys. Encyclopedia of Latin American Theater. Westport, CT: Greendwood, 2003. Print. Ihrie, Maureen, and Salvado A. Oropesa. World Literature in Spanish: An Encylopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2011. Print â€Å"Julio Duran Cerda – El Teatro Chileno De Nuestros Dà ­as.† Julio Duran Cerda – El Teatro Chileno De Nuestros Dà ­as. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. â€Å"Sergio Vodanović | Lugar De Coincidencia En Internet | Cyclopaedia.net.† Sergio Vodanović | Lugar De Coincidencia En Internet | Cyclopaedia.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. Virgillo, Carmelo, Edward Friedman, and Teresa Valdivieso. "El Drama: Sergio Vodanović." Aproximaciones Al Estudio De La Literatura Hispanica. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012. 310-18. Print.

A Patch of Blue Elizabeth Kata

In her novel, A Patch of Blue, Elizabeth Kata tells a story of Selina, an eighteen year old blind girl who meets and develops a relationship with Gordon, an older black man. Gordon helps Selina realize many hopes and dreams, though not without some drawbacks. One of the disadvantages of Selina and Gordon’s relationship is that he is able to withhold telling her about the colour of his skin. Selina hates black people because the only colour that she can see is black, and she has grown to despise it. Rose-Ann and Ole Pa also don’t like black people, and Selina has therefore grown up to believe that she too, should hate Negroes. For example, she meets a little girl named Pearl. Since Selina is blind, she has no way of knowing that Pearl is black. Ole Pa returns and tells Selina that Pearl was a black girl. Selina instantly thinks â€Å"Black! I hated Pearl. I had enough black in my life. † Selina was elated to have met Gordon however in turn her home life was made more difficult as a result of this friendship. Every day before Ole Pa would leave for ‘Mens’ she would ask him to take her to the park. More often than not, he would get angry and say no leaving Selina to think up some conniving way to get him to say yes. Being with Gordon was slowly teaching her to speak her mind and state her opinions. Rose-Ann seemed to feel that Selina was just a commodity who shouldn’t think or speak. Almost whenever Selina spoke Rose-Ann would cuff her for the ‘rudeness. ’ This made Selina more and more bold and the consequences got tougher for her to handle. At one point, Selina is so terrified of Rose-Ann rage that she hides under the bed. Rose-Ann drags her out screaming â€Å"Oh you slut. Oh you slut! † Selina is no slut. There are several advantages of Selina and Gordon’s friendship, the first being the many new experiences he gives her. Not all were positive experiences, but they were all exciting and new. Gordon gives her some pineapple juice, which she has never tasted before. Selina instantly loves the taste describing it as drinking â€Å"†¦beautiful fruity stuff from bottles†¦Ã¢â‚¬  They also go to Gordon’s apartment, which is where many new things happen for Selina. The first of these is her first taxi ride. In the beginning, she was scared, but was eventually coaxed into it by Gordon and she ends up thinking â€Å"I would have liked a longer drive. † They then go into the elevator up to his home, which also scares her and she ends up liking. Once in his apartment, Selina discovers that it contains carpet, which is something she had never dreamed could be in a place where you live. Secondly, Gordon promises Selina freedom by telling her that it is possible for her go to school. She would go to a school especially for the blind. This would remove her from her present home which is marred by neglect and abuse. Gordon will introduce Selina to Alice Bradden who is also blind, and has a seeing-eye dog named Duke. Going to school would allow Selina to use her brain to her full potential and to learn everything that she wants to know, not just what the radio tells her. The main advantage to Selina’s newfound friendship with Gordon becomes her favorite word: friend. Gordon gives Selina a couple of concrete gifts. One is a pair of sunglasses, to hide her face, which was disfigured by the acid. The other is a music box, which Selina does not need to see to be able to enjoy. Gordon Ralfe helps Selina build up her self esteem and confidence. He teaches her to like herself by instilling some self image. Selina falls in love with Gordon, and he grows to love her. Perhaps the greatest gift of all however is that of tolerance, his favorite word. Gordon teaches Selina to love everything, no matter what colour, shape, or size it is.

Swot Analysis Of Bbqfun - 821 Words

Executive Summary: - BBQfun was established in 2009 by current CEO, Pat Mifsud. BBQfun offers an extensive product range, incorporating both local and imported goods. Since 2010, the increasingly competitive retail environment, technological change, changes in consumer buying patterns and consumer confidence has led to disappointing sales. However, BBQfun intends to return to healthy sales of $11 million in 2012 through building on its organisational strengths, through targeted marketing strategies aimed at key segments and through exploiting marketing opportunities. Currently, BBQfun operates two stores, one in Brisbane (Kenmore), and one on the Gold Coast. BBQfun is seeking business and marketing opportunities that could lead to†¦show more content†¦ture: 5040 | Furniture: 5000 | Sales volume (units) | Accessories: 40320 | Accessories: 63360 | Accessories: 52500 | | Own brand | E-commerce | Bargain market | Price | BBQ: $600 | BBQ: $620 | BBQ: $500 | Price | Furniture: $850 | Furniture: $880 | Furniture: $650 | Price | Accessories: $50 | Accessories: $55 | Accessories: $40 | Unit contribution margin | BBQ: $500 | BBQ: $300 | BBQ: $200 | Unit contribution margin | Furniture: $600 | Furniture: $420 | Furniture: $220 | Unit contribution margin | Accessories: $40 | Accessories: $20 | Accessories: $10 | Total revenue | 8988000 | 15732000 | 10350000 | Total gross profit 2012/13 | 7084800 | 164000 | 3625000 | Additional fixed costs | Add lease $1000000 Add labour $500000 Add plant (depreciation): $500000 | Add training: $50000 Add online store development: $100000 Add new plant and equipment (depreciation): $150000 Add labour: $250000 Add reconfiguration of warehouse/office: $50000 | See approved budget (no change in fixed costs) | Total net profit 2012/13 | 200086 | 1679286 | 1259714 | External factors Before implementing 3 new changes what are the legislation and standards need to be analysed Import Export standards for both the countries Legislation regarding taxes may be different in both countries Expensive labour cost Risk analysis Risk | Impact | Likelihood | Mitigation | Web server down | High | Likely | Back up server, Back up of data | Failure to adequately train employees | High | Unlikely | Adherence to

Custom Definition in the Study of Sociology

A custom is defined as a cultural idea that describes a regular, patterned behavior that is considered characteristic of life in a social system. Shaking hands, bowing, and kissing—all customs—are methods of greeting people. The method most commonly used in a given society helps distinguish one culture from another. Key Takeaways A custom is a pattern of behavior that is followed by members of a particular culture, for example, shaking hands upon meeting someone.Customs foster social harmony and unity within a group.If a law goes against an established social custom, the law may be difficult to uphold. The loss of cultural norms, such as customs, can cause a grief reaction that leads to mourning. The Origins of Customs Customs can persist for generations, as new members of a society learn about existing customs through a process of socialization. Generally, as a member of society, most people adhere to customs without any real understanding of why they exist or how they got started.   Societal customs often begin out of habit. A man clasps the hand of another upon first greeting him. The other man—and perhaps still others who are observing— take note. When they meet someone on the street later, they extend a hand. After a while, the handshaking action becomes habitual and takes on a life of its own. The Importance of Customs   Over time, customs become the laws of social life, and because customs are so important to social harmony, breaking them can theoretically result in an upheaval that has little or nothing to do with the custom itself—particularly when the reasons perceived for breaking it have no bearing in fact.  For example, after handshaking becomes a norm, an individual who declines to offer his hand upon meeting another may be looked down upon and or perceived as being suspicious. Why wont he shake hands? Whats wrong with him? Assuming that a handshake is a very important custom, consider what might happen if an entire segment of a population suddenly decided to stop shaking hands. Animosity might grow between those who continued to shake hands and those who did not. This anger and unease might even escalate. Those who continue to shake hands might assume the non-shakers refuse to participate because theyre unwashed or dirty. Or perhaps, those who no longer shake hands have come to believe theyre superior and dont want to sully themselves by touching an inferior person. Its for reasons such as these that conservative forces often warn that breaking customs can result in the decline of society. While this may be true in some instances, more progressive voices argue that in order for society to evolve, certain customs must be left behind. When Custom Meets Law   Sometimes a political group seizes on a particular societal custom and, for one reason or another, works to legislate it. An example of this would be Prohibition. When temperance forces in the United States came into a position of prominence, they lobbied to make the manufacture, transport, and sale of alcohol illegal. Congress passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution in January 1919 and the law was enacted a year later.   While a popular concept, temperance  was never accepted as a custom by American society as a whole. Consuming alcohol was never declared illegal or unconstitutional, and plenty of citizens continued to find ways to make, move, and buy alcohol despite the laws contravening those actions. The failure of Prohibition demonstrates that when customs and laws promote similar thinking and values, the law is more likely to be successful, while aws that are not backed by custom and acceptance are more likely to fail. Congress repealed the 18th Amendment in 1933.   Customs Across Cultures Different cultures, of course, have different customs, which means that something that may be an established tradition in one society may not be in another. For example, in the United States, cereal is considered a traditional breakfast food, but in other cultures, breakfast might include dishes such as soup or vegetables. While customs tend to be more entrenched in less industrialized societies, they exist in all types of societies, regardless of how industrialized they are or to what level of literacy the populace has risen. Some customs are so strongly entrenched in a society (i.e. circumcision, both male and female) that they continue to flourish regardless of outside influences or attempts at intervention. When Customs Migrate While you cant pack them up neatly in a suitcase, customs are one of the most important things people take with them when they leave their native societies–for whatever reason—to immigrate and settle elsewhere. Immigration has a huge impact on cultural diversity and on the whole, many of the customs immigrants bring with them serve to enrich and broaden the cultures of their new homes. Customs that center on music, the arts, and culinary traditions are often the first to be accepted and assimilated into a new culture. On the other hand, customs that focus on religious beliefs, the traditional roles of men and women, and languages that are perceived to be foreign, are often met with resistance. Mourning the Loss of Customs According to the World Psychiatry Association (WPA) the impact of moving from one society to another can have deep psychological implications. Individuals who migrate experience multiple stresses that can impact their mental well being, including the loss of cultural norms, religious customs, and social support systems, report Dinesh Bhugra and Matthew Becker, authors of a study on the phenomenon who go on to explain that such cultural adjustments speak to the very concept of self. As a result of the trauma many refugees experience, the rate of mental illness in that population segment is on the rise. The loss of ones social structure and culture can cause a grief reaction, Bhugra and Becker note. Migration involves the loss of the familiar, including language (especially colloquial and dialect), attitudes, values, social structures, and support networks. Sources Bhugra, Dinesh; Becker, Matthew A. â€Å"Migration, Cultural Bereavement and Cultural Identity.† World Psychiatry, February 2004