Personal Competency Essay

Personal competencies represent a person’s ability, skill, character, and knowledge that develop through life experiences. Competencies are required to perform efficiently in any professional organization. The ability to fully understand his or her personal competencies and using it as a resourceful tool for improvement constructs the foundation of highly effective management department. Poor communication is often the biggest barrier in organizational effectiveness. In a managerial position, development of communication skills is an integral part for managers to build and maintain relationships by employee‘s self-concept. When expectations are known, uncertainties are reduced, outcomes can then be better predicted allowing the organization to run smoothly. To overcome conflicts and effectively communicate with different areas of the business, management uses communication technique to have a pleasant and productive work atmosphere. Clearly defining each position’s roles and responsibilities sets a foundation and reduces tension in the workplace. Employees feel valued when managers actively listen to concerns and allow workers to participate in any decision-making process. This helps build a positive, parallel relationship between the manager and employee. Keeping an open mind and knowing that disagreements can occur help contribute to advancement of a business by realizing that management may not always be right. Innovating and strategizing are the essential competencies to focus on in order to adapt strong communication skills. A successful innovative organization clearly explains to each employee the organization’s vision, mission, purpose and each position’s responsibilities. Making sure the vision is understood, trusting staff members and prioritizing meetings is a guiding light for an innovative organization. Strategizing also is another critical element that allows better communication. Reflecting on the previous year, and current year and planning for future years allows the organization to expand through the use of communication. Communication is the key to the success of many objectives and goals set by individuals and upper management. Recognizing each individual’s personality and finding various ways to communicate is an integral part of management in any organization.

Komatsu Case Study Essay

1. How was Komatsu able to evolve from a $169 million company with low-quality products to become a real challenge to Caterpillar by the early 1980s? How would you evaluate Mr. Kawai’s performance? The long-term vision of â€Å"catch up and surpass CAT† opened up different product offerings and the extension of the Komatsu market. Initiating Total Quality Control (TQC) helped to develop a strategy to acquire and develop advanced technology. Project A also sought to raise the quality to match CAT’s levels, which marked the beginning of the Plan Do Check Act (PDAC) cycle. Kawai’s performance and policies to make Komatsu internationally competitive in cost and quality leads me to think he did a great job in his role. The company was growing in sales and increasing quality and cost, actually making CAT nervous about competing with Komatsu. 2. Why did performance deteriorate so rapidly in the mid-1980s? What grade would you give to Mr. Nogawa’s term as CEO? 1982 marked the beginning of an era of falling demand, worldwide price wars, a rapid appreciating yen, and heightened trade frictions throughout the industry. Nogawa also focused more on cost cutting and aggressive sales tactics than he did on internationalization or the stagnating construction industry. I don’t think Nogawa was a great CEO because he ignored focusing on improving the company and instead tried to cut too man costs risking quality and holding the business back during his term as CEO. 3. How appropriately did Mr. Tanaka deal with the problems he inherited? What is your evaluation of his brief tenure as CEO? I believe Tanaka dealt with the issues pretty well with a good strategy to get away from overall growth and focusing on profits. Although his strategy was well planned, Tanaka lacked the leadership that would have made him more successful. He did well in terms of profit, but failed to compete on market share against CAT, as had been the norm of his predecessors. 4. How effectively did Mr. Katada take charge? How would you assess his new vision for the company? His new strategy? His new cultural and behavioral objectives? What grade would you give him for his performance? Katada effectively took charge and was able to return to good performance and connect his strategy with his management style. Katada’s new vision for the company, including new company goals and culture, affected the entire company but because of his long-term commitment with Komatsu, employees were accepting and trusting of the changes he made. Katada changed with the times and the industry, putting Komatsu back into competition with CAT. Katada focused on active participation with all employees instead of a top-down directive approach. Employees, at all levels, were encouraged to bring ideas to management and be actively involved in the vision, path, and overall success of the company.

Culture and the Collective Consciousness: Nelly Richard and Crítica Cultural Essay

French born but Chilean based, Nelly Richard is an influential figure within contemporary Latin American cultural studies, though she has often taken issue with the use of this term to describe her work. A leading proponent of psychoanalytical and feminist understandings of the social, Richard, editor of the Revista de Crà ­tica Cultural between 1990 and 2008, is an innovative thinker responsible for creating a way of approaching cultural analysis which has been dubbed crà ­tica cultural. Her conceptual framework privileges theoretical insights gleaned from structuralism, which in French includes what is commonly referred to in the Anglo academy as post structuralism. Our discussion of her work focuses on her vision of the role of the social sciences in Latin America today. Richard questions the conceptual underpinning of these disciplines and argues for a more thoroughly contextualised understanding of the relationship between knowledge production and power. Richard, Nelly. â€Å"The Social Sciences: Front Lines and Points of Retreat†. In The Insubordination of Signs: Political Change, Cultural Transformation and Poetics of the Crisis. London: Duke University Press, 2004. Beasley-Murray, Jon. â€Å"Reflections in a Neoliberal Store Window: Nelly Richard and the Chilean Avant-garde†. Art Journal 64 (3): 126–129. PDF Pino-Ojeda, Walescka. â€Å"Critica cultural y marginalidad: Una lectura al trabajo de Nelly Richard†. Revista de Crà ­tica Literaria Latinoamericana, Aà ±o 25, No. 49 (1999), pp. 249-263. PDF Del Sarto, Ana â€Å"Cultural Critique in Latin America or Latin-American Cultural Studies?† Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies: Travesia, Volume 9, Issue 3, 2000. PDF

Carillon Tower Design and Construction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Carillon Tower Design and Construction - Essay Example A client may select a specific site for a tower, or look for the advice of the architect. The architect carries out a complete site analysis before beginning any design. The architect illustrates and documents the topography, climatic conditions, traffic and roadways, landscape features, existing buildings, solar orientation, and pedestrian access in different plan views of the site. This site data is studied carefully alongside the objectives of the project in order to determine the best orientation and location of the tower (Sutt et al. 2013). ii. Appropriate listening area isolated from noise and traffic, accessibility, quality of views and landscape, ample distance from tower as a function of tower height, accessibility of seating, and other amenities that boost the listening experience. iii. Impact on neighboring community- (Negative: potential â€Å"nuisance† element of unrestrained sound, positive: a source of community pride and symbolism.). Through site examination, the architect may notice that a present tower has some faults with regard to siting or an area preferred by the client is not the best site for the tower. The architect is obliged to advice the client accordingly in this regard. Before arriving at a final decision, all parties must comprehend the pros and cons of prospective sites. The actual design of the tower can begin once a site is agreed on and the framework for the tower is identified (Sutt et al. 2013). During past years, many towers were made of masonry construction-brick or stone walls often with brick for most of the wall thickness and stone on the outside. These types of towers effectively resisted both axial and lateral loads because of their sheer mass. The introduction of reinforced concrete technology in the last century enabled the construction of beam frames and rigid concrete

Synthesis of Educational Theory Domain Research Paper

Synthesis of Educational Theory Domain - Research Paper Example ivity existing in the private sector so as to develop the schools in America, enabling them produce quality graduates to propel the economy of the nation. This will also help the graduates adapt well to the constant changing technological environment. The 21st century labor force should not have to work with an educational system of the 20th century if the nation is to achieve economic prosperity. Although, transforming the education system to be in line with the changing environment, needs an elementary shift in the education system starting with pre-K up to the higher education level. Up to now, people have lacked the audacity and flexibility to implement the necessary changes in the education sector. People need to re-evaluate themselves, and ask themselves if this is the time to bring the necessary change that is going to transform the education sector for the benefit of the future generation. This is irrespective of the uneasiness people may feel now. To address these changes, the following are essential factors to consider (Bushaw & Lopez, 2012). Redesigning the way the school system is formulated is essential. This will enable students use less time in pursuing their dreams and at the same time be successful. The old system might not be easily altered or adopted in today’s high-tech environment, and the grading system (diplomas and grade level) seems to limit success. For instance, let’s visualize a system where students do not have to be categorized according to the level of grade reached but on the basis of their skills and knowledge levels. This system might be efficient in rewarding talent and hard work. However, implementation of such measures will necessitate the handling of very difficult questions. If football clubs can enroll stars directly from high school, why can not ICT corporations like IBM do the same? Also, it is necessary to identify the future implications of embracing technology in the education system. This seems not to be a

Managing Conflict and Negotiating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing Conflict and Negotiating - Essay Example for instance can easily be managed or hindered even though everyone is competing is the thought that the human resource is appreciated as all best in their own way and are capable of innovating the best possible products. An organization is susceptible to fail because of lack of teamwork. In order to apply the idea of affiliation in an organization, teamwork must prevail and should be added as substantial core value, in order to help everyone treat each other as colleagues rather than adversaries. One way to improve cohesiveness of a team is to employ this idea, which tries to influence everyone to work as one for the same goal. Another important core value that should be initiated along the process of conflict management is respect. An organization is susceptible to incur troubles due to lose of respect. In the presence of respect, autonomy could be exercised. A team requires everyone to have respect for each other especially in the kind of decision they make. To ensure conflict will be managed, each department for instance, must be able to be allowed to exercise their freedom to decide for as long as everything is fully in line with the company’s direction. At small scale, the same approach must be initiated among everybody in the group. Another core value that could be enhanced in an organization is recognition, which could promote individual status. Superiority complex is common to every organization. Nobody should be treated inferior as there must be something in each of one that could be recognized as potential contribution to the entire team. In this case, it would be important to initiate quarterly evaluation of individual performance and commending with all sincerity where each one might be good at, by which the point of doing this is to minimize superiority complex within the team. Mostly, conflicts ignite from existing role. The accounting department and marketing department for instance usually have conflicting roles. For this reason, it is

Organization Theory Synthesis Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Organization Theory Synthesis - Term Paper Example The nature of management is described in its ability to get people to work together in order to accomplish specific goals and objectives through the use of resources to achieve efficiency and effectiveness. The basic principle in management is the ability to guide people through processes within the organization in order to achieve specific goals (Adair, 2007). Scholars argue that people are what make an organization and thus it is impossible to talk about organizations without looking at people. To manage these people and resources, therefore, requires the ability to plan, control, organize, staff and lead in order to achieve efficiency (Anaeto, 2010). Over the years, a number of theories have been advanced on how to manage people. Classical theories emphasized that specifically designed formal structures and a consistent, rigid organizational network of employees are most important in having an organization running well and achieve its goals. Thus these theories looked at employees holding specific jobs and being guided on what to do. Independence on the part of the employee was very minimal. These theories do not worry about how people feel about the jobs but rather performance was quantifiable and paramount in operations. Such theories include the scientific management theory proposed by Frederick Taylor (French, Rayner, Rees, & Rumbles, 2011). The shortcomings in these theories made scholars come up with other theories that considered the human element of employees. These theories thus centered on people’s attitudes and motivations as the key to getting employees to work better. These theories argued that employees who are satisfied with their jobs feel indebted to their employers and will show appreciation by being more productive. Such is the basis for Theory X and Y that shows the transition from the scientific management to the human aspect of management (Crispen Chipunza, 2011). Managing people and resources thus requires the implementation of a specific organization design that will support the systems and processes in place.  

A governing body should not be able to dictate an artist's work Essay

A governing body should not be able to dictate an artist's work - Essay Example The nature of art, particularly in the 20th century, functions to push the boundaries on acceptability and develop new perspectives on the world. In these regards, the notion that a governing body would seek to regulate an artist’s work is antithetical to the very nature of artistic production. Still, it’s clear that in some situations artists act not with integrity, but simply in a way designed to garner attention and sensationalism. Furthermore, governing bodies are oftentimes responsible for choosing works of art that are meant to function to beautify city structures or serve a specific atmospheric purpose. In these situations, the artist enters a contract with the governing body. I believe then that the artist is responsible for producing works that functions within the designated context. Still, from an overarching perspective, it’s clear that governing bodies should have limited to no involvement in the regulation of art. Allowing these institutions to regu late art stifles not merely the creativity of the artist, but the collective creative spirit of the society; all of these are elements that are essential to the progress of society, its continued innovation, and economic

Is the U.S. seeking to contain Russia Research Paper - 1

Is the U.S. seeking to contain Russia - Research Paper Example CON: No the U.S. is NOT seeking to contain Russia because: 1. Diversification of natural supplies is beneficial for all countries involved. 2. Russia has a strong position in the global energy market. 3. Diversification enhances the opportunity for competition. 4. Russia is also fully aware of the economic realities and acts accordingly. 5. European continent is capable of managing its own affairs and dealing with any threat imposed by Russia. 6. Russia’s position is increasingly being weakened by the revolution of shale gas, as well as the increasing popularity of LNG. Some people might think that the US government is presently instituting efforts to ensure its dominance and control on Russia. Recent news reports indicate that the US government is presently placing immense pressure on the Greek government to cancel the sale of its famous gas operator, DEPA to Gazprom, which is a major oil supplier in Russia. The US is immensely concerned that the massive Russian state-owned g as company that is a monopoly that supplies at least 90% of Greece’s entire gas consumption. This is bound to further augment Russia’s position in the region, and detrimentally affect Greece’s overall economic situation. This will place Russia in a position of extreme power, which may enhance the country’s supremacy in the greater European region (Lynch 99). In addition, the US is seeking to exert its control on Russia in order to deter the latter country’s instigation of communism in the European region. Russia was a former super power whose dominance in the region was deterred through the use of military force. Capitalist countries such as the US initiated conflict with Russia in order to deter Russia’s supremacy in the European region and ultimately the infiltration of communism in the rest of the world. Therefore, the US seeks to control Russia in order to deter Russia’s dominance in European or the rest of the world. This positio n would threaten US supremacy in the global political, economic and social front (Escobar 10). The US is also concerned that Russian company Gazprom’s acquisition of DEPA would enhance Moscow’s position in the complicated geopolitical game, hence enhancing the opportunities of Russia’s South Stream pipeline turning into the primary source of imported oil in the entire Southern European region. This would detrimentally affect major oil alternatives that enjoy US favor, for instance the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline and Nabucco pipeline (Barylski 12). Moreover, Greece is not the sole member of the European Union, which is presently subject to US lobbying regarding Russia’s assumed ambitions within the European continent. The same efforts have been adopted concerning the Czech Republic regarding its nuclear energy plans. The government of the Czech Republic is presently aiming at capitalizing onanti-nuclear energy sentiment within the neighboring countries, Austri a and Germany, which was triggered by the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The Czech Republic is presently seeking to modernize and expand its Temelin plant, with two additional reactors expected to be added by the year 2025 at the cost of $10 billion. This will allow for the increase of exports to other European countries. At present, there are only two key bidders for Czech Republic’s nuclear energy; the Westinghouse domiciled in the US and Amtomstroyexport, which is located in Russia. In January of 2013,

GCC economies and their role in the world economy Research Paper

GCC economies and their role in the world economy - Research Paper Example The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was formed on May 26, 1981. The GCC is an organization specifically formed to unite the Arab oil producing countries. Its major operation angle is to the southern regions of Asian continent. GCC is made up of six active Arabian countries that involve the Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar. However, some new applications for membership have been received from other oil producing Arabian countries like Jordan and Morocco. The objectives of GCC are to unite the member states with the aim of harmonizing quotas of oil in the world market. The members have several factors in common among them religion, political structures, climatic conditions and natural resources. The organization also seeks to coordinate and promote economic productivity of the member states (Mohammed, 2011). The organization also intends to boost education, healthcare, employment and trade among the member states. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia in the views of Mohammed (2011) forms four-fifths of the entire GCC. Besides being a member of the GCC, Saudi Arabia is also a member of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Saudi Arabia has been voted the world’s largest oil reserve among the OPEC and the GCC member states. In fact, oil production is the backbone of all the economic sectors in Saudi Arabia. Estimates indicate that a third of the total oil produced by the OPEC comes from Saudi Arabia (Mohammed, 2011). Oil production in Saudi Arabia on a daily basis estimates at around 10 million barrels. As a result of massive oil reserves that infiltrate money to the country, Saudi Arabia enjoys a diversified economy with plenty of production industries that have offered jobs to its citizens and the world population in general. The oil sector has contributed to the development of various industries such as petrochemicals, fertilizers and steel manufacturing industries that boosted the export products of the country. Mohammed (2011) adds that Saudi Arabia has excelled in the production of dates and even becoming the world’s best producer of dates. Saudi Arabia also has expanded fishing grounds and a lot of money has been ventured to modernize and promote sea fishing activities. In 1998, OPEC slashed Saudi Arabia’s global supply quota to 8 million barrels per day. The imposition of the quota led to significant fall on the country’s total income. Telecommunications investment (% revenues) in Saudi Arabia In the reports of World Bank, telecommunication investments revenue in Saudi Arabia reached 84.12% in 2008. Telecommunication investments are expenditures associated with purchasing the ownership of telecommunication equipment infrastructures including land, building, labor and computer software. Source; Trading Economics, 2011 Current statistics in the world oil market show that Saudi Arabia has much potential to increase its oil injection by additional 2.5 million barrels a day (Daya, 2011). Such an injection can boost oil supply in the world market and even ease the world energy crisis. Oil

The Bermuda Triangle Essay Example for Free

The Bermuda Triangle Essay The Bermuda Triangle is one of the biggest mysteries in the world. Since Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1492, there have been numerous airplanes, ships, and vessels to â€Å"disappear† in the middle of the triangle. There are many theories about what could have happened to these missing ships, but no one really knows what is out there for sure. Some say that the lost city of Atlantis is at he bottom of the Atlantic Ocean; some say there are Aliens. Others believe it is just as simple as mother nature and is all just over exaggerated. This all leads to the million dollar question: is the Bermuda Triangle just a living legend, or is there really something paranormal out in the â€Å"Devils Triangle†? Many know that the Bermuda Triangle is a triangle is the Atlantic Ocean, but would like to know who discovered the Bermuda Triangle, and how it was became discovered. There are many myths and legends about the triangle, but many do not know a lot about them. This paper will look more into each myth; the Atlantis myth, the underwater electromagnetic field, and the UFO attacks. Many people ask which myths are real and which ones are fake, but no one will ever know for sure. Some of the myths seem a bit far fetched, such as the aliens, but the electromagnetic fields at the bottom of the ocean seem a little bit reasonable. The triangle is also known for getting many typhoons, so maybe that has something to do with the missing airplanes. Another frequently asked question is how many ships have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle? There must be a lot if it is a worldwide myth. What happened during Flight 19?. When did it happen and how? The biggest question that people may ask is if the Bermuda Triangle is real or not. It is a very frequently asked question when the subject comes up. Is there any strong evidence towards one side or another? The vicinity of the Bermuda triangle is known, however the exact spot where people disappear is not known. Where the Bermuda Triangle is located, is subject to three way water currents. These currents are capable of causing storms powerful enough to damage ships and aircrafts. The boundaries of the triangle cover the straits of Florida, the Bahamas, and the entire Caribbean island area and the Atlantic east to the Azores. There are over sixty-six airplanes and ships that have passed through the Bermuda Triangle and have never been found. The Bermuda Triangle is not known for any specific season. It is sunny, but there are usually winds. Some of the accidents that have been told to have happen in the Bermuda triangle did not, the happened in other locations but somehow get added to the list of accidents in the Bermuda Triangle over time. Christopher Columbus and his crew was the first people who discovered the Bermuda Triangle. He first documented dancing lights on the horizon, and bizarre compass readings. It was said that Christopher Columbus documented these sitings on October 11, 1492. There are several disappearances and several myths about the Triangle. In 1872, a large vessel called ‘Mary Celeste’ was spotted by a ship call Dei Gratia sailing awkwardly. The Dei Gratia decided to stop by and take a look and saw no one was on the ship. The life boat was missing and they left the ship vacant and in perfect condition. Another weird myth and mystery that happened in the Bermuda Triangle happened on December 27, 1948. Commercial flight called NC-16002 DC-3 was flying to Puerto Rico. The pilot radioed Miami when they were fifty miles out to receive specific directions. Once they received the directions, Miami never received a response back, making it a missing ship. Yet these are known as myths, they have really happened. (Bermuda Triangle Facts, Mystery, Myths Theories Surrounding Bermuda Triangle) One of the first myths about the Bermuda Triangle was the disappearance of USS Cyclops in 1918. The ship was launched in 1910, and carried coal for the Navy in World War I. The ship was on it was from Salvador to Baltimore, but the ship never made it. The ship had to make an unscheduled stop in Barbados on March 3rd, but after this stop it vanished without a trace. No traces of this ship were ever found, no wreckage or distress signals were received. There were 306 people’s lives lost on this ship, the most lives lost in Naval history that did not involve combat. Not only is Cyclops being a missing is a mystery, so is where it went missing. This ship could of gone missing anywhere from Barbados to Baltimore. Communication was unreliable in 1918 making hard to tell what happened, and they might not have had time to call before sinking. Flight 19 is another mystery about the Bermuda Triangle, a training mission that took off from Fort Lauderdale on December 5th, 1945. The leader of Flight 19 was Charles Taylor, an experienced crew member. Twelve of the people on the plan were students. About 2 hours after takeoff Taylor messaged the base stating he was disorientated. He stated, Both my compasses are out. Im over land, but its broken. Im sure Im in the Keys, but I dont know how far down and I dont know how to get to Fort Lauderdale. If the flight had gone like it was supposed to, the flight should have approximately been over Great Sale Cay, 200 miles from the keys. For the next two hours, the crew flew north and east with little communication. The base was under the belief the flight should have been over the Gulf of Mexico and soon be back over Florida. One the final things the base heard from the flight was, All planes close up tight we will have to ditch unless landfall. when the first man gets down to 10 gallons we will all land in the water together. Immediately a boat was launched to find the men, but had to return when its antenna iced over. Another boat took off and within an hour and a half, a tanker observed an explosion. A patch of oil and wreckage was found boat is believed to have exploded. A five day search was sent out, and 250,000 square mile was searched. Not even a trace of Flight 19 was found. Over the years the story of Flight 19 has been changed and exaggerated. Some sources say UFOs were spotted, none of which was recorded. Although it seems bizarre that Taylors compasses failed, where the landed it also questionable. Bahamas look similar to Florida from the air, after a five hour flight not knowing where they were headed, means it could of landed various places. It seems very possible that the flight ran out of gas before the men had time get on the rafts. Along with many myths and mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle, there are also a lot of theories. Some theories about the triangle are that it could have something to do with UFO. Steven Spielberg used this theory in his Hollywood film called ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’. This site explains some supernatural theories just to explain why things disappeared in the vicinity of the triangle. It also says that it is also known as one of the two places on earth where a compass will not point to true, magnetic north. Another theory that the world has come up with is Atlantis and its mysterious crystals. This theory has become popular by a man named Edgar Cayce, who claims to see the future and spirits from the past life in Atlantis. Cayce says that they had remarkable technologies such as powerful â€Å"fire crystals† which helped them produce energy. He believes that those crystals went out of control and sunk the whole city of Atlantis. It is believed that the crystals are damaged, therefore sending out their nuclear power beneath the ocean waves. The nuclear power interferes with the ships and planes going through the Bermuda Triangle. Dr. Ben Clennell is the man who brought the â€Å"methane gas† theory to the eyes of the public. He believes that the methane gas locked in the bottom of the ocean has to do with the missing ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle. He says that subterranean landslides can possibly release the methane gas into the oceans making it dangerous for ships to pass through. A large amount of methane would reduce the density of the oceans water, making ships sink like nothing. After it sunk that Gulf Stream could have the ability to move the wreckage miles from where it sunk. The gas is also highly combustible and can ignite, sending planes shooting into the ocean. These explosions can be very violent. Another theory is that the Bermuda Triangle is a portal to another dimension. A number of witnesses have reported UFOs in this area. There is thought that the government is conducting tests in the Bermuda Triangle, but what they are looking for is a mystery. National Geographic is investigating reports of an underwater city near Cuba, but have not made any announcements on what they have learned. The Bermuda Triangle is known for geomagnetic fields. These fields could cause the compass readings. Geomagnetic fields are common throughout the world, making this very possible. The planes could also go missing by methane rising into the air and causing them to blow up. There is no proof what really happens in the Bermuda Triangle and still remains as one of Earths biggest mysteries Lawrence David Kusch did an investigation to the Bermuda Triangle. Kusche frequently requested information from the library about the Bermuda Triangle, but he discovered there was very little reliable information available. Him and group of librarian formed a group, and began researching the area. Kusche tried to find the answer to the mystery and legends that had been created about the Bermuda Triangle. He had a good background that helped him understand the research that he was conducting. Kusche explains his research by presenting each myth, followed by the known facts. He then states the source of which he got his information. One of the legends Kusche researched was the one that involves Air Force C-124. This flight disappeared on its way to Ireland. This legend happened in March 1950. The Air Force has no recorded of ant missing C-124s that month in the Atlantic. In March 1951 there was a report of an aircraft that went down in route to England. This aircraft did not go missing within the next 24 hours pieces of this aircraft showed up. In conclusion, whether or not the Bermuda Triangle is real or fake has never truly been discovered. There is a lot of evidence on both sides, but some of which cannot be proven to be true or false. Scientists know for a fact that there is something bizarre about the triangle and what happens inside, but some of the occurrences may not be truly paranormal activity. Some of the disappearances may only be mother nature and nothing more. The Bermuda Triangle still is one of the worlds biggest mysteries.

Contemporary Designers Essay Example for Free

Contemporary Designers Essay Contemporary designers are creators of objects, buildings or surroundings that rely on characteristics such as lines, smooth and sleek surfaces, very little intricate details. There designs are spacious and/or comfortable, with the asset of clutter. However they must study design history because to open their mind to the past they will learn new ideas and ideologies, â€Å"To know nothing of what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child,† Marcus Tullius Cicero, a famous philosopher (106-43 BC)1. The 3 main reasons why learning design history is useful are firstly because it will help advance and learn from success and failures. Secondly to maintain sustainability within our world for future generations and thirdly to learn more about other past cultures. Researching history is valuable in learning from successes and failures for contemporary designers. Confucius (551–479 BC) a famous Chinese teacher and philosopher supports this and explains how we should â€Å"Study the past if you would define the future.†2 From ancient civilisations we have learnt to take these valuable skills and accomplishments to help build our outstanding society today. For example Roman buildings (27BC- 476 AD) has lasted for more than 2,000 years and they have given us 3 main successful architectural elements to learn and base new designs upon: the arch, the vault, and concrete. The main one of these for contemporary designers to look upon is the arch and concrete in which we can use their useful elements of strength to help buildings last longer. The Pont du Gard Aqueduct Bridge (seen in Appendix Picture 1) in France is a great element that was successfully created and, consists of three tiers of arches, with smaller arches on the top tier.4 The Roman Coliseum was made of concrete and consisted of arches structured within its design. It was built in 72-80 CE5 and still stands today and designers can learn from these past successes of strength within the design using these characteristics which are important for future projects in allowing them to be more long lasting to teach future generations also, â€Å"History is for human self-knowledge the only clue to what man can do is what man has done† – David Hume, philosopher.6 We can also learn from the mistakes of design, and try to avoid them next time. George Santayana a famous philosopher   scholar and novelists supports this by explaining that, Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.7 For example the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge shocked everyone in 1940 as it was the most modern suspension bridge for its time. The cause of its destruction was the random action of turbulent wind. From these failures however industrialists and architects learnt that the design failed due to excessive flexibility, drag and lift created by the solid plate girder and meniscal aerodynamic forces acknowledged.9 Attributes like this we can use to steer clear from and learn to think about what aspects will affect our design to base what designers may create on what was successful from the pass – â€Å"Instead we must be willing to face our past now, overcome it, and from this we will learn from it forever,† J. Johnson (Musician).10 The second reason why it is useful from learning from design history is for sustainability. This is an important factor for our future as a whole as the Future Annual Report Sates (2000), â€Å"Sustainable development is a dynamic process which enables all people to realise their potential, and to improve their quality of life, in ways which simultaneously protect and enha nce the Earths life support systems.†11 The sustainable materials and structures are simple ways of past civilisations portraying to contemporary designers simple and effective ways to be â€Å"green.† For example the ancient Persian Wind Towers (Seen in Appendix Picture 2) were elaborate ventilation and cooling systems and rivals the contemporary equivalents today. They use a mixture of structural positioning, pressure differences and running water. They are wind catcher structures and control temperatures even in the severest of desert environment with cool nights and scorching hot days.13 Another is the Passive solar Orientation for heating.14 This was introduced by the ancient Greeks. Much like our world today they ran into fuel shortages so they had to think about how to maximise heat gain and the retention during winter months. They did this by building cities/houses towards the southern exposure to capture the sun’s rays.15 Now a days designers just build things without purpose or sustainability wasting resources and harming the earth and they need to natural resources are allow and we need to sustain ourselves sometime in the future, supported by Victor Papanek a famous designer â€Å" by choosing materials and processes that pollute the air we breathe, designers have become a dangerous breed.16 The third reason to  why contemp orary designers should learn about design history is to preserve culture and sites and which will also create a sense of place, because the past is the root of our society values and it is what makes us today which is why we should acknowledge its importance â€Å"A person without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots† Marcus Garvey (Jamaican political leader). Contemporary designers should design something whereby people can learn about contemporary cultures a lot more by visiting where they have thrived. For example when visiting the ancient Mayan temples in Mexico, citizens will have a greater understanding of the origins of Mexican values as well as their culture from the Pre-classic period to the Colonial period. In addition to learn about our culture and where we come from can help not just the general public but also researchers helping us to understand more about ourselves scientifically opening our mind to new discoveries and technologies â€Å"Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit, † Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime minister of India.19 Heritage sites can tell us about pass species like the Galapagos Islands and tell us about evolution as well as the Valcamonica rock art in Italy (seen in picture 3 of appendix).20 It can explain how human societies developed, teaching us more about our past creating a sens e of place and important knowledge of where we came from, which is what designers should do and create something that will help and form the future. -Every piece of history is a piece of human nature, Joss Whedon, an American writer. They should have the motivation to design a product or building that will be remembered that will push the boundaries of current technology for us to build upon in –â€Å"Without culture, and the relative freedom it implies, society, even when perfect, is but a jungle. This is why any authentic creation is a gift to the future,† supported by Albert Camus a French novelist and journalist. For example the ancient pyramids of Egypt (2630 BC–2611 BC) show great human accomplishment as today it still marvels researchers on how the Egyptians built these magnificent sites without the use of basic technology. Overall these three reasons portray why learning design history is so useful through learning from past mistakes and successes, learning how to become more sustainable without using harmful materials and learning from different cultures to view where our values came from incorporated with creating a sense of place for  future generations to learn from. It is impor tant to learn from the past otherwise we know very little of the present or future and become ignorant to everything around us that may help us strive in the future – â€Å"A generation which ignores history has no past: and no future,† supports and said by Robert Heinlein a famous writer. Referencing: 1 McDermott, Brian. 2001. â€Å"Quotes about History.† Accessed August 31st, 2014. http://homepage.eircom.net/~odyssey/Quotes/History/Historians.html 2 Moncur, Michael. 1994. â€Å"The Quotations page.† Accesssed August 31st , 2014. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/29259.html 3Karen Carr. 2012. â€Å"Roman Architecture.† Accessed August 31st, 2014. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/architecture/romarch.htm 4Wikipeadia. 2014. â€Å"Pont du Gard.† Accessed September 1st, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pont_du_Gard 5 Wikipeadia. 2014. â€Å"Colosseum.† Accessed September 1st, 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum 6 Russel Tarr. 1998. â€Å"Active History.† Accessed September 1st, 2014. http://www.activehistory.co.uk/historical_quotations.htm 7 Indiana University. 2011. â€Å"The Santayana Edition.† Accessed September 4th, 2014. http://iat.iupui.edu/santayana/content/santayana-quotations 8 Claudia Bingham Baker. 2005 . â€Å"Tacoma Narrows Bridge.† Accessed September 4th, 2014. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/machine/machine3.htm 9 Claudia Bingham Baker. 2005. â€Å"Tacoma Narrows Bridge.† Accessed September 4th, 2014. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/tnbhistory/machine/machine3.htm 10 SearchQuotes. 2014. â€Å"Learning From The Past.† Accessed September 7th, 2014. http://www.searchquotes.com/viewimage/Learning_From_The_Past/355/ 11 Pavlova, Margarita. 2009. Technology and Vocational Education for Sustainable Development. Vol. 10. New York: Springer Publishing. 12 Web Ecoist. 2014. â€Å"7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design Technology.† Accessed September 7th, 2013. http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/01/25/ancient-green-architecture-alternative-energy-design/ 13 Web Ecoist. 2014. â€Å"7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design Technology.† Accessed September 7th, 2013. http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/01/25/ancient-green-architecture-alternative-energy-design/ 14Web Ecois t. 2014. â€Å"7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design Technology.† Accessed September 7th, 2013. http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/01/25/ancient-green-architecture-alternative-energy-design/ 15Web Ecoist. 2014. â€Å"7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design Technology.† Accessed September 7th, 2013. http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/01/25/ancient-green-architecture-alternative-energy-design/ 16 Victor J. Papanek. 1984. Design for the Real World: Human Ecology and Social Change. 1st ed. Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishing. 17 Brainy Quotes. 2001. â€Å"Marcus Garvey.† Accessed September 9th 2014. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/marcusgarv365148.html 18 By Melanie J. Martin. 2014. â€Å"Why Are World Heritage Sites Important?† Accessed September 9th 2014. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5513442_world-heritage-sites-important.html 19 Brainy Quotes. 2001. â€Å"Jawaharlal Nehru.† Accessed September 9th, 2014. http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jawaharlal141407.html 20 By Melanie J. Martin. 2014. â€Å"Why Are World Heritage Sites Important?† Accessed September 9th 2014. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5513442_world-heritage-sites-important.html 21 McDermott, Brian. 2001. â€Å"Quotes about History.† Accessed August 31st, 2014. http://homepage.eircom.net/~odyssey/Quotes/History/Historians.html 22 Good Reads. 2014. â€Å"Albert Camus.† Accessed September 12th, 2014. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/209885-without-culture-and-the-relative-freedom-it-implies-society-even 23 Web Ecoist. 2014. â€Å"7 Ancient Wonders of Green Design Technology.† Accessed September 7th, 2013. http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2009/01/25/ancient-green-architecture-alternative-energy-design/ 24 Good Reads. 2014. â€Å"Robert A. Heinlein.† Accessed September 12th, 2014. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/186632-a-generation-which-ignores-history-has-no-past-and

The Applicability Of The Clausewitzian Trinity Politics Essay

The Applicability Of The Clausewitzian Trinity Politics Essay Once considered a vital source of ageless strategic thought, the theories of Carl von Clausewitz have recently come under attack because of the changes in the nature of warfare, especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. It is not disputed that his theories are thought provoking, but it will be argued that his writings can no longer be applicable universally in todays growing methods of warfare such as insurgent terrorism. Modern theorists such as John Keegan, have discredited the Clausewitz theories of war as invalid and having minor to no value in todays study of modern warfare when attempts are made to apply them to prevalent groups such as Al Qaeda.1 It is argued that the primary focus is on the Westphalia model of states and as a result Clausewitzs writings cannot be applied to insurgencies nor can they be applied to identities other than nation-states who wage war. Clausewitz may not have addressed specifically to insurgents warfare and non-state actors but looking closely at t he war on terror indicated that perhaps Carl von Clausewitzs theories may still be relevant because of the phenomenon of globalization. As is often the case with western civilizations way of thinking, problems are only looked at from their own points of view. If the international community were to broaden its perspective to engross the oppositions point of view, it could be seen how Clausewitzs theories of the trinity and the center of gravity remain relevant today and useful in todays method of so called fourth generation warfare. This approach can also identify potential vulnerabilities in the current conflicts with non state actors such as Al Qaeda and the general handling of Warfare in the 21st Century. Warfare has changed much over the past few centuries, especially since Carl von Clausewitz first wrote his manuscripts, which took the form of the book, On War. The world is now in the time of fourth generation warfare. Fourth Generation warfare is a term that was described William Lind and Thomas Hammes. This developed under the new wars thinking. They state that the warfare throughout history has progressed in distinct stages and that the world is currently in its fourth generation warfare. In this form of warfare, advanced western armed forces have to face hard to find and technologically inferior opponents who, through guerrilla warfare, terrorism, and campaigns focused at attacking and undermining western public support, are able to pose quite a significant threat to western security and civilization. Hammes and Lind believe that western forces struggle to capitalize on their military potential because they operate under outdated principles and doctrines of earlier modes of warf are that focused on maneuver warfare which was immortalized by the concept of the blitzkrieg.2 The generations that ran in between are as follows; first generation of warfare, which ran throughout the life of Clausewitz, from 1648 to the 1860s, was characterized by state-run wars. There were Orderly battlefields and militaries fought in formations of lines and columns against one another. As weapon technology, production and effectiveness improved, the order of battlefield began to break down. War I epitomized the second generation, that of attrition warfare. The next generation of warfare which lasted until the outbreak of World War II was trench warfare which evolved, becoming the third generation of warfare; maneuver warfare as stated above. In this scenario, the battlefield became a non-linear entity. Opponents of the concept of forth generation warfare such as Lawrence Freedman criticize the theory due to its selective nature in historical sources defined historical periods. Similar to Lawrence Freedman, Michael Evans found that this thinking had stages too neat and linear. Modern warfare is in fact a merger of forms. Perhaps these critics ascribe too much outward variations of warfare as fundamental changes to its nature. This has led to critics to assign demarcated generations where they are not valid. War has most definitely morph and always will yet these are contextual changes instead of fundamental changes.3 Globalization and the 21st Century It can be argued that Clausewitzs theories remain relevant today because of how globalization has blurred the definition of a nation-state. Clausewitz theorized in On War that war was only possible between nation-states because nation-states were the only forms of identity capable of conducting policy, and war was a continuation of policy by other means.4 John Keegan and others have argued that the international community does not recognize groups such as Al Qaeda as a state and Clausewitzian theory cannot apply to such groups, therefore his theories must be irrelevant in the current form of insurgent warfare. Non-state actors can display major characteristics traditionally associated with the Westphalia definition of a state. Clausewitzs theories were based on the definition of a nation-state as assigned by the treaties of Westphalia.5 these treaties formed the sovereignty of a nation-state in the absolute sense6. These treaties established borders for each nation-state, but gave ri se to the international recognition of the right for the nation-state to exist. After the Peace of Westphalia treaties, scholars and theorists categorized conflicts as internal civil wars or as wars between states. Regarding how Globalization has enabled the rise of the non-state actor to levels of organization that rival that of the traditional state, T. L. Friedman provides a very credible definition of globalization in his book as, the inexorable integration of markets, nation-states, and technologies to a degree never witnessed before in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach around the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before.7the ability now for people all over this globe to establish communications by voice, text, trade and commodities, recruitment, the ease of sharing of ideas and beliefs, and the influencing of communities and nations swiftly surpassing the emphasis on recognized borders. Globalization has given people the opportunity for to join the pursuit of common goals. Due to communication limitations in the past, movements or events was isolated to their geographic region. With todays media, those limitations do not apply or do not have to. On a side note however, it can be argued that globalization was always in existence, the nature of it however has changed. Reza Aslan argues in his book, How to Win a Cosmic War, that Globalization is not a new phenomenon, as we have seen in history. Empires and trade routes tried to tie the world together into a tighter network of culture and economy. The way modern technology has changed the way globalization has occurred is what paints it in a unique light. Warfare required the organizational ability and capacity of nation states to conduct and wage war prior to the phenomenon of globalization. The advances of the past century have radically changed that. The technology revolution and globalization has enabled non-state actors to be to acquire the knowhow, equipment, and tools required to wage war effectively against a nation state. For example, Al Qaeda, in order to spread its message and recruit, equip and train around the world, they have that ability, and the ability that previously was unavailable to non state actors; influence and resource is now in their reach. Non-state actors compete with the states in the international realm. Given the power and influence the non-state actor can show in todays international field, Clausewitz may recognize them as actors able to wage war. The Trinity Clausewitz claimed that in war exists a paradoxical trinity consisting of a link between the government, the army, and the people. He claimed that there must be a balance maintained between these three identities for the state to be successful in war.8He claimed that these all three are dependent on one another, and change in one affects the others.9 confusion arises from the exact translation of this part of his work and what Clausewitz actually meant when he described the trinity. Christopher Bassford and Edward J. Villacres in 1995 provide a description of the relationship claiming that Clausewitzs on War is describing three categories; non-rational forces (chance and luck irrational forces (violent emotion), and rationality (War as an instrument of policy). They go into further detail of these categories claiming that the people are paired with irrational forces, i.e. the emotions of primordial violence, enmity and hatred (perhaps even without as wars can be fought without care o n both sides for the reasons). The army and the commander are assigned the forces of friction, chance, and probability. This is under the creative guidance of the commander. Creativity shown by the commander can be based on the talent or genius he/she has. The government is assigned with the rational force of calculation; by reason driven policy.10 With regards to absolute and real war we find that this concept led 11 led Liddell Hart to claim that Clausewitz was an advocate of unlimited warfare, and claims by him could be held as responsibility for the devastation that occurred during First World War.12 The apostle of a revolutionary philosophy of war making was how John Keegan described Clausewitz claiming that he was a proponent of unconstrained warfare as being in the best interest of the state. 13 On War may start off looking as if Clausewitz supports these views, Liddell Hart and Keegans criticism may not have that much basis. As Clausewitz defines war as an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will and further states that to introduce the principle of moderation into The theory of war itself would always lead to logical absurdity; he then claims there is no logical limit to the application of that force this in turn must lead, in theory, to extremes.14 We can see that based on these sayings Clausewitz was indeed writing about war in a theoretical sense. Later on in his work Clausewitz points out that if you go from from the abstract to the real world the whole thing looks quite different.15 Clausewitz was basically exploring the philosophical nature of war as opposed to advocating absolute and unlimited nature of warfare. He was describing it as something not bound by limitations of reality. When looking at war and the wars absolute tendencies along with factors that limit it in reality, Clausewitz demonstrates that war is not ruled by a particular logic, but a combination of elements demonstrating diverse characteristics. According to Christopher Bassford, confusion occurs due to Clausewitzs use of a dialectical method of presenting his arguments. Therefore Clausewitzs talk about war as an abstract phenomenon should be seen as part of a much larger argument. Clausewitz after describing what is known as the primary trinity, he further describes and defines a secondary one, claiming that the first of these three aspects (violence and hatred)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦concerns the people. The second (chance and luck) the commander and his army; the third (war as a policy) the government.16 This is where Clausewitz has brought on himself a barrage of criticism and is a focal point to target for authors who are advocates of the new war age and 4th generation warfare model. This second trinity, critics argue, implies that war is waged only among states because these political entities are the only entities to have a clear distinction between the government, the people, and the armed forces. With regards to a post world war 2 era, Clausewitzs detractors claim that since most modern wars are conducted or waged by non-state actors, this has led to Clausewitzs theories being mundane and out of date. A state-centric outlook now has become obsolete due to the rise and prevalence of non-state warfare in recent years.17 Bassford in his works has pointed out that Keegan and Kaldor disregard the main point that Clausewitz ascribes to war as a character consisting of violence, chance, and rationality and that these are related to the secondary trinity of people, armed forces, and government primarily as an example, not the rule. There is no sociopolitical nature described in the primary trinity and it is this distinction which is critical to show to critics of Clausewitzs work.18 Entities such as the state, communist revolution movements, tribal warlord, or any international terrorist organization are all subject to the relationship of the forces of violence, chance, and rationality. It can even be said that Clausewitz devoted a chapter in On War specifically to warfare waged by non-state actors as noted by Herberg-Rothe, 19. Daniel Moran claims that the trinity consists of abstractions and that basically viewing it as the 3 distinct arms of the government, army and people is wrong.20 If we are to look at the issue of whether Clausewitzs ideas of Rationality disable his work from being permitted in todays environment of non-state conflicts in which violence itself may be regarded as the only goal, it can be claimed that the primary trinity shows that he assigned to the waging of war no specific rationale. Hatred has as much of a place as reason does and is claimed by Robert Baumann the reasons to push states to declare war are similar to those which motivate tribes or insurgents. 21 Clausewitz himself stated that, policy is nothing in itself; it is simply the trustee for all these interests against other states. That it can err, subs serve the ambitions, private interests, and vanity of those in power, is neither here nor there. 22It can be deduced that Clausewitz did not necessarily enforce the notion that war had to follow a particular noble high and mighty form of rationality. Clausewitz can be seen as being neither an advocate of unlimited warfare nor is his analysis of warfare fully state-centric. His work can be seen as having use with regards to analyzing conflicts where actors other than states participate. Looking at insurgents and groups such as Al Qaeda, it can be argued that their Goals are working towards a cause they perceive perfectly rational and obvious just as the use of force carried out by a state actor would spark violent emotional reactions. Every player in an armed conflict, whether it be current or past has Been subject to the nature of chance and luck. His work is therefore just as relevant in canalizing conflicts of the twenty-first century conflicts and rise of multiple insurgencies across the globe just as he remains valid in the studying traditional interstate warfare. 23 In the primary trinity it is emphasized that the forces governing how warfare is conducted extends beyond the irrational to the rational influences of human emotion and the non-rational effects of chance and luck. It is in the second trinity where a link is formed between the abstract elements of the nature of warfare and warfare in reality by providing an example of how these forces can come together in society as it was at the time of writing. In the modern situation of states being democratic; the demarcation into the government, the people, and the armed forces that the Prussian theorist describes is currently valid and applicable. Clausewitz proves his validity in the current age when he claims that the general character of an era can have a drastic influence on the aims and goals pursued in warfare and importantly the methods used in order to do so. This does not signify a fundamental change in the nature of warfare itself. He stated that the aims a belligerent adopts, and the resources he employs must be governed by the particular characteristics of his own position; but they will also conform to the spirit of the age and to its general character. Certainly this provides a good example to which Clausewitz has clung on to validity in the modern age. The three elements can account for an unlimited number of variations of conflicts which shows how the trinity rejects the concept of demarcated historical periods by showing how the variable relationship gives warfare a particular character based on specifics in context. This notion provides us with historical consistency when it comes to the study of war and shows us that we must remain critical of claims that assign a certain development as a new phenomenon. M. L. R. Smith poignantly wrote; Call it what you will; new war, ethnic war, guerrilla war, low intensity war, terrorism, or the war on terrorismà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦in the end, there is only one meaningful category of war, and that is war itself.24 The primary trinity can enable modern scholarship to go beyond the violent aspect of terrorism and focus on the rational motives behind their actions. The second trinity can enable research to be able to point out and analyze the sociopolitical relationships within the movements such as terrorist groups or insurgencies and look at the wider social context i.e. the dynamics that determine the relationship between the combatants and the people who provide their popular base and strength. Studying such aspects is vital when it is the popular base of insurgencies and terrorist groups that are identified as the main aspect to target in order to win a modern conflict. Targeting terrorist groups legitimacy would also demonstrate how brute force with highly advanced weaponry alone is not sufficient to defeat terrorism. As stated before, the central aspect of a terrorist groups strength is with the population behind them which they depend on for legitimacy and recruits. If the terrorism in modern day conflicts is to be defeated, then western leaders will have to focus on the public support that is so vital to insurgents and terrorist groups worldwide. On closer examination of the war on terror now gone and president Obamas current fight against terrorism, it can be demonstrated that the theories of Carl von Clausewitz remain as relevant today in a climate of asymmetrical warfare as they did in the Napoleonic era. His theories provide a theoretical framework with which modern warfare and its aspects can be studied. When the western political and military leader scrutinize the trinity from the point of view of those they are up against, weaknesses in its own approach in the military and political aspects of the conflict can be addressed. Clausewitzs concepts, allowing for the multiple and evolving forms of conflict, remains valid today for the study and evaluation of most forms of warfare. NOTES: 1John Keegan, History of Warfare (New Yorke: Vintage Books 1996), 2. 2 William S. Lind, Keith Nightengale, Joseph W. Sutton, and Gary I. Wilson, Changing Face of War: Into the Fourth Generation, in Terry Terriff, Aaron Karp, and Regina Karp, eds., Global Insurgency and the Future of Armed Conflict: Debating Fourth-Generation Warfare (New York: Routledge, 2008) 3 Lawrence Freedman, War Evolves into the Fourth Generation: A Comment on Thomas X. Hammes, in Terriff, Karp, and Karp, 82 4 Carl von Clausewitz, On War, eds. and trans, Michael Howard and Peter Paret. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976), 81. 5 Peace of Westphalia, available from http://www.schillerinstitute.org/strategic/ hzl_t_of_w_0599.html; 6 Ibid. 7 T.L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, 1999 (New York: Anchor, 1999), 7-8; available from http://www.sociology.emory.edu/globalization/glossary.html; Internet; accessed 12 January 2008. 8 Carl von Clausewitz, On War, eds. and trans, Michael Howard and Peter Paret. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976), 88 9Ibid. 10 Christopher Bassford and Edward J. Villacres, Reclaiming the Trinity, Parameters (Autumn 1995); available from http://www.clausewitz.com/CWZHOME/Trinity/TRININTR.htm; Internet accessed 22 September 2007. 11 Carl von Clausewitz, On War, eds. and trans, Michael Howard and Peter Paret. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1976), 100 12 Christopher Bassford, John Keegan and the Grand Tradition of Trashing Clausewitz: A Polemic, War in History, 1 (November 1994), 319-36. 13 John Keegan, A History of Warfare (New York: Vintage Books, 1993), 17-18. 14 Clausewitz, 82-84. 15 Ibid., 86. 16 Clausewitz, 104. 17 Martin van Creveld, On Future War (London: Brasseys, 1991) ix 18 Villacres and Bassford, 9-19. 19 Herberg-Rothe, 165. 20 Daniel Moran, Strategic Theory and the History of War (Paper, US Naval Postgraduate School, 2001), 6-7. 21 Robert F. Baumann, Historical Perspectives on Future War, Military Review, 77 (March/April 1997),40-46. 22 Clausewitz, 729. 23 Van Creveld, 60-66, 97; Kaldor, A Cosmopolitan Response to New Wars, 505-14. 24 M. L. R. Smith, Strategy in the Age of Low Intensity Warfare: Why Clausewitz Is Still More Relevant than His Critics, in Duyvesteyn and Angstrom, 41-53

Spin Cycle :: essays research papers

SPIN CYCLE With so many different scandal to his credit and numerous ongoing investigations pending, President Clinton has been bombarded by the media in a fashion not seen since the last days of the Nixon administration. Despite this unwanted attention, Clinton has managed to maintain lofty approval ratings and successfully deflect even the most ardent attacks. How does he do it? This question is answered in full in Spin Cycle, a backroom look at how news is created and packaged in the White House and the methods used to distribute it to the public. In painting a detailed picture of the hand-to-hand combat known as a press conference, Kurtz shows how the use of controlled leaks, meticulously worded briefs, and the outright avoidance of certain questions allows the White House to control the scope and content of the stories that make it to the front page and the nightly network news. As Kurtz makes clear, the president and First Lady are convinced that the media are out to get them, while the journalists covering the White House are constantly frustrated at the stonewalling and the lack of cooperation they encounter while trying to do their jobs. In the middle is the White House press secretary Mike McCurry, a master at defusing volatile situations and walking the fine line with the press. Though less paranoid and cynical of the media than Clinton, he often finds himself on both ends of personal attacks and vendettas that veer far outside the arena of objective reporting. The anecdotes and carefully buried information that Kurtz has uncovered give this book a brisk pace, along with ample invaluable information that cuts to the core of this age of media overkill. Kurtz focuses mainly on White House response to scandal news in 1996 and 1997, and he does not purport to cover most other aspects of the relationship between the president and the press. And within the narrow scope of his research, he had only fragmentary access to important information. For legal and political reasons, white House aides were probably not inclined to volunteer the whole truth. What’s more, the story is still unfolding. Though he adds nothing to what is known about recent happenings in the Oval Office, he does shed light on a subject that remains of considerable importance: the techniques used by the Clinton administration to shape the way it is portrayed in the press. It never seriously takes up the issue that seems to lie at its core.

The Cycle of Fashion Essay -- Fashion Style Mode Essays

The Cycle of Fashion Fashion is fuelled by conversion. Designers continually persuade the public that their new ideas, however shocking they may seem, are in fact everything that a stylish wardrobe requires. Next season, the same designers convince everyone to give up their allegiance to such out-modish designs and embrace instead the innovative visual trends of the latest collections. The same garments are successively dubbed 'outlandish', 'in fashion' and 'out-dated' according to the apparent vagaries of prevailing fashionable sensibilities. Are we really duped by such duplicity? Or are we willing participants in the cycle of fashion? And perhaps more significantly, what relevance does the cycle have today in Western society's culture of mass consumerism? The idea that fashion in dress follows a cyclical phase structure is not new. The sociologist, Quentin Bell made such an observation over fifty years ago in his book, On Human Finery. Moreover, his observation was based on accumulated evidence of an uninterrupted cyclical flow in dress change in Western society since at least the thirteenth century. The sociologist, Ingrid Brenninkmeyer describes this flow by comparing it to the rolling of waves in the sea. As one fashion gains popularity, crests and dissipates, another stylistic wave is already forming behind it. Further extensions of this metaphor liken different stylistic features to variations in the waves themselves. For example, just as different wave patterns form on the basis of their force, size or length, so also different overlapping patterns can be traced in changes of fashionable hem length, silhouette, fabric, dà ©colletage and colour. Mere descriptions of the fashion cycle however do little to explain exactly why successful designers? ideas typically rise and fall in popularity. What is the motivating force behind such changes in fashion? What causes the cycle to move from one phase to the next? These questions cannot be answered simply. Perhaps sheer boredom inspires the continual search for something new. Or can novelty be related to ideas of sexual allure and attraction? Do competing market interests in the fashion industry play a role in animating the cycle? Or could changes in dress function as markers of class differentiation? These factors and more have been variously proposed and analysed by researchers into the socio... ...n's clothing? To look at the men's side of underwear is different." One page of the calendar (April) does depict men's undershirts from the 18th and 19th centuries. Even the English language has been influenced by undergarments. Several popular expressions make reference to underwear: "Loose woman" comes from the connotations associated with uncorseted or loosely corseted women, Queen says. A similar case is "shiftless"; a shift was an 18th century support-providing undergarment, and Queen says the term was meant to characterize someone "without support." Many people believe that underwear for women has changed as it has because of feminism and changing social attitudes. To a large degree, that's true, Queen says, but there are other factors as well. In the past, undergarments were often designed for their "body-shaping" features. But these days, thanks to the increase in exercise and athleticism among women, "the body has become its own foundation" and women no longer need to rely on cloth and whalebone for this purpose, she says. "The choice," says Queen, "is do we want to spend three hours a day in the gym to sculpt the body, or do we want to put on a piece of cloth?"

Frankenstein Kickass Paper -- essays research papers

The daughter of an active feminist, Mary Woolstonecraft Shelley eloped with the famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley at the age of 15, and after was continually and profoundly influenced by his words and writings. Her novel Frankenstein is named among the best written and most meaningful of the gothic works, and is one of the few still popularly read today. A precursor to the Romantic trend in art and intellect, gothic novels rejected of the precepts of order, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism in general and late 18th-century Neoclassicism in particular. The gothic tradition grew out of disillusionment with the Enlightenment and 18th-century rationalism and physical materialism. Romanticism as a whole emphasized the individual, the irrational, the imaginative, the spontaneous, the emotional, and the transcendental. Shelley herself defines "gothic" as a story "which would speak to the mysterious fears of our Nature, and would awaken thrill ing horror--one to make the reader dread to look around, to curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart." By infusing moral and social concerns into the gothic style, Shelley achieves more than a simple horror story, however. The universal societal and psychoanalytical questions raised in Frankenstein secure its place in world literature and promise decades of similarly fashioned gothic writings. As stated above, the gothic genre developed as a harsh reaction to the predominant Neoclassic ideals of the time; the emphasis shifted from the whole to the solitary, and from society to nature. The "Graveyard Poets," one of whom is Thomas Gray, are attributed with having ushered in the new philosophy and are often termed "Pre-Romantics." Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard" has all the elements of the gothic: graves, overtones of death, a rural setting, and a desire for return to a more simplistic, natural time. Simultaneously, Jean-Jacques Rousseau preached a similar creed which presented society as evil, and called for a "natural state of man." Shelley was schooled in both writers, and took their words to heart. In 1776 and 1789 Revolutions swept America and France, indicating that the Neoclassic ideals were not as stable as was previously thought. News of these ... ...; and "Fall of the House of Usher" and Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" use many gothic conventions and themes, such as the ominous tone, dream-like or surreal sequences, and warnings about interdependency and the manipulation of one's mind. The gothic novel revolves as part of the literary cycle, periodically returning for a brief period in the public's eye and then again disappearing into obscure circles of its few disciples. In this scientific age, the gothic is viewed as being overly sentimental, predictable, and implausible. As the ages change, readers, like Victor, are forced to "exchange chimeras of boundless grandeur" which the gothic inspires for "realities of little worth" (Shelley 46). The gothic, the fantastic, is a necessary balance for logic and reason as much as light is to dark, and good to evil. Without one, the other is undefined and therefore has no purpose in its existence. Frankenstein will live on as a brilliant insight into both the political environment of the 18th century and the eternal condition of man as an extension of nature.

Objective of Punishment

Objectives of Punishment There have been many rules throughout history some choose to follow those rules and some choose to break the rules. The big question is the product to those who should break the rules. There was a day when parents could spank their children freely and accepted as simply normal. As the years went on, society started to see how people would take it too far. Therefore, laws had to change. It is the same within today’s prison system. Individuals are in prison because they broke the rules and would have to serve their time. Some go to federal prison and some go to state prisons. It depends on the type of crime that a person commits; because these prisons harbor different types of criminals they also have different guidelines to follow in terms to punishing the inmates. How does sending one person to state or one person to federal prison affect the correctional system altogether? The State of California’s main goal of sentencing is to match the community sanctions with the offender. The types of community sanctions include: Criminal offenders who benefit from prevention services and are at risk of committing more crimes include: juvenile offenders with learning difficulties, high school dropouts, and urban youth gang members. Prevention services may include activities such as special education programs, and big brother programs. Criminal offenders who have received and benefited from these early intervention services are mostly first time offenders. Early intervention programs can significantly decrease the offender’s chances for committing crimes in the future. Offenders need substance abuse and alcohol counseling-related services, work skill development, and education, (Nieto, 1996). Offenders eligible for these programs are people in prison who can divert to alternative services and programs. The convicted offenders can be a second time or even a third time offenders who failed probation and even convicted of several of nonviolent offenses. California's â€Å"three strike's law,† can result in convicted felon sentenced to prison for life if the convicted offenders first two felonies were violent crimes and the third felony committed by the repeat offender is also a violent crime, (Nieto, 1996). The main goal of these sentencing guidelines is to put the targeted offenders with appropriate community sanctions. However, there are some differences and variations in the California sentencing guidelines, which include the punishment by the nature of crime committed, frequency, and severity. A good example took place in Michigan. If an offender is arrested for burglary, which is a class ‘C' felony in the state of Michigan, and a previous drug arrest, which are also a class C crime. The Michigan sentencing guideline rates provide sentencing options from alternative community corrections to a two-year prison sentence, (Nieto, 1996). The community correction’s alternative gives the judge the option of sentencing the criminal offender to a community-based and secured substance abuse treatment program for a period of six months. Upon successful completion of the treatment program, the offender must complete a probationary period. The discretion of the judge comes from a vast array of options. However, if an offender is found guilty of a serious felony and has prior nonviolent felony, sentencing guidelines provide community corrections and alternatives are not authorized and a minimum two-year prison sentence may be requisite, (Nieto, 1996). Until 1975, the federal bureau of prisons operated under the principles of the medical model of managing inmates. The medical model entailed educational, vocational, and treatment programs that attempted to transform criminal behavior into a positive and productive behaviors that would benefit society. The medical model utilized the federal inmate classification system to manage the inmate population and promote individualized treatment, (Miller, 2011). By 1975, the federal bureau of prisons had a much greater inmate population than it had several decades earlier during its inception, and they adopted the balanced model to manage those inmates. The balanced model no longer promoted individualized treatment. The balanced model was a composite model that focused on a combination of the principles of rehabilitation, deterrence, retribution, and incapacitation, (Miller, 2011). Several other major changes over the last few decades have affected the sentencing of those convicted of violating federal laws. The U. S. Sentencing Commission of 985 limited the use of probation for federal offenses, particularly for drug offenses and violent crimes. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 limited the amount of time the prisoners could reduce from their sentences for good behavior. This new law mandated that federal prisoners must serve a minimum of 85% of their sentence. The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 also abolished the use of parole for federal p risoners, (Miller, 2011). Federal prisons manage their inmates within the guidelines of a Prisoners Bill of Rights. The prisoner’s rights include clean and decent living environments. Prisoners also have the rights to develop and maintain skills as a productive worker and have the rights to maintain and reinforce family and community ties, (Miller, 2011). The adoption of prisoner rights has helped the federal prisons avoid much of the legal turmoil that has embroiled the state prison systems. Most of the United States economist believed that in today’s times, the USA experiences the most drastic crisis in decades. All states in the United States report about significant budget shortfalls. As the results, the state governments significantly have to reduce their spending for correctional system. For the last two decades of the 20th Century, the spending for state and federal penitentiaries increased 600% because of the growth of measured requiring economic expenditures, for example, mandatory minimum sentences, truth in sentencing laws and three-strike legislation, (Carlson, 2008). Although economic trends started affecting the consideration of sentencing policy, the public attitude toward crimes has greatly changed. Polls show that more people think that it is necessary to address the root causes of crimes and less support the use of strict measures toward criminals. The attitude toward mandatory sentencing also underwent a change. The pool conducted in 2005 showed that 38% think that mandatory sentencing is a good idea whereas 45% of respondents prefer judicial discretion. This radical change in the attitude can be causing significant drop in the crime rate registered in the country, (Carlson, 2008). State and federal governments respond to the impact of the economic crisis on the correction system in a number of ways. The nature of problems varies, depending on the state, and so varies the strategies used. The most popular measures are as follows: prison closings, cuts of the staff in corrections, reviewing the budget of corrections concerning nonessentials, reconsidering sentencing schemes, establishing sentencing committees and commissions. Everything in life changes all the time and will always be that way, which is why everything about the past be called history. The rules and regulations for punishing the wicked and wrong doers always have been around. Many past mistakes made; consequently, the rules had to have either adjusted or completely erased altogether to fix these mistakes. The system of punishment is not a design to humiliate or degrade individual in any way, it is an intention to teach the difference between what is right and what is wrong according to the guidelines set forth by government officials. As the rules and regulations change, it affects the state and federal prison systems. They have had to become more lenient and tolerant with the individuals punished for their crimes. Still they have to try to maintain order within the walls of the confinement even though tougher laws outside the walls are making it easier to put individuals behind bars causing overcrowding and less money for security. References Carlson, Peter M. (2008). Garrett, Judith Simon, Prison and Jail Administration: Practice and Theory, Jones and Bartlett Publishers. Miller, Whitehead (2011). Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals, 4th Edition, p140, Chapter 6, State and Federal Prisons, Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database. Nieto, Marcus (May 1996). Community Correction Punishments: An Alternative To Incarceration for Nonviolent Offenders. http://www. library. ca. gov/crb/96/08/#RTFToC6.

I Would Like to Be Remembered

Do you want to know what teenagers worry about the most? I feel like teenagers worry about either relationships or appearances. I worry about a lot of things like my grades, relationships, family, friends, and my education. I worry about my grades because I want to have an awesome G. P. A and I want to go to college. Relationships are one of the things I worry about because I feel like If I get Into a relationship It would go wrong. Also I feel like I would regret getting Into one with that person. I worry about family and friends the most because they are my number one poorly In fife.My motto Is family and friends before anything and anyone. The reason I worry about my education is because I want to the University of Los Angels California or Norfolk State university when I graduate high school. That Is my mall goal which Is to graduate and go to a nice college of my choice or with a scholarship. School and family are the main things that I worry about the most and I will always worr y about school until I am done. I will always worry about my family and friends. My best friend is India Gregory. She is my best friend because she was one of the arils that helped me find my classes on my first day at Semiskilled.We have that type of bond like I consider her my sister and whenever we are on the phone she talks to my sister too. We all joke around and Joke each other. We tell each other everything it does not matter what it is. I do think that our friendship will last after high school. We are unbreakable. Yes, India has influenced me. One day we were on the phone and I told her about my relationship problems. I would stay in a relationship even though I was not happy with that person. She told me that it can affect me more because I would be hurt hill I was pretending to still like this person.So she taught me to love myself before I love anybody. She is my best friend for life because she is the one girl that I can see myself hanging out with out with in my adult years. We have been through a lot with girls trying to break up our friendship. One thing that they do not know is that we will never stop being friends. It does not matter what happens I would choose her over anything. She is like my blood sister. Blood is thicker than water. I love her with all my heart I Would Like to Be Remembered By Pià ±atas re one of the things I worry about because I feel like if I get into a relationship it would go wrong.Also I feel like I would regret getting into one with that person. I worry about family and friends the most because they are my number one priority in life. My motto is family and friends before anything and anyone. The reason I worry about my education is because I want to the University of Los Angels California or Norfolk State University when I graduate high school. That is my main goal which is to my sister too. We all Joke around and Joke each other. We tell each other everything it

Festival at the Village

[pic] FESTIVAL AT THE VILLAGE T/A â€Å"[email  protected] – 2013† A Proposal Document By Lentswe Arts Projects [LEAP] About Us Lentswe Arts Projects [LEAP] is a non-profit organization established in March 2011, in terms of Act No 71 0f 1997 under the Department of Social Development, South Africa. LEAP, is the brainchild of cultural activists, artists and art managers in the North West Province who have for decades combined, been running different organizations, but fundamentally pursuing the same goals. It was against this understanding that Lentswe was formed. Lentswe† has many connotations in Setswana, one being a large rock and the other a voice. In this context, â€Å"Lentswe† is built from the root of the verb â€Å"go tswa†, which means to stem out in Setswana. â€Å"Lentswe le tswelele go tswela mosola† meaning â€Å"as you learn or benefit from Lentswe; continue to be good use unto others. † LEAP has been involved in artist ic and social development projects since its inception. In 2010, even before being registered. , through the Maitiso le Kea’ cultural and artistic rendition, LEAP managed to buy school uniforms for the needy school children at Magokgwane Primary School in the outskirts f Mafikeng as well as stationary and uniform for another desperate learner at Redibone Middle School with the proceedings generated from ticket sales. The fundraising event drew a lot of support from national and international musical artists such as Mo Molemi, and Setswana folklore genius Ntirelang Berman from Botswana. October 2011, saw LEAP co-producing an exclusively cultural night of â€Å"Ntirelang Berman live† at Mmabana Mmabatho theatre. The show was hailed as â€Å"ground-breaking and conscious† by the local media and attracted a mixture of both the young and old.Executive Summary â€Å"The children who sleep in the streets, reduced to begging to make a living, are testimony to an unfini shed job. † Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela It is with the above quote from the former South African president and Noble Prize winner, Dr. N. R. Mandela, which LEAP conceptualized and aims to stage FESTIVAL AT THE VILLAGE, also to be known as â€Å"[email  protected]†. The festival aims to be the first of its kind arts festival to cater for the underprivileged youths who are also known as â€Å"homeless children† but currently reside at different places of safety in the North West Province.[email  protected] seeks to be a therapeutic platform where these youths are skilled and integrated back into society. It is a vehicle to be used to identify, train and nourish hidden and/or undiscovered talent while creating possible artistic careers for the targeted market. [email  protected] will also be the first ever arts festival to be staged within a rural community, with the aim of bolstering its local economy as well as making it a tourist destination. Buxton Village, in the Greater Taung Municipality is the ideal identified place with its strategic resources, zoning and accessibility for the staging of [email  protected] ConceptA three months training period starting in April 2013 will culminate into a weekend [3 days] long artistic therapeutic experience, therefore making up the core of [email  protected] – skill and emotional development. Different places of safety in four different regions of the North West Province will be identified and roped in for participation at [email  protected] as part of their rehabilitation programmes. Each home will have three [3] teams covering disciplines of drama, music and dance. LEAP would then assign dramaturges/ facilitators to train and develop these groups in their respective discipline, with different themes attached to each group/home.The different groups based on different themes would then create performance pieces of between 20-30 minutes long with the guidance of their respective facili tators. The facilitators would be accompanied by unemployed social workers [either recent graduates or retired ones] to help with handling potential sensitive material that might be borne out of the workshoping process. It is a well known fact that every child has a secret aspiration of climbing on stage to unleash his/her potential performance dream.Lentswe Arts Projects aims to give voice to the oppressed by staging such a revolutionary concept for expression. Interesting and therapeutic theatre forms like â€Å"Forum theatre† will be used to harness participation at [email  protected] in June 2013. What is Forum Theatre? â€Å"It is a theatrical game in which a problem is shown in an unsolved form, to which the audience (as spect-actors), is invited to suggest and enact solutions. The problem is always the symptom of oppression, and generally involves visible oppressors and a protagonist who is oppressed.In its purest form, both the actors and spect-actors will be peopl e who are victims of the oppression under consideration; that is why they are able to offer alternative solutions, because they themselves are personally acquainted with the oppression. † – Augusto Boal It goes without saying how this type of theatre model would go a long way in helping our targeted children as participants and society at large as audiences to comprehend the type of either emotional or at times physical oppression that perpetuates the ever increasing number of homeless children on our streets.[email  protected]: ? To be an annual therapeutic and edutaining artistic platform. [email  protected] – Objectives: ? Endorse the Department of Social Development’s mandate of developing and implementing an array of programmes that do not only protect South Africans against poverty, but also promote investment in building and strengthening communities and households. ? To be a meaningful vehicle of intergrading our lost children back into society . ? To create jobs for our social workers and artists. ? To use the arts to address the socio-economic challenges and cultural restoration in our communities. To identify and address social ills that result in having children homeless. ? To create possible careers in the arts. ? To have an attracting socially-conscious arts calendar event. ? To align with the Department of Arts and Culture’s Mzansi’s Golden Economy policy of creating a â€Å"more than you can imagine† experience. ? Actualize the Department of Social Development’s value of partnership in working together with civil society, business, academia and the international community. [email  protected] – Implementation Once the financial and physical resources are available, LEAP will develop a detailed implementation plan and set up a strong team to take the project to its realization. The said project team will preferably be consisting of representatives from different stakeholders to ha ve a successful and translucent process. The implementation stages shall mainly begin with the identification of willing participatory children’s homes around the province, followed by assigning of different facilitators to the respective teams/homes. Action Plan PERIOD: 07 January – 02 August 2013 ACTIVITY |DATE |PLACE |OUTCOME | |Pre-production begin |07 January – 29 March 2013 |Mafikeng and Taung |Festival Logistics Plan | |Fieldwork/workshops begin |01 April 2013 |Around NW |Unroll the development process | |Fieldwork/workshops begin |30 June 2013 |Around NW |Have groups ready to | | | | |showcase/compete. |Marketing initiatives commence |10 June 2013 |Around NW |Create project awareness around | | | | |the province. | |Travelling day [Groups] |04 July 2013 |To Buxton |Different homes travel to get to | | | | |the designated area of | | | | |showcasing. |Technical set-up |04 July 2013 |Venues TBC |Have the venues accommodating the| | | | |productions. | |[em ail  protected] Launch |05 July 2013 |Venue TBC |Launch the project to the media | | | | |and public. | |[email  protected] First Day |06 July 2013 |Social Centre |Start showcasing the productions. |Last Day/ Prize Giving |07 July 2013 |Social Centre |End short festival of | | | | |performances and give prizes. | |Travelling day |08 July 2013 |From Buxton |Groups and technicians get back | | | | |home. | |Reporting |02 August 2013 |Mahikeng |Narrative and financial reports | | | | |submitted to the funders. | Project Budget Please see attached[pic] Festival at the Village [pic] FESTIVAL AT THE VILLAGE T/A â€Å"[email  protected] – 2013† A Proposal Document By Lentswe Arts Projects [LEAP] About Us Lentswe Arts Projects [LEAP] is a non-profit organization established in March 2011, in terms of Act No 71 0f 1997 under the Department of Social Development, South Africa. LEAP, is the brainchild of cultural activists, artists and art managers in the North West Province who have for decades combined, been running different organizations, but fundamentally pursuing the same goals. It was against this understanding that Lentswe was formed. Lentswe† has many connotations in Setswana, one being a large rock and the other a voice. In this context, â€Å"Lentswe† is built from the root of the verb â€Å"go tswa†, which means to stem out in Setswana. â€Å"Lentswe le tswelele go tswela mosola† meaning â€Å"as you learn or benefit from Lentswe; continue to be good use unto others. † LEAP has been involved in artist ic and social development projects since its inception. In 2010, even before being registered. , through the Maitiso le Kea’ cultural and artistic rendition, LEAP managed to buy school uniforms for the needy school children at Magokgwane Primary School in the outskirts f Mafikeng as well as stationary and uniform for another desperate learner at Redibone Middle School with the proceedings generated from ticket sales. The fundraising event drew a lot of support from national and international musical artists such as Mo Molemi, and Setswana folklore genius Ntirelang Berman from Botswana. October 2011, saw LEAP co-producing an exclusively cultural night of â€Å"Ntirelang Berman live† at Mmabana Mmabatho theatre. The show was hailed as â€Å"ground-breaking and conscious† by the local media and attracted a mixture of both the young and old.Executive Summary â€Å"The children who sleep in the streets, reduced to begging to make a living, are testimony to an unfini shed job. † Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela It is with the above quote from the former South African president and Noble Prize winner, Dr. N. R. Mandela, which LEAP conceptualized and aims to stage FESTIVAL AT THE VILLAGE, also to be known as â€Å"[email  protected]†. The festival aims to be the first of its kind arts festival to cater for the underprivileged youths who are also known as â€Å"homeless children† but currently reside at different places of safety in the North West Province.[email  protected] seeks to be a therapeutic platform where these youths are skilled and integrated back into society. It is a vehicle to be used to identify, train and nourish hidden and/or undiscovered talent while creating possible artistic careers for the targeted market. [email  protected] will also be the first ever arts festival to be staged within a rural community, with the aim of bolstering its local economy as well as making it a tourist destination. Buxton Village, in the Greater Taung Municipality is the ideal identified place with its strategic resources, zoning and accessibility for the staging of [email  protected] ConceptA three months training period starting in April 2013 will culminate into a weekend [3 days] long artistic therapeutic experience, therefore making up the core of [email  protected] – skill and emotional development. Different places of safety in four different regions of the North West Province will be identified and roped in for participation at [email  protected] as part of their rehabilitation programmes. Each home will have three [3] teams covering disciplines of drama, music and dance. LEAP would then assign dramaturges/ facilitators to train and develop these groups in their respective discipline, with different themes attached to each group/home.The different groups based on different themes would then create performance pieces of between 20-30 minutes long with the guidance of their respective facili tators. The facilitators would be accompanied by unemployed social workers [either recent graduates or retired ones] to help with handling potential sensitive material that might be borne out of the workshoping process. It is a well known fact that every child has a secret aspiration of climbing on stage to unleash his/her potential performance dream.Lentswe Arts Projects aims to give voice to the oppressed by staging such a revolutionary concept for expression. Interesting and therapeutic theatre forms like â€Å"Forum theatre† will be used to harness participation at [email  protected] in June 2013. What is Forum Theatre? â€Å"It is a theatrical game in which a problem is shown in an unsolved form, to which the audience (as spect-actors), is invited to suggest and enact solutions. The problem is always the symptom of oppression, and generally involves visible oppressors and a protagonist who is oppressed.In its purest form, both the actors and spect-actors will be peopl e who are victims of the oppression under consideration; that is why they are able to offer alternative solutions, because they themselves are personally acquainted with the oppression. † – Augusto Boal It goes without saying how this type of theatre model would go a long way in helping our targeted children as participants and society at large as audiences to comprehend the type of either emotional or at times physical oppression that perpetuates the ever increasing number of homeless children on our streets.[email  protected]: ? To be an annual therapeutic and edutaining artistic platform. [email  protected] – Objectives: ? Endorse the Department of Social Development’s mandate of developing and implementing an array of programmes that do not only protect South Africans against poverty, but also promote investment in building and strengthening communities and households. ? To be a meaningful vehicle of intergrading our lost children back into society . ? To create jobs for our social workers and artists. ? To use the arts to address the socio-economic challenges and cultural restoration in our communities. To identify and address social ills that result in having children homeless. ? To create possible careers in the arts. ? To have an attracting socially-conscious arts calendar event. ? To align with the Department of Arts and Culture’s Mzansi’s Golden Economy policy of creating a â€Å"more than you can imagine† experience. ? Actualize the Department of Social Development’s value of partnership in working together with civil society, business, academia and the international community. [email  protected] – Implementation Once the financial and physical resources are available, LEAP will develop a detailed implementation plan and set up a strong team to take the project to its realization. The said project team will preferably be consisting of representatives from different stakeholders to ha ve a successful and translucent process. The implementation stages shall mainly begin with the identification of willing participatory children’s homes around the province, followed by assigning of different facilitators to the respective teams/homes. Action Plan PERIOD: 07 January – 02 August 2013 ACTIVITY |DATE |PLACE |OUTCOME | |Pre-production begin |07 January – 29 March 2013 |Mafikeng and Taung |Festival Logistics Plan | |Fieldwork/workshops begin |01 April 2013 |Around NW |Unroll the development process | |Fieldwork/workshops begin |30 June 2013 |Around NW |Have groups ready to | | | | |showcase/compete. |Marketing initiatives commence |10 June 2013 |Around NW |Create project awareness around | | | | |the province. | |Travelling day [Groups] |04 July 2013 |To Buxton |Different homes travel to get to | | | | |the designated area of | | | | |showcasing. |Technical set-up |04 July 2013 |Venues TBC |Have the venues accommodating the| | | | |productions. | |[em ail  protected] Launch |05 July 2013 |Venue TBC |Launch the project to the media | | | | |and public. | |[email  protected] First Day |06 July 2013 |Social Centre |Start showcasing the productions. |Last Day/ Prize Giving |07 July 2013 |Social Centre |End short festival of | | | | |performances and give prizes. | |Travelling day |08 July 2013 |From Buxton |Groups and technicians get back | | | | |home. | |Reporting |02 August 2013 |Mahikeng |Narrative and financial reports | | | | |submitted to the funders. | Project Budget Please see attached[pic]