Extreme body piercing (or modification) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Extreme body piercing (or modification) - Essay Example It was believed that the pharaohs of Egypt were the only one who could pierce their naval and anyone else doing so was punished by death penalty. In the Roman Empire, soldiers and other people got their nipples pierced to show their loyalty towards their king. Julius Caesar also wore nipple ring to show his prowess and his alliance with his soldiers. The nipple ring was a strong link which united the roman soldiers. It was also considered a macho sign signifying vigour and potency. The African and some south Asian tribes have very bizarre traditions and rituals of piercing objects in their body parts as part of their religious ceremonies. Extreme body piercing has often been treated as an expression of penitence in many religious practices of African and South American tribes. Tongue piercing was practiced as an appeasement to God so that His blessings could be obtained for their tribes and general welfare. In ancient Aztecs ‘Aztec and Maya were known for their skills as great warriors and they indulged in septum piercing so that they seemed more ferocious to their enemies’ (internet). In the late sixties, piercing became popular in the west when the hippies started piercing their nose, ears and naval and adorning them with jewelleries. Later the members of gay communities pierced their one ear and started wearing earrings as a way of declaring their sexual preference. This was followed by punk cultures of the seventies for whom piercing their body parts and wearing jewellery was seen as a sign of rebellion. The punks took the body piercing from the conventional to the extreme by piercing their tongues, cheeks and other body parts. Today, piercing of body parts has become a popular way of flaunting not only their bodies but their intent of purpose of declaring their bizarre sexual preferences and profound body experiences bordering on obsession. Body

Management in Middle East and North Africa Essay

Management in Middle East and North Africa - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the service industry is the fastest growing segment in the world and is the highest contributor to global output and employment among all the global business sectors. The increase in the level of privatization and urbanization along with more demand for final and intermediate consumer services have been the major drivers of the increasing importance of the global service sector. The availability of high quality of services is critical for the overall development of an economy. In the developed economies, the growth of both primary and secondary sectors is based on the growth of the main industries in the service sector like banking, trade, tourism, entertainment, education, insurance, hospitality, transport, retail etc. Both developed and developing countries are focusing on setting up a profitable and sustainable services sector in order to remain competitive in the evolving economic world. The changing demands and preferences of the global consumers have made service industry a necessity as well as an opportunity for different countries in order to develop their economies and position themselves as strong nations in the world. The increasing number and levels of cross-border transactions driven by globalization and liberalization have increased the demand for highly functional and beneficial service industries in different countries. The countries in the Middle East are competing on a global level through effective innovation and impotence given to the services sectors in these countries. The Middle Eastern countries like Qatar and Morocco have identified the importance of developing their service sectors to maintain sustainability in the evolving global world. The North African countries like Lebanon are seeing an increase in the investments and trade practices. The North African countries are developing after the advent of globalization. In this respect, they are focusing on improving the service sectors in the regions. Unlike ot her economies, Lebanon does not focus on a wide array of service industries. The country thrives mainly on commerce, tourism, and banking industries in the services sector. Morocco and Qatar, on the other hand, have multiple high performing industries in their services sector. International trade is a major service sector in Lebanon whereas other service industries like Information technology, retail, and utilities have not been established stringy in the country.

African American Culture Essay Example for Free

African American Culture Essay African American culture in the United States includes the various cultural traditions of African ethnic groups. It is both part of and distinct from American culture. The U. S. Census Bureau defines African Americans as people having origins in any of the Black race groups of Africa. [1] African American culture is indigenous to the descendants in the U. S. of survivors of the Middle Passage. It is rooted in Africa and is an amalgam of chiefly sub-Saharan African and Sahelean cultures. Although slavery greatly restricted the ability of Africans in America to practice their cultural traditions, many practices, values and beliefs survived and over time have incorporated elements of European American culture. There are even certain facets of African American culture that were brought into being or made more prominent as a result of slavery; an example of this is how drumming became used as a means of communication and establishing a community identity during that time. The result is a dynamic, creative culture that has had and continues to have a profound impact on mainstream American culture and on world culture as well. After Emancipation, these uniquely African American traditions continued to grow. They developed into distinctive traditions in music, art, literature, religion, food, holidays, amongst others. While for some time sociologists, such as Gunnar Myrdal and Patrick Moynihan, believed that African Americans had lost most cultural ties with Africa, anthropological field research by Melville Hersovits and others demonstrated that there is a continuum of African traditions among Africans in the New World from the West Indies to the United States. The greatest influence of African cultural practices on European cultures is found below the Mason-Dixon in the southeastern United States, especially in the Carolinas among the Gullah people and in Louisiana. African American culture often developed separately from mainstream American culture because of African Americans desire to practice their own traditions, as well as the persistence of racial segregation in America. Consequently African American culture has become a significant part of American culture and yet, at the same time, remains a distinct culture apart from it. History From the earliest days of slavery, slave owners sought to exercise control over their slaves by attempting to strip them of their African culture. The physical isolation and societal marginalization of African slaves and, later, of their free progeny, however, actually facilitated the retention of significant elements of traditional culture among Africans in the New World generally, and in the U. S. in particular. Slave owners deliberately tried to repress political organization in order to deal with the many slave rebellions that took place in the southern United States, Brazil, Haiti, and the Dutch Guyanas. African cultures,slavery,slave rebellions,and the civil rights movements(circa 1800s-160s)have shaped African American religious, familial, political and economic behaviors. The imprint of Africa is evident in myriad ways, in politics, economics, language, music, hairstyles, fashion, dance, religion and worldview, and food preparation methods. In the United States, the very legislation that was designed to strip slaves of culture and deny them education served in many ways to strengthen it. In turn, African American culture has had a pervasive, transformative impact on myriad elements of mainstream American culture, among them language, music, dance, religion, cuisine, and agriculture. This process of mutual creative exchange is called creolization. Over time, the culture of African slaves and their descendants has been ubiquitous in its impact on not only the dominant American culture, but on world culture as well. Oral tradition Slaveholders limited or prohibited education of enslaved African Americans because they believed it might lead to revolts or escape plans. Hence, African-based oral traditions became the primary means of preserving history, morals, and other cultural information among the people. This was consistent with the griot practices of oral history in many African and other cultures that did not rely on the written word. Many of these cultural elements have been passed from generation to generation through storytelling. The folktales provided African Americans the opportunity to inspire and educate one another. Examples of African American folktales include trickster tales of Brer Rabbit and heroic tales such as that of John Henry. The Uncle Remus stories by Joel Chandler Harris helped to bring African American folk tales into mainstream adoption. Harris did not appreciate the complexity of the stories nor their potential for a lasting impact on society. Characteristics of the African American oral tradition present themselves in a number of forms. African American preachers tend to perform rather than simply speak. The emotion of the subject is carried through the speakers tone, volume, and movement, which tend to mirror the rising action, climax, and descending action of the sermon. Often song, dance, verse and structured pauses are placed throughout the sermon. Techniques such as call-and-response are used to bring the audience into the presentation. In direct contrast to recent tradition in other American and Western cultures, it is an acceptable and common audience reaction to interrupt and affirm the speaker. Spoken word is another example of how the African American oral tradition influences modern American popular culture. Spoken word artists employ the same techniques as African American preachers including movement, rhythm, and audience participation. Rap music from the 1980s and beyond has been seen as an extension of oral culture. Harlem Renaissance [pic] Zora Neale Hurston was a prominent literary figure during the Harlem Renaissance. Main article: Harlem Renaissance The first major public recognition of African American culture occurred during the Harlem Renaissance. In the 1920s and 1930s, African American music, literature, and art gained wide notice. Authors such as Zora Neale Hurston and Nella Larsen and poets such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, and Countee Cullen wrote works describing the African American experience. Jazz, swing, blues and other musical forms entered American popular music. African American artists such as William H. Johnson and Palmer Hayden created unique works of art featuring African Americans. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time of increased political involvement for African Americans. Among the notable African American political movements founded in the early 20th century are the United Negro Improvement Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Nation of Islam, a notable Islamic religious movement, also began in the early 1930s. African American cultural movement The Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s followed in the wake of the non-violent American Civil Rights Movement. The movement promoted racial pride and ethnic cohesion in contrast to the focus on integration of the Civil Rights Movement, and adopted a more militant posture in the face of racism. It also inspired a new renaissance in African American literary and artistic expression generally referred to as the African American or Black Arts Movement. The works of popular recording artists such as Nina Simone (Young, Gifted and Black) and The Impressions (Keep On Pushin), as well as the poetry, fine arts and literature of the time, shaped and reflected the growing racial and political consciousness. Among the most prominent writers of the African American Arts Movement were poet Nikki Giovanni; poet and publisher Don L. Lee, who later became known as Haki Madhubuti; poet and playwright Leroi Jones, later known as Amiri Baraka; and Sonia Sanchez. Other influential writers were Ed Bullins, Dudley Randall, Mari Evans, June Jordan, Larry Neal and Ahmos Zu-Bolton. Another major aspect of the African American Arts Movement was the infusion of the African aesthetic, a return to a collective cultural sensibility and ethnic pride that was much in evidence during the Harlem Renaissance and in the celebration of Negritude among the artistic and literary circles in the U. S. , Caribbean and the African continent nearly four decades earlier: the idea that black is beautiful. During this time, there was a resurgence of interest in, and an embrace of, elements of African culture within African American culture that had been suppressed or devalued to conform to Eurocentric America. Natural hairstyles, such as the afro, and African clothing, such as the dashiki, gained popularity. More importantly, the African American aesthetic encouraged personal pride and political awareness among African Americans. Music [pic] Men playing the djembe, a traditional West African drum adopted into African American and American culture. The bags and the clothing of the man on the right are printed with traditional kente cloth patterns. African American music is rooted in the typically polyrhythmic music of the ethnic groups of Africa, specifically those in the Western, Sahelean, and Sub-Saharan regions. African oral traditions, nurtured in slavery, encouraged the use of music to pass on history, teach lessons, ease suffering, and relay messages. The African pedigree of African American music is evident in some common elements: call and response, syncopation, percussion, improvisation, swung notes, blue notes, the use of falsetto, melisma, and complex multi-part harmony. During slavery, Africans in America blended traditional European hymns with African elements to create spirituals. Many African Americans sing Lift Evry Voice and Sing in addition to the American national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner, or in lieu of it. Written by James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson in 1900 to be performed for the birthday of Abraham Lincoln, the song was, and continues to be, a popular way for African Americans to recall past struggles and express ethnic solidarity, faith and hope for the future. The song was adopted as the Negro National Anthem by the NAACP in 1919. African American children are taught the song at school, church or by their families. Lift Evry Voice and Sing traditionally is sung immediately following, or instead of, The Star-Spangled Banner at events hosted by African American churches, schools, and other organizations. In the 1800s, as the result of the blackface minstrel show, African American music entered mainstream American society. By the early twentieth century, several musical forms with origins in the African American community had transformed American popular music. Aided by the technological innovations of radio and phonograph records, ragtime, jazz, blues, and swing also became popular overseas, and the 1920s became known as the Jazz Age. The early 20th century also saw the creation of the first African American Broadway shows, films such as King Vidors Hallelujah!, and operas such as George Gershwins Porgy and Bess. Rock and roll, doo wop, soul, and RB developed in the mid 20th century. These genres became very popular in white audiences and were influences for other genres such as surf. The dozens, an urban African American tradition of using rhyming slang to put down your enemies (or friends) developed through the smart-ass street jive of the early Seventies into a new form of music. In the South Bronx, the half speaking, half singing rhythmic street talk of rapping grew into the hugely successful cultural force known as Hip Hop. Hip Hop would become a multicultural movement. However, it is still important to many African Americans. The African American Cultural Movement of the 1960s and 1970s also fueled the growth of funk and later hip-hop forms such as rap, hip house, new jack swing and go go. African American music has experienced far more widespread acceptance in American popular music in the 21st century than ever before. In addition to continuing to develop newer musical forms, modern artists have also started a rebirth of older genres in the form of genres such as neo soul and modern funk-inspired groups. Dance [pic] The Cakewalk was the first African American dance to gain widespread popularity in the United States. [pic] African American dance, like other aspects of African American culture, finds its earliest roots in the dances of the hundreds of African ethnic groups that made up African slaves in the Americas as well as influences from European sources in the United States. Dance in the African tradition, and thus in the tradition of slaves, was a part of both every day life and special occasions. Many of these traditions such as get down, ring shouts, and other elements of African body language survive as elements of modern dance. In the 1800s, African American dance began to appear in minstrel shows. These shows often presented African Americans as caricatures for ridicule to large audiences. The first African American dance to become popular with White dancers was the cakewalk in 1891. Later dances to follow in this tradition include the Charleston, the Lindy Hop, and the Jitterbug. During the Harlem Renaissance, all African American Broadway shows such as Shuffle Along helped to establish and legitimize African American dancers. African American dance forms such as tap, a combination of African and European influences, gained widespread popularity thanks to dancers such as Bill Robinson and were used by leading White choreographers who often hired African American dancers. Contemporary African American dance is descended from these earlier forms and also draws influence from African and Caribbean dance forms. Groups such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater have continued to contribute to the growth of this form. Modern popular dance in America is also greatly influenced by African American dance. American popular dance has also drawn many influences from African American dance most notably in the hip hop genre. Art [pic] Sand Dunes at Sunset, Atlantic City by Henry Ossawa Tanner 1859-1937 From its early origins in slave communities, through the end of the twentieth century, African-American art has made a vital contribution to the art of the United States. During the period between the 1600s and the early 1800s, art took the form of small drums, quilts, wrought-iron figures and ceramic vessels in the southern United States. These artifacts have similarities with comparable crafts in West and Central Africa. In contrast, African American artisans like the New England–based engraver Scipio Moorhead and the Baltimore portrait painter Joshua Johnson created art that was conceived in a thoroughly western European fashion. During the 1800s, Harriet Powers made quilts in rural Georgia, United States that are now considered among the finest examples of nineteenth-century Southern quilting. Later in the 20th century, the women of Gee’s Bend developed a distinctive, bold, and sophisticated quilting style based on traditional African American quilts with a geometric simplicity that developed separately but was like that of Amish quilts and modern art. After the American Civil War, museums and galleries began more frequently to display the work of African American artists. Cultural expression in mainstream venues was still limited by the dominant European aesthetic and by racial prejudice. To increase the visibility of their work, many African American artists traveled to Europe where they had greater freedom. It was not until the Harlem Renaissance that more whites began to pay attention to African American art in America. [pic] Kara Walker, Cut, Cut paper and adhesive on wall, Brent Sikkema NYC. During the 1920s, artists such as Raymond Barthe, Aaron Douglas, Augusta Savage, and photographer James Van Der Zee became well known for their work. During the Great Depression, new opportunities arose for these and other African American artists under the WPA. In later years, other programs and institutions, such as the New York City-based Harmon Foundation, helped to foster African American artistic talent. Augusta Savage, Elizabeth Catlett, Lois Mailou Jones, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and others exhibited in museums and juried art shows, and built reputations and followings for themselves. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were very few widely accepted African American artists. Despite this, The Highwaymen, a loose association of 27 African American artists from Ft. Pierce, Florida, created idyllic, quickly realized images of the Florida landscape and peddled some 50,000 of them from the trunks of their cars. They sold their art directly to the public rather than through galleries and art agents, thus receiving the name The Highwaymen. Rediscovered in the mid-1990s, today they are recognized as an important part of American folk history. Their artwork is widely collected by enthusiasts and original pieces can easily fetch thousands of dollars in auctions and sales. The Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 1970s was another period of resurgent interest in African American art. During this period, several African-American artists gained national prominence, among them Lou Stovall, Ed Love, Charles White, and Jeff Donaldson. Donaldson and a group of African-American artists formed the Afrocentric collective AFRICOBRA, which remains in existence today. The sculptor Martin Puryear, whose work has been acclaimed for years, is being honored with a 30-year retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York starting November 2007. Notable contemporary African American artists include David Hammons, Eugene J. Martin, Charles Tolliver, and Kara Walker. Literature [pic] Langston Hughes, a notable African American poet of the Harlem Renaissance. African American literature has its roots in the oral traditions of African slaves in America. The slaves used stories and fables in much the same way as they used music. These stories influenced the earliest African American writers and poets in the 18thcentury such as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano. These authors reached early high points by telling slave narratives. During the early 20th century Harlem Renaissance, numerous authors and poets, such as Langston Hughes, W. E. B. Dubois, and Booker T. Washington, grappled with how to respond to discrimination in America. Authors during the Civil Rights era, such as Richard Wright, James Baldwin and Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about issues of racial segregation, oppression and other aspects of African American life. This tradition continues today with authors who have been accepted as an integral part of American literature, with works such as Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley, The Color Purple by Alice Walker, and Beloved by Nobel Prize-winning Toni Morrison, and series by Octavia Butler and Walter Mosley that have achieved both best-selling and/or award-winning status. Museums The African American Museum Movement emerged during the 1950s and 1960s to preserve the heritage of the African American experience and to ensure its proper interpretation in American history. Museums devoted to African American history are found in many African American neighborhoods. Institutions such as the African American Museum and Library at Oakland and The African American Museum in Cleveland were created by African Americans to teach and investigate cultural history that, until recent decades was primarily preserved trough oral traditions. Language Generations of hardships imposed on the African American community created distinctive language patterns. Slave owners often intentionally mixed people who spoke different African languages to discourage communication in any language other than English. This, combined with prohibitions against education, led to the development of pidgins, simplified mixtures of two or more languages that speakers of different languages could use to communicate. Examples of pidgins that became fully developed languages include Creole, common to Haiti,and Gullah, common to the Sea Islands off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia. African American Vernacular English is a type variety (dialect, ethnolect and sociolect) of the American English language closely associated with the speech of but not exclusive to African Americans. While AAVE is academically considered a legitimate dialect because of its logical structure, some of both Caucasians and African Americans consider it slang or the result of a poor command of Standard American English. Inner city African American children who are isolated by speaking only AAVE have more difficulty with standardized testing and, after school, moving to the mainstream world for work. It is common for many speakers of AAVE to code switch between AAVE and Standard American English depending on the setting. Fashion and aesthetics [pic]. A man weaving kente cloth in Ghana. Attire The cultural explosion of the 1960s saw the incorporation of surviving cultural dress with elements from modern fashion and West African traditional clothing to create a uniquely African American traditional style. Kente cloth is the best known African textile. These festive woven patterns, which exist in numerous varieties, were originally made by the Ashanti and Ewe peoples of Ghana and Togo. Kente fabric also appears in a number of Western style fashions ranging from casual t-shirts to formal bow ties and cummerbunds. Kente strips are often sewn into liturgical and academic robes or worn as stoles. Since the Black Arts Movement, traditional African clothing has been popular amongst African Americans for both formal and informal occasions. Another common aspect of fashion in African American culture involves the appropriate dress for worship in the Black church. It is expected in most churches that an individual should present their best appearance for worship. African American women in particular are known for wearing vibrant dresses and suits. An interpretation of a passage from the Christian Bible, every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head , has led to the tradition of wearing elaborate Sunday hats, sometimes known as crowns. Hair Hair styling in African American culture is greatly varied. African American hair is typically composed of tightly coiled curls. The predominant styles for women involve the straightening of the hair through the application of heat or chemical processes. These treatments form the base for the most commonly socially acceptable hairstyles in the United States. Alternatively, the predominant and most socially acceptable practice for men is to leave ones hair natural. Often, as men age and begin to lose their hair, the hair is either closely cropped, or the head is shaved completely free of hair. However, since the 1960s, natural hairstyles, such as the afro, braids, and dreadlocks, have been growing in popularity. Although the association with radical political movements and their vast difference from mainstream Western hairstyles, the styles have not yet attained widespread social acceptance. Maintaining facial hair is more prevalent among African American men than in other male populations in the U. S. In fact, the soul patch is so named because African American men, particularly jazz musicians, popularized the style. The preference for facial hair among African American men is due partly to personal taste, but because they are more prone than other ethnic groups to develop a condition known as pseudofolliculitis barbae, commonly referred to as razor bumps, many prefer not to shave. Body image The European aesthetic and attendant mainstream concepts of beauty are often at odds with the African body form. Because of this, African American women often find themselves under pressure to conform to European standards of beauty. Still, there are individuals and groups who are working towards raising the standing of the African aesthetic among African Americans and internationally as well. This includes efforts toward promoting as models those with clearly defined African features; the mainstreaming of natural hairstyles; and, in women, fuller, more voluptuous body types. Religion While African Americans practice a number of religions, Protestant Christianity is by far the most popular. Additionally, 14% of Muslims in the United States and Canada are African American. Christianity [pic] A river baptism in New Bern, North Carolina near the turn of the 20th century. The religious institutions of African American Christians commonly are referred tocollectively as the black church. During slavery, many slaves were stripped of their African belief systems and typically denied free religious practice. Slaves managed, however, to hang on to some practices by integrating them into Christian worship in secret meetings. These practices, including dance, shouts, African rhythms, and enthusiastic singing, remain a large part of worship in the African American church. African American churches taught that all people were equal in Gods eyes and viewed the doctrine of obedience to ones master taught in white churches as hypocritical. Instead the African American church focused on the message of equality and hopes for a better future. Before and after emancipation, racial segregation in America prompted the development of organized African American denominations. The first of these was the AME Church founded by Richard Allen in 1787. An African American church is not necessarily a separate denomination. Several predominantly African American churches exist as members of predominantly white denominations. African American churches have served to provide African American people with leadership positions and opportunities to organize that were denied in mainstream American society. Because of this, African American pastors became the bridge between the African American and European American communities and thus played a crucial role in the American Civil Rights Movement. Like many Christians, African American Christians sometimes participate in or attend a Christmas play. Black Nativity by Langston Hughes is a re-telling of the classic Nativity story with gospel music. Productions can be found a African American theaters and churches all over the country. Islam [pic] A member of the Nation of Islam selling merchandise on a city street corner. Despite the popular assumption that the Nation represents all or most African American Muslims, less than 2% are members. Generations before the advent of the Atlantic slave trade, Islam was a thriving religion in West Africa due to its peaceful introduction via the lucrative trans-Saharan trade between prominent tribes in the southern Sahara and the Berbers to the North. In his attesting to this fact the West African scholar Cheikh Anta Diop explained: The primary reason for the success of Islam in Black Africa consequently stems from the fact that it was propagated peacefully at first by solitary Arabo-Berber travelers to certain Black kings and notables, who then spread it about them to those under their jurisdiction Many first-generation slaves were often able to retain their Muslim identity, their descendants were not. Slaves were either forcibly converted to Christianity as was the case in the Catholic lands or were besieged with gross inconviences to their religious practice such as in the case of the Protestant American mainland. In the decades after slavery and particularly during the depression era, Islam reemerged in the form of highly visible and sometimes controversial heterodox movements in the African American community. The first of these of note was the Moorish Science Temple of America, founded by Noble Drew Ali. Ali had a profound influence on Wallace Fard, who later founded the Black nationalist Nation of Islam in 1930. Elijah Muhammad became head of the organization in 1934. Much like Malcolm X, who left the Nation of Islam in 1964, many African American Muslims now follow traditional Islam. A survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations shows that 30% of Sunni Mosque attendees are African Americans. African American orthodox Muslims are often the victims of stereotypes, most notably the assumption that an African American Muslim is a member of the Nation of Islam. They are often viewed by the uneducated African-American community in general as less authentic than Muslims from the Middle East or South Asia while credibility is less of an issue with immigrant Muslims and Muslim world in general. Other religions. Aside from Christianity and Islam, there are also African Americans who follow Judaism, Buddhism, and a number of other religions. The Black Hebrew Israelites are a collection of African American Jewish religious organizations. Among their varied teachings, they often include that African Americans are descended from the Biblical Hebrews (sometimes with the paradoxical claim that the Jewish people are not). There is a small but growing number of African Americans who participate in African traditional religions, such as Vodou and Santeria or Ifa and diasporic traditions like Rastafarianism. Many of them are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from the Caribbean and South America, where these are practiced. Because of religious practices, such as animal sacrifice, which are no longer common among American religions and are often legally prohibited, these groups may be viewed negatively and are sometimes the victims of harassment. Life events For most African Americans, the observance of life events follows the pattern of mainstream American culture. There are some traditions which are unique to African Americans. Some African Americans have created new rites of passage that are linked to African traditions. Pre-teen and teenage boys and girls take classes to prepare them for adulthood. They are typically taught spirituality, responsibility, and leadership. Most of these programs are modeled after traditional African ceremonies, with the focus largely on embracing African ideologies rather than specific rituals. To this day, some African American couples choose to jump the broom as a part of their wedding ceremony. Although the practice, which can be traced back to Ghana, fell out of favor in the African American community after the end of slavery, it has experienced a slight resurgence in recent years as some couples seek to reaffirm their African heritage. Funeral traditions tend to vary based on a number of factors, including religion and location, but there are a number of commonalities. Probably the most important part of death and dying in the African American culture is the gathering of family and friends. Either in the last days before death or shortly after death, typically any friends and family members that can be reached are notified. This gathering helps to provide spiritual and emotional support, as well as assistance in making decisions and accomplishing everyday tasks. The spirituality of death is very important in African American culture. A member of the clergy or members of the religious community, or both, are typically present with the family through the entire process. Death is often viewed as transitory rather than final. Many services are called homegoings, instead of funerals, based on the belief that the person is going home to the afterlife. The entire end of life process is generally treated as a celebration of life rather than a mourning of loss. This is most notably demonstrated in the New Orleans Jazz Funeral tradition where upbeat music, dancing, and food encourage those gathered to be happy and celebrate the homegoing of a beloved friend. Cuisine [pic] A traditional soul food dinner consisting of fried chicken, candied yams, collard greens, cornbread, and macaroni and cheese. The cultivation and use of many agricultural products in the United States, such as yams, peanuts, rice, okra, sorghum, grits, watermelon, indigo dyes, and cotton, can be traced to African influences. African American foods reflect creative responses to racial and economic oppression and poverty. Under slavery, African Americans were not allowed to eat better cuts of meat, and after emancipation many often were too poor to afford them. Soul food, a hearty cuisine commonly associated with African Americans in the South (but also common to African Americans nationwide), makes cre.

Types Of Securitization Instruments Finance Essay

Types Of Securitization Instruments Finance Essay Securitization defined as process by which loan is made into tradable security. It becomes tradable security when against it any negotiable instrument or bill of exchange is issued which is backed by the loan or receivables Securitization generally refers to the sale of assets, which generate cash flows, from the institution that owns them, to another company that has been specifically set up for the purpose, and the issuing of notes by this second company. These notes are backed by the cash flows from the original assets. The institution is called originator which issues the the same and own the assets backed by it. Another party to it is Special Purpose Vehicle which purchases the assets and that generate cash flows. The special purpose vehicle will hold the assets that are sold by originator to SPV as collateral which are later sold to investors. Structure of Securitization : The receiver of high net worth receivables sell them to specially formed company named Special Purpose Vehicle and it sells the same to other investors as sale mode transaction against the collateral of receivables. The SPV provides the security to investors in the process by issuing special note or bond or borrowing from bank as security to investor. The SPV pays the servicing fee to it and authorizes the originator to collect funds on behalf of special purpose entity which is used to pay the principal and cost of it for the funded loan. The proceeds are latter invested to earn return. The SPV is not the subsdiary of origniatory thus it is not the company whose shares are held by originator but the charitable trustee or any other than originator. To ensure the recieavles will be sufficient to repay the amount owed to investors on time, other arranegments are made to ensure sufficient liquidity in the process like Credit Enhancement or guarantee by third party or subordinated loan Rating agency often rates the note receivables or the process.The higher the rating, the higher would be funds obtainable. The SPV that generates the income through additional money earned through recieavles to originator to earn profit. SPV pays the same to originator as the fees Below is a figure which perfectly complements our summary: The originator is very important element of this process because it can be real person or legal one which basically initiates the process by sorting out the assets which are to be securitized against the same. Motives for Securitization: Advantages to issuer Funding cost: Depending upon the rating of the fund, cost of fund is charged at low. For Instance a cash flow is rated AA and second one is rated BB , the one with AA ratting will be charged lower than the latter one. Reduces  asset-liability mismatch: From the financial funding exposure point of view , securization offers great opportunity to elimate the issue of duration and pricing concerns at large.Securization offers high cost saver to issuer. For instance banks can utilize it efficiently because they have a large amounts of recievales and collaterials as securities thus they can issue securities backed by these assets and let them to be self funded asset book. Lower  capital  requirements: There are very stiff requirements of the regulatory and legal pertaining to leverage capitalization. The recieavles and assets under securization will considered earning assets and thus removing from balance sheets for accounting purpose. Profit: Given the fact that the specific business block for whose profit is not certain or not yet emerged then the assets of those can be securitized and immediate cash flow can be realized and thus locked in profit for this block results. Transfer of risk:  Securitization process makes it easy to transfer the credit, liquidity reinvestment easy to transfer to those who accept it on condition to receive profit. Off balance sheet: Securitization as implied by derivates which are referred as off balance sheet items which classifiy the same as zero sum impact on balance sheet. There is general requirement internationally that records the derivatives at fair value in the financial statements i.e Balance sheet. Earnings: Securitization makes the oringinator capable to bounce back without addition to the firm whereas the true sale takes place between the orginiatory and special purpose entity.It is to highlight that the earnings of the SPV increase the wealth with parent company. Admissibility of bad debt: Future cash flows may not result in perfect recovery because there is also some bad debt in the receivables. Securitization thus makes it possible to get the immediately cash against those too in advance. Liquidity: Securitization simply provides you the future cash flow now thus increasing the liquidity with the company.Thus it will be available with the company to spend and make investment from the same amount thereby increasing the reinvestment return Disadvantages to issuer May reduce portfolio quality: If the AAA risks, for example, are being securitized out, this would leave a materially worse quality of residual risk. Costs:There are costs involved in the securization process raning from legal fees, system cot, rating cost, underwriting fees and administrative cost. Size limitations: It involves huge amount of funds to structure the same to be efficient if otherwise the funds are less then the process with lesser funds. Risks: It is structured transaction thus it is vulnerable to risks such as prepayment, credit loss and reinvestment Advantages to investors A chance to earn higher rate of return It usually involves high quality assets back because there are very stiff requirements for securitization process, such as attaining high ratings, maintaining liquidity and diversified portfolio. Portfolio  diversification: It is worth narrating here that large institutional investors and corporate investors tend to invest in the securitized funds because returns from their this investment is not related to their equity or bond side investment due to un-correlation between the investment portfolio in the market. Isolation of credit risk from the parent entity: Securitization process desegregate the parent and SPV rating. Regardless the companys rating; SPV may be issued separate rating. Suppose the banks rating is not good but the portfolio of borrower of bank is of high quality thus there are less chances of default of the same and investors in securitized asset are more willing to have them in their portfolio. Risks to investors Liquidity risk(Credit/default) Defualt risk meant inability of borrower to repay the principal and interest payment on due period of time. An indicator of securitys high risk is its credit rating or credit worthiness. High risky portfolio of borrowers receives lower ratting then those of ones with less risky portfolio. Prepayment/reinvestment/early amortization: The securitized assets are always prone to early amortization and reinvestment risk. These risks arises out of huge payouts of the borrowers thus causing premature confession of liability and affecting the rate of return. This also affects the gap between the spread that bank pays and collects from borrowers and investors respectively. Contractual agreements: It is generally perceived that the manager who deals with investors and quote the rate which is solely dependent upon the performance of the underlying asset. Now question arises if the underlying assets become risky from the investors perspective i.e default ratio or high bad debt ratio then the price of portfolio. Types of Securitization Instruments Pass Through Securities: PTS is also called Participation Certificate because it bears ownership of the investors in the underlying asset. The amount received on account of the period payments including principal and interest payment which is collected by SPV and is passed on to the investors. Tranched Securities: In this type of security, the amount received as cash flows in tranches and the same is received as first priority with subsequent payments in latter tranches. Planned Amortization (PAC) Tranches: It is a type of security in which sinking fund is created which controls the prepayments that are beyond the limit thus ensures the stability of cash flows. This offers lower yields while comparing them with those without sinking fund. Z-Tranches or Accretion Bonds: In this type of security, interest payment is not paid in the period in which accrued interest is higher in lock out period. Once the period is over, it starts paying out the interest payments and principal. Principal Only (PO) Securities: These type of securities are issued on discount such as T-Bills. Thereof investors receive their principal in installments. The bonds are issued at huge discount rate and thus remaining amount is paid till the differential payment is made till the face value. Interest Only (IO) Securities: These type of securities have no any specific face value thus they offer only interest components to the investors while cash flows diminishes and is repaid. Floater and Inverse Floater Securities: They are securities which pay interest payments which is dependent upon the performance of any index or benchmark i.e Kibor. Floater and Inverse floater are two opposite type of securities. In Floater, the interest payment moves in exactly the same direction as benchmark rate moves and opposite is true for Inverse Floater securities. Types of Securitization Structures There are several types of Securitization structures: type of securitization structures include: Cash vs. Synthetic Structures: Cash structure is the worlds most followed structure in this field of specialization. In cash Structure, originator sell its assets in exchange of cash immediately. In Synthetic structure, the originator keeps the title with itself and investment is unaffected on the assets. In simple words, he does not put their assets on sale rather the risk/reward is merely transferred being derivative transaction. True sale and Secured Loan Structure: In true sale structure, originator sale the assets in true sprit which involve transfer of title and legal interest in the assets. In SLS, issuer takes the secured lending as loan. Fixed and floating charges are issued to investors to protect their stake and rights over the undertaking of issuer and trustee is empowered to take the possession of assets. Pass Through vs. Collateral Structure: The SPV issues participation certificates to investors that represent the direct participation of them thus they are exposed to performance of assets. Investors receive return when there is any cash generation from those assets and so is true for risk involved in these assets.To mitigate the risk of delay payment credit enhancement is opted. Pay through/Collateralized mortagge obligation(CMO) is another name of collateral structure in which SPV keeps the assets with it whereas charge is given to investors only not the assets. The special purpose entity issues the debt against those assets which are transferred by issuer. Discreet Trust vs. Master Trust: It is a type of structure in which Special purpose vehicle identifies a specificil pool of assets for investors to participates and thereby earn from cash flow pool thus it is called discreet. While Master trust is creation of larger fund backed by many pools which are transferred for several investors in which funds raised are not greater than the assets transferred this also covers the repayemtn structural and tenure issue to reciprocate. Conduit vs. Standalone Transactions: In this type of structure the purchaser or originator collects the assets from different orignators and keeping them backed to debt he issues commericial paper. It is for short term duration and thus it requires short term financing frm the banks. In stand alone strucute, the conduit sources the assets from single originator thus securities are issued keeping in view the maturity of asset pool. ISLAMIC SECURITIZATION Islamic securitization can best be defined as process which satisfy the conventional asset backed securitization and parallel adherence to Islamic laws of economic finance.The rights of cash flows are transferred to SPV from originator thereby issue notes to investors as sold. In this system, SPV becomes the trust and thus holds the assets in capacity of fund manager. The security issued through Islamic securitization is called Sukuk in official terms which is issued by SPV and the income is derived from the funds being received against the funds hold as underlying asset. Islamic finance encourages dealing in assets not the cash as commodity, therefore it is permissible under Islamic finance to securitize the assets provided they adhere to the guidelines of Islamic Finance. The theme is that Islamic securitization can replicate the process of conventional securitization with joint supervision of Shariha and Fund manager.If any thing which is not in compliance to Islamic law then regardless if the process is crystal clear, the securitization stands null and void in the eyes of Shariha. For example, if underlying assets are credit cards and conventional mortgages and income from them will be shared with investors soon shall it realized, the process is null as credit cards income do not comply with Shariha because it has interest bearing instruments attached with it. If investors are investing in assets then the ownership of the same be transferred to them too if it has to comply with Shariha guidelines.It must be noted that transfer of title to assets is not necessary or compulsory but the rights to collect them, access them and right to know them is given to investors that justifies the shariha rules. Investors are supposed to bear risk of loss and profit to underlying asset as they are enterning into ownership contract. Adapting the Principles of Islamic Finance to Securitization Islamic securitization requires two stage evaluation.Firstly Shariha compliance of assets/portfolio and returns from the same, secondly the structure of transaction which includes credit enhancement and liquidity management. The first standing principle is simple Islamic securitization in no way accepts the income that involves interest bearing. It has to be structured in such a way that the investors are exposed to some sort of business risk in relation to their share in investment. Therefore it is made compulsory for the investors that the return must be commensurate to the risk they bear. Islam disallow debt trading, management of prepayment risk and other conventional tools which can cause customers who are income only-centered not to invest with them. Shariha requires procedural and objective evaluation of securitization process to carry on process and prohibits elements of gharar, interest, haram and encourages real economic participation with mutual risk sharing, profit sharing and benefit of entire society. Securitiziation has to adhere to following princples of Islam to be shariha compliant: The purpose of raising funds through securitization must be genuine as not to defraud the investors. And the assets which are under lying in the process must be clearly identifiable and revenue from them must be separable from those which are not under umbrella of securitization. The assets under consideration must not be consumable. Each investor must receiver their share commensurate to their share of investment and risk exposure in the assets. Therefore if assets earn profit, that is sharable other wise you can not fix the rate of return on their investment. The security must not be backed bu the debt or prohibited activity as prohibited by Shariha. It must not be involved in any kind of haram, unethical or exploitation of natural resources with or without non-productive investment The transaction must involve the risk factor and not just the mere return. It must involve compensation for the investor and exposure to risk in the assets under securitization.It must not hold debt as underling security and mere exchange of money and interest on that. It means transaction must not be mere debt and risk free exchange of return. Investors must hold unsecured payment obligation and that be unconditional investment. The principal cannot be guaranteed that the same will be redeemed in full or in part. Investors must be given hand in the ownership of underlying assets The proceeds from investors can not be invested in cash based instruments or interest bearing notes. Without any exception, even the return from that can not be reinvested in any short term cash based instruments or interest based debts(bonds). The turnover must be kept low to avoid any un-utilization of assets.Speculation of underlying assets and payment obligation is to be prohibited without any exception. Islamic takaful should be sought instead of conventional insurance for the credit enhancemenet and liquidity management. There must be Transfer of ownership and direct participation in the assets Exclusive linkage between the cash flows and underlying asset has to be developed. Islamic scholars are of view that credit enhancement be allowed on condition that does not change the over all structure of securitization process. In conventional securitization there is tranche subordination which is not allowed in Islamic law but there is option in Islamic Law the lease-buyback(Ijaraha) transaction. The issuer gives partial ownership rights of underlying assets to investors with respect to risk exposure of their investment in the portfolio thereby leasing back the same in exchange for fixed rental payments which is conditional on repurchasing the portfolio at already specified price on future date. This covers the reinvestment risk of the portfolio. Islamic finance ruled out that interest bear financing instruments are allowed on the basis of partnership not on interest bassis. The point is to refute the concept of interest in all the ways. It is creation of sukuk which shows evidence of ownership on assets i.e tangible and intangilble, fixed or revolving what ever they be but must be productive cash flows within finite period of time. Structure of Islamic Securitization There are following parties involved in the Islamic securitization transaction process. The Originator: It is the issuer of sukuk and is authorized to use the funds against selling of assets to SPV. It may delegate any other institutuons to carry on the issue as under writer. SPV: It is referred as Issuer of the securitization issue. It is entitity established to manage issue and purchases the assets from originator from the funds thereby issuing sukuk. Investment banks: They are agents and underwriters of the sukuk. They manage to raise funds on commission only base. Subscribers of Sukuk : They can be like any thing for instance banks, non financial institutions who basically invests in the sukuk. In its basic concept, originators would sell existing or future revenues from lease receivables (asset-based), sale-back profit (debt-based) or private equity from a portfolio of Islamically acceptable assets to a special purpose vehicle (SPV),30 which refinances itself by issuing unsecured securities to market investors, who are the capital market corollary to a singular lender in Islamic finance (see Figure 3). They assume the role of a collective financier whose entrepreneurial investment does not involve guaranteed, interest-based earnings. If we look at the structure of both conventional and Islamic securitization there it can be depicted there exists no any difference from structural point of view involving parties to it. Originator sells the assets (existing or future ) from a portfolio of Islamically aacceptable assets to SPV, which then refinance itself by issuing securities to investors that are unsecured by nature. The proceeds are then passed on to originator. Like in Ijara sukuk, SPV raises funds to purchase the assets and the same must be equal to purchase price. Investors have equity interest in the SPV in Ijaraha sukuk structure in other words they have direct ownership in the assets. The SPV thereafter leases back to originator. SPV must match the payments with its obligation under Ijarah sukuk and it receives lease payments from seller. Upon maturity, special purpose entitity redeems the assets to originator and liabilities are deducted at source because they are owned by SPV.If any portion of income earne d is categorized as haram or unethical then the same be given in charity without any objection to it. Figure Process of Islamic securitization: Following figure depicts the process of Islamic securitization based on Ijaraha: Islamic securitization will best be categorized as monetization of assets underlying in the securitization process where as conventional counter parts best be defined as mere sale of debts. The process of issuing sukuk is kind of sale of share in assets. Islamic alternative offers almost the same benefits as conventional ones have to offer for instance enhanced asset liability management, term structure transformation, better management and control over assets.

The Painted Door - The Tragedy :: essays research papers

Ann and John, two characters from he short story "The Painted Door", do not have a very healthy relationship. John is a simple farmer who thinks the only way he can please his wife, Ann, is by working all day to earn money for her. However Ann would prefer him to spend more time with her. Their relationship is stressed even further when Ann is left at home alone with nothing to think about but their relationship because John has to go to his father’s house. The terrible snowstorm accentuates Ann’s feelings of loneliness and despair. John does not pay enough attention to Ann, and therefore creates a weak relationship. Ann is justified in her decision to "sleeps" with Steven, John’s friend. John has not been paying much attention to Ann and he leaves her alone in their house with Steven. Ann also has prior feelings for Steven from when they where in school together. Ann felt that she is unimportant to John because he frequently leaves her alone; she states, "It isn't right to leave me here alone. Surely I'm as important as your father." Ann just wants to feel loved by John but because he doesn't make her feel loved. She sees Steven as the only person who can give her the love and affection she needs. John's decision to commit suicide was the right thing to do to make Ann happy. John thought that killing himself would make it easier for her to stay with Steven, who he thinks that she loves. John made a decision about his own life so he has the right to choose to kill himself. He also just wants Ann to be happy. He is "naively proud of Ann. He had bewildered by it once, her caring for a dull-witted fellow like him: then assured al last of her affection he had relaxed against it gratefully, unsuspecting it might ever be less constant than his own." (Pg.49) In John's mind he was making the right decision, so he was free to make it. Ann is the most to blame for her depression, her affair with Steven, and John’s suicide.

A Separate Peace :: essays research papers

Most stories’ titles give readers some insight of what the story will be about. This important concept is seen in the novel, A Separate Peace, written by John Knowles. In general the setting is its own separate peace. There are also specific examples of when characters in the novel try to create their own separate peace. The winter carnival is a good example, which shows the students at the Devon School creating their own separate peace. After being severely maimed, Finny enters his own state of mind, where there is no war occurring. He tries to put this state of mind into the other students’ minds. Finny starts a winter carnival during which the boys at Devon feel a degree of freedom in this time of war. At the carnival the boys drink cider and dance on the tables. They all feel that nothing matters anymore but their own fantasy world. Even the boys that were uptight about the war, like Brinker, loosened up and enjoyed the fantasy that Finny created. Finny successfully creates his own separate peace by creating a fantasy world. Gene and Finny create their own peace after there is a period of guilty tension. After Gene shakes Finny out of the tree, he feels guilt start to fall upon him. He is hesitant to tell Finny the truth about his accident, and as a result his guilt jumps to a higher level. Gene tries to tell him at the hospital that he is responsible for Finny falling out of the tree, but the doctor interrupts them. This tension between them builds until Gene admits to Finny what really happened. After that, Finny forgives him, and they resume their friendship, and their separate peace. A Separate Peace is shown through many examples in this novel.

Cari’s Story Essay

A) How could an infection in Cari’s nasal passages and pharynx spread into her sinuses? Mucous membranes of the nose, paranasal sinuses, pharynx and middle ear are connected by ducts in the throat. B) What is a cough reflex? Describe the process that Cari’s respiratory system is using to clear her lungs by coughing? A cough reflex has both sensory (afferent) and motor (efferent) components. Pulmonary irritant receptors (cough receptors) in the epithelium of the respiratory tract are sensitive to both mechanical and chemical stimuli. Stimulation of the cough receptors by dust or other foreign particles produces a cough, which is necessary to remove the foreign material from the respiratory tract before it reaches the lungs. A long drawn and deep inhalation followed by a complete closure of the glottis, which results in a strong exhalation that suddenly punches the glottis open and sends a blast of air through the upper respiratory passages. C) Which structure found in the terminal bronchioles and alveoli normally would protect Cari’s lungs from infectious pathogens and particulate matter? Macrophages are present (wandering phagocytes) that remove dust particles and other debris from the alveolar space. D) How would the resistance of Cari’s airways be affected by excess mucus and fluid in her lungs? The lung capacity is decreased because the air space is already filled with mucus and fluids therefore she can’t take in enough oxygen. The extra mucus and fluids put extra pressure on the lungs. E) How would Cari’s lungs compliance (the effort required to expand the  lungs) be altered as her alveoli fill with fluid due to pneumonia? The fluid makes it harder to expand the lungs because the fluid makes the alveoli sticky and unable to open/expand. F) How would fluid in Cari’s lungs affect her total lung capacity? Her lung capacity would go down because the air space is already being taken up by fluid. G) How does the elevation of Cari’s respiratory rate alter her minute ventilation? The elevation of Cari’s respiratory rate should increase her minute ventilation. H) Normal blood oxygen saturation levels are greater than 94 percent; Cari’s blood oxygen saturation level was 90 percent at the time of her exam and an initial arterial blood gas analysis done when she was admitted to the hospital revealed her arterial Po2 was 54 mmHg. How do these clinical findings related to the internal respiration in Cari’s body? Cari’s oxygen saturation level was 90% and the Po2 of would show that her arteries are having too much oxygen. A normal resenting mmHg is 40% and exercises lower Po2 level. A normal resting oxygen level is 94%. I) Which of the symptoms Cari has described are due to lack of oxygen and reduced oxygen exchange at her tissues? Cari said she is â€Å"panting like a dog† is from the lack of oxygen and reduces her oxygen exchange. J) As Cari’s PCO2 rose how was oxygen carrying capacity of hemoglobin affected? As Cari’s Pco2 rose, how was the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin affected? The oxygen carrying of hemoglobin volume with the rise of Pco2 will decrease since the Co2 will take O2’s.? Cari’s pH and Pco2 will decrease and her rate of breathing will also be decreasing. K) How would you have expected Cari’s decreased PCO2 and alkaline blood PH to have affected her breathing? Cari’s pH and Pco2 will decrease and her rate of breathing will also be decreasing. L) How would administration of oxygen enhance Cari’s central drive to breathe? The fluid in her lungs makes it  hard to expand because the fluid makes the alveoli sticky and it can’t expand and open. Cari will breathe better when oxygen was administered to her. M) Which anatomical structures in Cari’s respiratory system were initially involved? The structures involved are the trachea, nasal, pharynx, and larynx, and the lungs. N) Why was Cari plagued with a chronic smokers cough? Cari is plagued with a chronic smoker‘s cough because she has a 20 year history of smoking. O) Which damaging effects of tobacco smoke led to Cari’s impaired respiratory defenses mechanisms? There are damages to the epithelial with those damages comes the body’s repair process. P) How did pneumonia affect Cari’s lung function? Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be caused by nearly any class of organism known to cause human infections, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. It results in an inflammatory response within the small air spaces of the lung (alveoli).