Voodoo Essay -- Voudun Hoodoo Voo doo Religion

Voodoo Throughout history people have feared that which they do not understand. This is even more evident with the topic of witchcraft. With such events, as the Salem witch trials and the inquisition-like attacks on religions, not socially accepted by the majority, demonstrates what happens when intolerance and fear of beliefs not like any other take hold in a culture. Even in the 20th century, a religion exists in the southern United States that intimidates people through prayer, ceremonies, gris-gris, and superstition. This religion is known by names such as Voudun, Hoodoo, and most popular Voodoo The word Voodoo is an intimidating word to many because of the images it brings to the mind of black magic, evil, and death that are associated with it. Voodoo is a religion that is very unique and interesting to examine. The roots of Voodoo are traced back to West Africa, continues on to Haiti and other islands via the slaves and then brought to New Orleans also through slavery. There is a difference in the Voodoo of each of these locations due to peoples' influence on it and according to its need at each location. In West Africa, the people took the view that all things lived and died but when something did die its spirit would linger close to the loved ones to help them in this world. They believed in a spirit world that was ruled by a supreme God just as Catholicism believes in God and Heaven. The Voodoo culture took the view that the supreme God was busy doing the most important work and this resulted in the followers asking sub-deities (loas) to carry their message to God for them. Loas, similar to saints or angels, had unique powers but they also were associated with specific physical traits, favorite ... ... others not even within the rat it is no different from the major religions of the world. By looking more in depth at Voodoo, the ability to determine whether to use the religion for good or evil is a test in itself. Unless one has faith in the beliefs of a given religion, will be seen as a negative belief of evil by those who do not understand. As humans, a bias naturally exists for our own personal beliefs and traditions. Explore and understand what is against your own belief and what could be found may be a surprise. Bibliography and Footnotes: 4. Bodin, Ron, Voodoo: Past and Present.( Lafayette: University of Southwestern Louisiana, 1990.) pp.39 3. Haskins, Jim, Voodoo and Hoodoo. (Lanham: Scarborough House, 1990.) pp.128 and 191 1 and 2. Hurbon, Laennec, Voodoo: Search for the Spirit. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995.) pp. 38-39

Self-Inflicted Diseases :: Free Essays

Self-Inflicted Diseases Self-inflicted diseases are those in which a person's health is damaged by their own decisions and behaviour. These can be such things like smoking, alcohol, sunbathing, eating large quantities of fatty food. Also deliberate self-harm such as attempted suicide is classed as self-inflicted as it can cause major damage to body organs. Those who start smoking at a young age are highly likely to become addicted to nicotine. Smoking leads to a risk of developing mental and physical disease. This includes lung cancer, coronary heart disease and death through a stroke. Smoking also increases the chances of blood clotting. Nicotine also increases blood pressure and heart rate and thus the body's demand for oxygen, but carbon monoxide reduces the blood's ability to carry it. [IMAGE] Obesity can be self-inflicted by the following:  · Eating too many calories  · Lack of physical exercise  · Environmental factors  · Cultural factors  · Metabolism factors Obesity can cause heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, hernias, varicose veins and gallstones. Surgical operations are more risky for a patient with obesity because the amount of fat surrounding vital organs. [IMAGE] Self-Inflicted Sunbathing Sunbathing can cause blistering of the skin and increases the risk of developing skin cancer. This is self-inflicted if people do not take the precaution of sun cream, when in a hot climate. Heroin use [IMAGE] Heroin abuse can result in collapsed veins, bacterial infections of the blood vessels and heart valves, abscesses, other soft-tissue infections, and liver or kidney disease. Heroin is a self-inflicted disease because it is impossible to judge the purity of street heroin and death is caused through an overdose. Suicide Suicide is ranked the 10th most common form of death. There are around 40,000 suicides per year. [IMAGE] [IMAGE] Suicide is committed due to depressions, family or pet bereavement, divorce, social isolation or psychiatric illnesses. Suicide is self-inflicted because the person attempts to take his/her own life.

Advertising - Selling a Lot More than Just a Product Essay -- Adverts,

Advertisements for various products are seen everywhere — on billboards, in magazines, on television, and countless other places. What draws the consumer into the advertisement — the actual product, the display of the sensual woman as she drinks a glass of milk, or the muscular man sporting a Ralph Lauren blanket as a loincloth? These types of advertisements display unlikely depictions of men and women to society. Today, advertisers use the influence of gender and sex to sell various products to consumers, resulting in unrealistic expectations of men and women to society. According to Vernon Fryburger, author of the book The New Age of Advertising, â€Å"The most important job for advertising is to â€Å"make a sale† for a product or a service, and to do so it must clearly establish a rapport with its audience, which means that it must consciously stay within relatively narrow bounds of acceptability in terms of language, visualizations, and general background and frame of reference† (15). Advertisers use many different strategies to sell their products to consumers. They spend over 200 billion dollars per year attempting to get the attention of consumers and to influence their decisions. An average person views 250 advertisements every day and over two million advertisements by the time they are twenty-five years of age (Baran 278). When advertisers are working on campaigns, they think about what the consumer wants and needs to see in order to purchase the product. More often than not, attractive, seductive-looking individuals are chosen for ads (Percy and Rossiter 1-5). When advertisers are preparing ad campaigns, they will usually discuss women and men can be profitably pictured (Goffman 25). An example of how ad... ... World of Advertising. Chicago: Crain Books, 1975. Goffman, Erving. Gender Advertisements. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard U.P., 1979. Griffiths, Merris. â€Å"Craig, R. Stephen (1992): ‘The Effect of Television Day Part on Gender Portrayals in Television Commercials: A Content Analysis.’† Internet, 2001. http://www.aber.ac.uk/education/Resdeg/merris09.html. Kahle, Lynn R., Larry Chiagouris, editors. Values, Lifestyles, and Psychographics. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1997. Meyers, William. The Image-Makers: Power and Persuasion on Madison Avenue. New York: The New York Times Book, 1984. Moog, Carol, Ph. D. â€Å"Are They Selling Her Lips?†: Advertising and Identity. New York: William Morrow, 1990. Percy, Larry, John R. Rossiter. Advertising Strategy: A Communication Theory Approach. New York: Praeger, 1980.

First Day of School

First day of school When I woke up that morning I thought my life was going to end. The summer was over and it was the first day of school. I didn't go to sleep the night before because I had a lot on my mind, but I had to get my tired self up and get ready. I laid my clothes out the night before and I had out a cross necklace some cross earrings a blue shirt and some khaki shorts. So after I got dressed and got in the car I begged and pleaded with my mama not to make me go. But I still came, when I first got to school I was terrified I didn't know anybody and I was new.Not a good combination but I had to get out of the car so I did and I was lost for a while but I found my class shortly. I walked in to a room full of people and it was hot and dark the only light was from the colorful lamps and the computers,there were computers everywhere. I was the tallest one in the class like I always am I felt like people were talking about me I was scared and didn't want to be there at all I wa nted to call my mom and tell her that is was not going to work to come get me immediately. Before I got around to that the bell rung and it was time for class to start.So I sat down and in the comer where my seat was and just cried for almost the entire class. I didn't want to be there I felt like no body else wanted me to be there either. I had just went through a lot and I broke my wrist the week before so my heart and my and my mind was just not there. I couldn't stop crying I was depressed and lonely ,but class was about to end so I had to dry my tears up and keep it moving because I knew the day was almost over. I felt my day couldn't get any worse and it didn't. This time I ended up in a very bright room and all the people seemed really happy.It was bibles under the desks and posters talking about Jesus and encouragement all over the room. This lifted my sprit and I wasn't so sad anymore and people started to talk to me and wanted to know about who I was and they wanted to bec ome my friend. At first I was very reluctant to talk but I became comfortable and I made new friends. I was happy about this I had some good news to go home and tell my mom. But after getting to know my new friends I had to leave them and go to my last class of the day but I was happy that it was my last class.I walked in and it was math class. I hate math was never good at it but I was I'm there and I dreaded it but I found another new friend that became my best friend her name was sam and we clicked instantly we were both new and we didn't know any body. That made me the happiest of all I wasn't alone anymore there was someone just like me. So that made math not so bad. I got through it and it was time to go home. My day started out bad but it ended ok and I wanted to come back the next day because I knew it would only get better.

Advantages of Boarding School

Good evening, parents and students, and welcome to our school. I understand that many of you are considering joining our school and I would like to share my personal experience of studying at a boarding school. I spent six years studying at a non-residential school and the last three years at the boarding school. I have gained much from my days at a boarding school and I would like to share with you the advantages of studying at such a school. Boarding schools help students to learn to be independent. They learn to understand that they themselves are responsible for many thing that other students take for granted, such as waking up on time and finishing homework within a certain time frame. Boarding school also save time which is spent on travelling to and back from school, not to mention transport expenses. Students also benefit from having regular and nutritious meals provided to them. Staying at the school also makes it possible to have more times for extra-curricular activities. These activities are done on daily basic as opposed to non-residential schools where they are done twice or three times a week. Another benefit is that students have ample time to discuss their homework with their classmates and teachers during the common study periods. There is, therefore, no need to spend money on private tuition. Students and teachers enjoy a closer bond as a result of spending more time together. Teachers provide support and guidance so that students can derive maximum benefit from their schooling experience. I hope that you will join our big family here at this boarding school. Thank you for your time and attention.

Chinese Labor and Employment Law Essay

In November 2001, China became a fully admitted member of the World Trade Organization and in n in international trade. China has not only become a major export power, but also an attractive investment target for world trade and investment continues to increase, its labor environment will likely attract more ? 2 1980. At least 130 million of these are migrant workers who move from relatively poor rural areas to urban and industrial centers to work. Many of these migrant workers remit portions of their earnings back to family members in their hometown. Until recently, China has typically had an oversupply of unskilled labor and a shortage of skilled and professional workers. However, in the past several years, some companies in the major industrial hubs have begun to complain about labor shortages. As a result, many companies now raise wages 10 percent or more annually to retain workers, while others have closed their doors and moved to poorer inland areas or countries with cheaper labor. Interestingly, salaries for new university graduates have stagnated university system. While university graduates start their careers with wages comparable to a factory worker, their salaries typically rise much more quickly than those factory workers. How have 35 years. Prior to the early 1980s, nearly all jobs were allocated to citizens through an administrative bureau. Employees could not choose their employer or terminate their employment. Further, regulations set an expectation that the employee would work for the same employer for her or his whole working life. Companies in this era could only terminate employees for gross misconduct. This type of labor market and social safety net was called the Iron Rice Bowl because the employer guaranteed job security and benefits to employees In other words, the benefits could not be taken away 3 In 1983, the government introduced a contract system that attempted to address the low productivity of the labor market by replacing the Iron Rice Bowl with short-term labor contracts. At first, state-owned companies resisted this trend and the government succeeded only in minimal reforms. In 1992, the N required all trade unions to be affiliated with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). This effectively brought labor unions under greater control of the government. The Labor Law of 1994 liberalized the labor market. The labor law, when combined with economic reforms, resulted in more than 40 million lost jobs in government and state-owned enterprises. As a result of the reforms, the government shuttered inefficient businesses and the formerly economically dominant northeast turned into a rustbelt. Meanwhile, Chinese entrepreneurs and Hong Kong investors transformed the formerly weak southeast province of Guangdong into the largest center of manufacturing in the world. In 2008, the government introduced a Labor Contract Law that rolled back some of the laissez-faire approaches to the workforce that the government introduced in the 1990s. This new law abolished the system of at-will employment for most full-time employees and required employers to provide employees with written contracts. Since 2008, the government has also revisited its policy of tight control over the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU). While all unions must still be approved by and affiliated with ACFTU, it appears that the government is allowing the ACFTU greater authority to advocate for the rights of workers than it did just a few years ago. That said, the government continues to imprison workers who advocate for the formation of independent trade unions. W A G ES Does China have a minimum wage? 4 Yes. There are two standards of minimum wage: monthly and hourly. Minimum wages are set at the provincial and municipal level. The government prohibits employers from reaching an agreement with employees for wages that fall below the local minimum wage standard regardless of whether the employee is still in her or his probation period or internship. A probationary period occurs at the beginning of an employment relationship and allows employers to terminate employees without severance pay up to a maximum of six months, but usually just two months. The probation period allows the employer to make sure the employee is a good fit with the employer before being locked into the full term of the employment contract. Provincial and municipal governments frequently adjust statutory minimum wages. For example, many municipalities have raised their minimum wages twice in the past year alone. Ho It depends on the locality. -time employees is RMB 1,120/month, or roughly $165. However, in the poorer inland city of Chongqing, the minimum wage is RMB 870/month, or roughly $130. Of course, purchasing wages. The relative cost of living in China is lower than in many developed countries, but even when wages are adjusted for relative prices they remain much lower than in highly developed countries. How much do factory workers earn? It depends on the locality, industry, skill level, and a host of other factors. However, several sources keep broad indices of costs for general factory labor across many regions. Although the indices are only rough estimates, they are helpful in gauging wage differentials across the country. For example, a skilled manufacturing employee in Beijing can be hired for 5 RMB 3,000/month, or roughly $445. A similar worker in the poorer inland municipality of Chongqing can be hired for RMB 1,900/month, or roughly $280. To illustrate how important geographic location is in determining wage rates, the average employee salary in Beijing is nearly three times higher than in the poor inland province of Jiangxi. Do Chinese workers get overtime? T , an employer must pay overtime compensation to any employee who works more than 40 hours per week. As a general rule, an employer cannot require overtime of more than one hour per day, or three hours per day under special circumstances, and no more than 36 hours per month. As in many other countries, white collar workers like managers and sales staff are often exempt from the overtime pay rules. The following payment schedule illustrates the overtime pay requirements. E xtended Wor king Hours Typical working day Rest day (min. one per week) (i. e. , weekend) National holiday M inimum O vertime Pay (percent of regular wages) 150 percent 200 percent 300 percent Many migrant workers desperate to earn quick money agree with the employer to work beyond the maximum overtime requirements so they can send extra money home to their families. This type of overtime work is frequently found in industrial hubs and is a contributing cause of recent labor strikes because employees who agree to these arrangements place downward price pressure on wages and upward pressure on hours. Employers are also able to maneuver around overtime regulations by applying to the local labor authorities and asking for approval to use an alternative system of working hours. What are the wage levels for workers who are paid piece-rate? 6 Piece-rate is a compensation system where the employer pays the employee for each unit produced or action performed, not on the basis of time. Piece-rate wages are still a feature of to address the exploitation of employees through piece rates. For example, workers were exploited when employers paid workers at piece-rate, but then fined them for quality defects, tardiness, or no reason at all. These penalties effectively left workers with wages far below what the employer promised the workers during the hiring process. The first principle of piece-rate wages is that employers cannot set a work quota so high that it prevents an employee from completing the work within an eight-hour day or an average 40-hour week.

Mississippi’s school Essay

The SAGE program in partnership with John Hopkins University of Baltimore Maryland, invites, states or districts to become members in improving the student achievement in the potential members’ schools. Through the National Network of Partnership Schools, SAGE and others in the network will work states, districts and other educational organization members to form an Action Team for Partnership plan. Members follow the Six Types of Involvement format (NNPS online). Five years of NNPS surveys and result focused studies on member schools’ progress has been reported (2005). NNPS uses research results to develop practical tools, materials, and guidelines for schools and school districts. Presently, over 1000 schools, 100 districts, and 17 state departments of education are working with NNPS to use research-based approaches to establish and strengthen their programs of school, family, and community partnerships (2005). It is suggested that incorporating the following elements create better programs and outreaching to parents of the students and increased parental involvement (2005). 1. Leadership 2. Teamwork 3. Action plans 4. Implementation of plans 5. Funding 6. Collegial support 7. Evaluation 8. Networking Results from longitudinal studies showed that â€Å" a review of literature on family involvement with students on reading, indicated that, across the grades, subject specific interventions to involve families in reading and related language arts, positively affected students’ reading skills and scores (Sheldon & Epstein, 2005b). The original SAGE pilot program research involved participants of which fifty percent were below the poverty level (Vinson, 2002). Participating classes were reduced from average size to fifteen students per teacher. An evaluation by Molinar, Smith and Zahorik (1999) revealed that the first grade SAGE students demonstrated higher achievement when compared to nonparticipating schools in both language arts and math. Second and third graders were reported to follow the same pattern. The third study to be reviewed is the Prime Time (1984) project in Indiana. This was originally planned to be a two year project started in 1984 but it had such promising results that by 1988 all k-3 classes were reduced in Indiana. The average FTE was eighteen. In 1989, McGivern, Gilman and Tillitski compared samples of achievement levels of second graders from six districts with reduced class sizes and three districts that were not reduced and found significantly larger gains in reading and math among students of smaller classes. As with project STAR, SAGE has suffered criticism. Limitations mentioned were that â€Å"students were not assigned to experimental control groups on a random basis†, and that school policies were changed and implemented during the course of the study (Vinson, 2002). A widely criticized factor was the use of teacher incentives to motivate small classroom achievement. As mentioned previously, opinions on class size vary. Over the years several researchers have analyzed studies and evaluated the effectiveness of each. Glass and Smith (1979) found after analyzing seventy-seven empirical studies on class size versus student achievement, that small classes were associated with higher achievement at all grade levels. For greatest results in student achievement, students should attend small classes for over one-hundred hours (1979), with under twenty students. Small classes are beneficial because of 1) better student reaction 2) teacher morale and 3) quality of the teaching environment (Vinson, 2002). In a review of one-hundred relevant studies, small classes had been the most beneficial, during kindergarten and third grade, but only if teachers change their methods and procedures (Robinson and Wittebols, 1986). Slavin’s (1990) research of empirical studies, were chosen for analysis based on a three part criteria; 1) class size had been reduced for at least one year 2) twenty students were compared to substantially larger class sizes and 3) students in both class sizes were comparable (1990). Contrary to previously mentioned researchers, Slavin believed that smaller class size had minimal positive effects on students and those effects did not continue once students were returned to normal, larger classes (1990). A highly published researcher, Eric Hanushek has voiced his opposition to small classes benefiting student achievement since the mid-1980s. In all his reviews of class size studies, he’s always concluded that; â€Å"The evidence about improvements in student achievement that can be attributed to smaller classes turns out to be meager and unconvincing (Vinson, 2002)†. Johnson (2000), citing a study at the Heritage Foundation examining National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading data, asserted that the difference in reading assessment scores between students in small classes and students in large classes was insignificant. He criticized class size reduction programs citing California as example of how such programs exacerbate the problem of lack of qualified teachers to fill classrooms. His claim of the lack of association between class size and performance was consistent with Hanushek’s conclusions (1999). Studies of the effects of class size in secondary schools are much more rare and largely equivocal (Deutsch 2003; Grissmer 1999). Many of those who advocate for smaller class sizes at the secondary level argue that small classes positively impact the school environment, thus, improving performance indirectly. In her review of the literature of class size and secondary schools, Deutsch (2003) highlights studies that conclude small classes stimulate student engagement, allow more innovative instructional strategies, increase teacher-student interactions, reduce the amount of time teachers devote to discipline, improve teacher morale, and minimize feelings of isolation and alienation in adolescence that can come from anonymity. Another important process variable the researcher will investigate is the effects of school policy on student achievement. An influential policy becoming common in schools is that of parental support and teacher incentives. As with the other factors in this model, conclusions about the effects of both on student performance has been mixed, but recent studies seem to point to more positive correlations, particularly teacher experience (Hedges, Lane, and Greenwald 1994). Mississippi’s Department of Education’s Schools and Parents Partnering for Student Success is a brochure given to the parents of Mississippi public school students to educate them on what level of proficiency their child should be on in an attempt to form a relationship between school and home. Strategies for improving student achievement according to Mississippi’s School.