Innovation, Ethics & Change-Hypocrisy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Innovation, Ethics & Change-Hypocrisy - Essay Example The resistance change is human nature and the employees should undergo certain training to accept change. The managers are also encouraged to ensure the employees’ opinions with regard to certain changes, whether positive or negative is not held against them. This discourse is about guidance to help employees accept change within organizations. There are several reasons why various employees resist change. Some employees could be perfect in their areas of duties. For instance, an employee could choose to associate himself with other races or tribes as this could seem as a let down to his personality and even the family. Such employees will always address his peers sarcastically to discourage them from further participation. The managers should identify such employees and guide them or counsel them since such attitude could limit the overall productivity of an organization ( Kegan & Lahey 2001). Mistakes in any working organizations are to both the employees and even the managers. The global financial crisis was a mistake of the topmost leaders in the financial institutions as well as the legislators. The legislators involved despised opinions of various experts and their decisions still have an impact on the global economy to the current date. We may have the urge to accept change but there are factors called the sidetracks that may limit our abilities to embrace such changes. One of the sidetracks is the ‘forces within’ and these are our personal thoughts that encourage resistance to change. This could also be attributed to the people surrounding us. The emotional attachment could also hinder us from accepting changes, for instance, Yahoo boss turned down deal termed as one of its kind, when Microsoft was ready to buy its search engine at $22 B, in 2008.

Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Current Events and U.S. Diplomacy - Essay Example The current status of relationships between Russia and the United states cannot be termed as friendly by any means because the relationships which were strained by the US withdrawal from ABM treaty and which were further deteriorated by Iraq war and Kosovo independence crisis continued to go from bad to worse. Another significant down came in March 2007 when US announced its plans to build an anti-ballistic missile defense installation in Poland along with a radar station in the Czech Republic. According to the United States officials, the motive behind such plans is to safeguard the international peace and ensure international security against the threat posed by Iranian and North Korean nuclear weapons to the world. However Russia considered this move as an aggression against them because Poland and Czech Republic are former Warsaw Pact countries and US military influence in these countries means creating an imbalance of power in Europe once again. Russian President issued various statements to protest against this action and warn the US president about the consequences of such a move while on the other side Russia continued to test its intercontinental missiles and claimed that these missiles can defeat all kinds of missile defense systems. Russia also started establishing missile defense basis along the now US backed Poland (Kegley & Blanton, 2011). The relationships between the two countries have reached another historical low at the moment and the Russian-Georgian clash. and Russian military cooperation with Venezuela are the most recent incidents which mark the strain in the relationships. The diplomatic dialogue between both countries has almost ceased to a zero level at the moment and there are no hopes of an improvement in the relationships in recent future. The relationships between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and United States are a matter of very frequent discussion in international politics today and the subject has many complexities associated with it. The diplomatic ties between the two countries exist from the year 1947; Pakistan emerged on the map of the world during this year. From the very beginning the basis of

Water shortages in urban areas Essay Example for Free

Water shortages in urban areas Essay An analysis of the â€Å"Impacts of water rationing on public health†: Case study of Makokoba, Bulawayo Introduction Zimbabwe local governance is made up of a system of city councils and municipalities which are mandated to provide water and sanitation services and goods to their respective residents. This system has been effective during the colonial era where the urban areas were less populated than there are at the present moment. The Zimbabwe post-independence period has seen a large influx of people into the urban areas. The population growth in urban areas meant that most city councils and municipalities are failing to cope with the water demand. The major reason is that the rate of population increase in urban areas is by far greater than that of improving or increasing the existing water supply. Background information However worries over water supply in Bulawayo is only part of a larger trend across urban Africa1. Water is vital to any development, and its availability or dearth is a major driving force behind migration, population growth, and economic development, among other factors. As a whole, Africa has relatively ample water supply potential2. Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, which was established in the 1840s. Its economy was built around it being a center of industry for the nation and a hub of transportation for the Southern Africa region. With this economic development, Bulawayo saw an unabated increase in water demand over the past three decades, with increasing urbanization, economic activity (until 2000), and population growth, which has steadily increased over time, to around 655675 (CSO 2012), in line with urban areas across Zimbabwe3. Bulawayo as a city and province has failed to secure a long term and sustainable water resources to meet its water demands both domestic and industrial. Its main water supply was reliant on five dams but currently being supplied by Insiza and Lower Ncema and Umzingwane with the other two being decommissioned. This led to the city council to introducing the 72hours per week rationing strategy to save the remaining water resources prior to the rainy season. The water stress currently being faced by the city is attributed by several factors such as its geographical location, increased population, climate effects and underdevelopment of infrastructure4. DAM VOLUMES 9/09/13

The Innovation Of Fashion Designers Cultural Studies Essay

The Innovation Of Fashion Designers Cultural Studies Essay Vivienne Westwood has been an innovative and provocative fashion designer. She has been influenced primarily by the Punk movement and that is one of the reasons I chose to research her fashion collections. This essay is going to investigate the importance of the relationship between Vivienne Westwood and the Punk movement to the fashion society. Westwood established the background for the punk movement in the United Kingdom which affected a lot the fashion styles and until today many clothes are designed according to the Punk fashion style, for example the skinny jeans. I believe that this investigation will provide an insight on sociocultural facts and events that are memorable for the world of fashion. What attracted me to it was that Westwood who hadnt done any studies on fashion, met Malcolm McLaren and together with their clothes, they were influenced by the British culture so much and they started working at the time when Punk movement was established. This made me think that when one has a gift and wants to become a successful person, eventually he will achieve his goals. Vivienne Westwood has had a successful career for more than 40 years. The essay will focus on the first eight years of her career from 1970 to 1978. During this period the punk movement appeared all over the world. Punk was actually a music genre that developed during this period in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, which is the homeland of Westwood, Punk appeared as an alternative political movement, which expressed rebellion, but also appeared as a music scene which brought to the spotlight many punk music groups like the Sex Pistols etc. It also appeared as a fashion style. British adolescents have long created stylish subcultures in order to express all manner of rebellions  [1]  . The punk style is the connection between Vivienne Westwood and Punk. Therefore, the research question formed is; How Vivienne Westwoods collections were affected by the punk movement? The essay will start the biography of Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren and I will refer to the definition and the characteristics of the punk movement in the United Kingdom. I will followins also write about the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls which are both Punk music groups and wore clothes of Vivienne Westwood. Following I will move into comparing in chronological order collections of Vivienne Westwood with particular punk music groups. The collections I will look into are; Let it Rock 1970, Too fast to live Too young to die, 1972, Sex, 1974 and Seditionaries, 1976. This procedure will lead into the conclusion and my findings on Vivienne Westwoods influences from the Punk movement MAIN BODY Biography The punk movement appeared as a rock music genre which developed in the decade of the 70s in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom. They created hard-edged music, characterized by short songs, stripped-down instrumentation and often political, anti-establishment lyrics. In Britain, the Punk movement was politically active and their main concern was the economy of the country. Many people were unemployed because the economy in the United Kingdom in the 1970s was in a recession. Early Punks played a role in politics and protest, and they wanted to express themselves as anticapitalists, antihippies, anarchists and fascists. They portrayed themselves as political radicals by drawing on themes of Marxism, fascism etc. Beyond the fact that punk started out as a music-based subculture, there is a debate about its geographic origins, its ideologies, its membership etc. Most published accounts of punk focus on the origins and flourishing of punk subculture from late 1960s to lat e 1970s.  [2]  Punk may have originated in the United States, but punk as a subculture gelled in mid-1970s Britain.  [3]  . Punk appeared also as a fashion style. The basic male uniform consisted of combat boots, leather jacket, torn jeans, shaved head and most girls tried to adopt this male uniform completely. The ways in which the punk girls combined their punkness and their gender is very unique. They combined female items with punk elements. The influence of the Punk style on music groups is remarkable. The Sex Pistols and New York Dolls are English bands which formed in 1975 in London and their manager was McLaren who was born in 1946 and is a performer and former manager of the two groups. Music, fashion, the Punk Movement was something that attracted him when he was in a Fine Arts college. Malcolm was a friend of Vivienne Westwoods brother and thats how they met. Vivienne Westwood was born in Glossop, Derbyshire on 8 April 1941. She is as much of a symbol of England a s the Queen and the black cab.  [4]  She always liked fashion and a quote of her is that Fashion became her baby, she picked it up and never put it down.  [5]  In 1965 she met Malcolm McLaren and a relationship began. Together they established the foundation of the punk movement by opening shops and creating clothes related to rebellion and punk. Westwoods career in fashion was galvanized by her partner, Malcolm.  [6]  Their working relationship lasted from 1970 until 1983, and as is referred to above launched Punk. In 1971 Vivienne thought they should set up a clothes shop, because Malcolm was certainly fascinated by clothes. Thereby, Malcolm found a place at Kings Road which was named Paradise Garage and the couple made an agreement to own part of the shop. Let It Rock was the name of Viviennes first collection and the name of the shop too. Her first collection included pieces of drape jackets, leather ties with plastic sleeves, drainpipe trousers, ruffled shirt, day-glo socks, bootlace tie etc. Her favorite fabric was leather, she used a lot of zippers and slogans in order to decorate her clothes. They were interested in that era and they wanted to approach the Teddy boys who were into rebellion and could things stir up. Vivienne sourced authentic buttons, cloth and linings and informed by research in Teddy Boy clubs, copied and recoloured the look.  [7]  Vivienne began making trousers and more and more people were coming to the shop to try on their day-glo jackets, the special blue and silver trousers etc. At that period of time Vivienne and Malcolm went to a big music concert and were inspired in order to make their own T-shirt, Viva la Rock n Roll. Malcolm described rock n roll as the jungle beat that threatened white civilization.  [8]  It is a fact that in the collection Let It Rock of Vivienne Westwood we dont see a big influence of the punk movement. This can be explained by the fact that at the period of time that Let It Rock was launched, it only the foundations of the punk movement had been established. Despite this fact we can find characteristics of the pun k style in specific clothes of Let It Rock. Let It Rock Collection Figure 2. Sid Vicious, Let It Rock, 1970-1972 Figure 1. Vivienne Westwood, Let It Rock, 1970-1972Punks and members of music groups wore clothes that were ripped because in this way they were expressing rebellion through their style. In Figure 1 we see a T-shirt of Let It Rock which shows the influence of punk. Punk style was characterized by clothes with zippers, with holes, slogans, pins, pockets etc. The T-shirt in Figure 1 is ripped like all the clothes of Punks and it has many zippers and pockets and slogans that Vivienne used a lot. A characteristic example is Sid Vicious (Figure 2) who is wearing a ripped T-shirt of the Westwood Let It Rock collection and skinny jeans.. Moreover the slogans for her T-shirts were often lyrics of Sex Pistols songs. A characteristic example we see in Figure 3, in which Westwood is wearing her T-shirt with a photo of the Queen and the title of the Sex Pistols song God save the Queen on top. Figure 3. Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, Let It Rock 1970-1972 Figure 4. Destroy T-shirt, Let It Rock 1970-1972Another example of a T-shirt with a slogan is shown in Figure 4, in which Vivienne wants to get the message across that Nazis should not exist. She was against all this racism against the Jewish people etc and she wanted to make something in order to express her disappointment about the Nazis and maybe she thought that she could change something. Thats why she thought to make a T-shirt with the swastika and the work Destroy on top. An example for leather gear is Sid Vicious again (figure 5) who is wearing a leather jacket at a Sex Pistol concert in Notre Dame Hall. Also, Vivienne, who is promoting her style and her clothes by wearing a leather outfit herself. Figure 5. Sid Vicious and Vivienne Westwood, Let It Rock 1970-1972 Although the Let It Rock collection and shop were very successful, Vivienne and Malcolm were searching for something new because the trend of the Teddy Boys had started to elapse. The Teddy Boys werent such rebels after all and because the couple wanted to express rebellion they needed something new. They started experimenting with rockers and a bike boys look and a tougher leather look which was accompanied with punk style. So, in the spring of 1973, they renamed the shop into Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die and Vivienne started a new collection. Malcolm started buying fabrics such as velvet and Lurex and he thought that they should sell second-hand jeans, customized leather, pegged trousers, double-breast Zoot suits with padded shoulders etc. Because some striped and plain black T-shirts were left over from Let It Rock collection, Vivienne decided against throwing these clothing items away and chose to alter them by ripping them, knotting, cutting holes, rolling and stitching sl eeves together. Thereby, Westwood made a series of extraordinary clothes and especially T-shirts collaged with feathers, nipple-revealing zippers, studs, chains, potato prints, hand-stencilled garments and odd objects. She also put glitter on clothes and the whole work turned into something more creative and fun for her. Together with the punk style they also wanted to search for motorbike wear because the couple was interested in rubber, leather and fetishism. This collection of Westwood had the characteristic that, it was a point at which elements of sex imagery, cult fashion and politics met. This characteristic was sometimes a disadvantage because they were sometimes prosecuted under the obscenity of law for exposing to public view an independent exhibition . One characteristic example is that one of their T-shirts showed two naked cowboys which was thought to be unethical, unacceptable and inappropriate by society at large. Vivienne explained, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ my job is to confront the Establishment to try to find out where the freedom lies and what you can do: the most obvious way I did that was through the porn T-shirts  [9]  . Actually she always wanted to express sex somehow. Even when she put zippers on her clothes above all there were all sort of other sexy associations with the zippers  [10]  . All these characteristics like for example the zippers, leather, chains etc made her clothes surreal and somehow controversial. Also some of the clothes were characterized as rough and deliberately confrontational. To Fast To Live To Young To Die Collection In comparison with Let It Rock collection, here in the TFTLTYTD collection the influence of punk plays a bigger role and we can find characteristics of the punk movement in many clothes of Westwood. Figure 6. Venus T-shirt, TFTLTYTD 1972-1974In Figure 6 we can see Simon Barker wearing the famous hand-made Venus T-shirt which had armholes edged with sections of bike tyres and trimmed with horse hair. For this T-shirt Vivienne was inspired from motorbike wear and the punk movement. Generally, she used also many clues in order to express sexuality. Regarding to the punk style as I have referred to above, the clothes have chains, slogans, pins, leather etc.. So, here in this T-shirt we have as elements taken from punk such as lots of pins, chains and of course the slogan Venus. Also we see that Simon Barker is wearing leather trousers and army boots that Punks quite often wore. Figure 7. Vivienne Westwood, TFTLTYTD 1972-1974Moreover, as I referred to above, Vivienne wanted to express sex through her clothes, so most of the times she made and wore clothes with which she wanted to show that she was against all taboos. A characteristic example is in Figure 7, in which we see Vivienne wearing a shirt, a jacket and underwear from the TFTLTYTD collection without wearing jeans, or trousers above etc. By appearing in public like this she wanted to get the message across that she hated Puritanism and that people should not had taboos and prejudices regarding sex and the expression of the human body. The above opinion is also supported by Figure 8 in which we see Malcolm wearing the T-shirt Two Naked Cowboys of the TFTLTYTD collection. This is one of the T-shirts that had the couple prosecuted under the obscenity of law for exposing to public view an independent exhibition  [11]  . Vivienne didnt want to be limited in her designs regarding to ethical implications but sometimes she was obligated to be limited because of the authorities. Figure 8. Two naked cowboys, TFTLTYTD 1972-1974 Figure 9. McLaren and Westwood, TFTLTYTD 1972-1974 In addition, Vivienne herself wore the clothes she designed and by doing so she aimed at promoting the clothes and the punk style also. A characteristic example is Figure 9 in which we see Vivienne with Malcolm in a Photo shout. Vivienne is wearing leather jeans and a blouse with a zipper that could be characterized as conservative. In this photo shooting she wanted to wear something conservative but still in leather so we continue to see the effect of punk on her. She wanted to provoke and show that she is different, that she can be conservative through Punk too. As time passed McLaren set the scene for Punk via the next venture into a field that he knew would provoke still more outrage. He said characteristically in an interview of Elle magazine in November of 1985; It started with an interest in any form of youth revolt, so that it involved Teddy Boys and Rockers. Then we brought the sex element into it.  [12]  So, in 1974 they renamed their shop to SEX written with pink letters again. At that time they started selling bondage gear such as rubber body suits, rubber masks, leather mini skirts, leather underwear, shirts with chains, padlocks, fishnets, fetishistic lace-up boots and they also sold stilettos. At that time their slogan was Rubber wear for the office. The couple wanted to prove that they didnt care about taboos and prejudices and thats why in this collection they marketed clothes related to sadomasochism, fascism, pornography etc. Her clothes continued to shock society if we consider that this collection was selling sex more than the previous ones. Vivienne explains, all the clothes that I wore that people would regard as shocking, I wore them because I just thought I looked like a princess from another planet, I just thought I looked incredible in these clothes.  [13]  . The influence of Punk in SEX is more than in the previous collections because SEX clothes were mostly made of leather, chains etc which are basic elements of punk style. Punk was a cross-fertilization of SEX clothes  [14]  . Some people believe that punk was an eruption in the streets. But what it was infact was a fashion e vent from the start, like the creation of a historical painting based on a revolution; because that is what it actually was, a revolution. Sex Collection A characteristic example of this sexual revolution that Vivienne wanted to express through fashion is the T-shirt Tits in figure 10. It is a T-shirt from SEX and it was worn by both men and women but it was preferred by men because they wanted to shock by expressing the idea of homosexuality; Figure 10. Tits T-shirt, SEX 1974-1976 Figure 10. Tits T-shirt, SEX 1974-1976 Moreover as it was referred to above, punk influenced SEX in such a way Vivienne used their elements and their main fabric, leather in making her clothes. In Figure 11 we observe how punk influenced SEX. In this picture we see Jordan, shop girl of 1974, wearing a leather outfit of SEX. In the foreground it is shown a body suit made of leather belts and in the background we can find rubber clothes hanging on racks. Figure 11. Jordan, SEX 1974-1976 We can find another example of Punk influence on SEX in Figure 12, in which we see Johnny Rotten wearing a black leather bondage suit. This piece of clothing shows the combination of punk and sexuality because leather is the fabric of punks and when we talk about bondage suits we relate them to sadomasochism and generally sex. Figure 12. John Rotten, SEX 1974-1976 Furthermore in Figure 13 it can be detected Vivienne wearing a total black outfit made of rubber and leather. It has some pins on top and Vivienne is also holding some leather straps attached to other leather objects. Malcolm and Vivienne had gone all the way by making a public display of the leather and rubber stuff that fetishists succumbed to in private. Figure 13. Vivienne Westwood, SEX 1974-1976 What SEX was and generally what all Westwood collections were was a complex amalgam of various stylish influences, in which Punk had its roots in the streets of London and the music scenes of New York. As time went by the New York Dolls made their own decadent outfits to which Westwood added elements from the torn clothes of the pin-ups in Let it Rock, chains, zips, rubber wear and bondage garments of SEX. Consequently, in 1977 the shop and the collection changed its name yet again into Seditionaries under the slogan Clothes for heroes. The word Seditionaries was Viviennes concoction and was based on the fact that someone needed to seduce people in order to revolt. This moment was the peak of all this punk madness. In this collection the zips and straps of obscure sexual fetishism were transformed into fashion. Malcolm and Vivienne continued selling SEX T-shirts and fetish gear but everything was much smarter, less underground and less provincially British  [15]  . They made some T-shirts with photos, slogans on top and again they borrowed elements from the Punk movement. Savage wrote that Seditionaries brought the modern look in the 1970s but also Seditionaries clothes unleashed a more violent reaction combined with punk elements than SEX clothes. If the first Punks had thrown up every youth style since the war and then stuck it together with safety pins and panache, Seditionaries avoided retro yet caught the confusion: the look both in the original and the imitations spread thoughout the world  [16]  . This collection included again bondage trousers and clothes with straps and zips. Westwood in this collection used wool, mohair and leather for fabric which were elements of Punk movement. Westwood also made trousers based on military wear but even then she added her own elements based on sado-masochistic and fetishist gear. The Punks at that time had their own army uniform. The clothes were accessorized with pins, razor blades and silver phalluses. They tended to throw together sado-masochistic bondage paraphernalia and clothing associated with the hospital or the mental asylums so that they produced a surreal commentary on the anarchic tendencies of the sartorial display. Again with this collection Vivienne wanted to reveal taboos and mess with the normative class coding. One of the most significant factors of Punk at that moment was that it gave license for women to dress assertively. Vivienne said characteristically that Punk was what made her think of herself as a designer. Actually what Punk was both for her and society was a fashionable expression of a revolution. In fact, fashion itself became a revolution. Seditionaries Collection In Figure 14 we can identify that Vivienne made such shirts like in this Figure which has an image of Karl Marx in the top left hand in order to express revolution. Punks wanted to mess with everything and break the rules and norms. Marx symbolized revolution and was against the system as were the Punks. And this is the reason why her clothes appealed to Punks. Figure 14. Punk shirt, Seditionaries 1977 Figure 15. Blue cotton shirt, Seditionaries 1976-1980In Figure 15 we observe a Seditionaries blue cotton parachute shirt with strap harness, printed with situationist slogans such as Only Anarchists are Pretty. Regarding the Seditionaries clothes, they had borrowed elements from the Punk movement and also elements from the SEX collection. All these straps and slogans were characteristic of the Punk style and the whole parachute thing reminds us of the SEX bondage gear. In the 16th and last Figure we detect a few clothes of the Seditionaries worn by a number of Punks. The woolen sweaters that are shown in the figure and all these parachute jackets have been borrowed from the Punk style. In addition the jackets also have elements from SEX bondage and sado-masochistic gear which exists also in Seditionaries collection. Figure 16. Punk clothes, Seditionaries 1977 Conclusion Manifests are always written after an event. In retrospect, the manifest of the Punk movement allowed a person to express himself, to succeed or even fail in extravagant way. The music, fashion and of course the Punk movement were a huge art festival which was born from the life and the experiences that Malcolm McLaren gained in the school of Arts. He inspired Vivienne to create this vast business in the world of fashion based on the Punk movement. This was the new fashion, the new way of thinking. The couple started from a small shop in Kings Road and step by step they created their own rules for life, their own norms, their own identity. In other words they set the foundation for an alternative society. Of course all these things were based on the Punk movement and primarily on their ideology. Vivienne not only used the elements of the Punk movement but also their ideology. Through her fashion, she wanted to make rebellion and go against mainstream society, just like the Punks. Tha ts why she used symbols related to Punks and rebellion in her clothes like for example Karl Marx, or the swastika with the word Destroy on top etc. Combining irony and the ideology of Punks she wanted to break taboos like the issue of homosexuality or nudity etc. Actually McLaren and Westwoods aim was to create something new, totally fashionable while they were using symbolism to convey their ideas. And that was the point where they needed Punk, as inspiration and influence. Vivienne characteristically says about Punk Im proud to have been part of it. It was heroic at the time  [17]  . But as it is known, fashion is like a circle and the trends change every now and then, so the whole issue with the influence of the Punk movement in Viviennes career stopped at the beginning of the 80s. From the 80s there on, she introduced a startling and highly influential new vocabulary about fashion which was characterized as nostalgia for the future. In spite of this she never forgot her orig ins. Vivienne never created something conservative despite the fact that their future collections dont have elements from the Punk movement. Viviennes career was built on punk. Whenever she gives an interview she refers to the influence that Punk had on her work and life, saying characteristically that Punk and McLaren were the two factors that encouraged her to make fashion and to be who she is now. The punk period helped her develop creatively. Having created the Sex Pistols look he gained more self-confidence and realized her vast creative abilities. Fortunately, Punk helped Westwood expand her abilities, and identify her talent. Westwood was determined to leave her mark on international fashion which she certainly did.

American Flag :: essays research papers

The United States Flag is the third oldest of the National Standards of the world; older than the Union Jack of Britain or the Tricolor of France. The flag was first authorized by Congress June 14, 1777. This date is now observed as Flag Day throughout America. The flag was first flown from Fort Stanwix, on the site of the present city of Rome, New York, on August 3, 1777. It was first under fire for three days later in the Battle of Oriskany, August 6, 1777. It was first decreed that there should be a star and a stripe for each state, making thirteen of both; for the states at the time had just been erected from the original thirteen colonies. The colors of the Flag may be thus explained: The red is for valor, zeal and fervency; the white for hope purity, cleanliness of life, and rectitude of conduct; the blue, the color of heaven, for reverence to God, loyalty, sincerity, justice and truth. The star (an ancient symbol of India, Persia and Egypt) symbolized dominion and sovereignty, as well as lofty aspirations. The constellation of the stars within the union, one star for each state, is emblematic of our Federal Constitution, which reserves to the States their individual sovereignty except as to rights delegated by them to the Federal Government. The symbolism of the Flag was thus interpreted by Washington: â€Å"We take the stars from Heaven, the red from our mother country, separating it by white stripes, thus showing that we have separated from her, and the white stripes shall go down to posterity representing Liberty.† In 1791, Vermont, and in 1792, Kentucky were admitted to the Union and the number of stars and stripes was raised to fifteen in correspondence. As other states came into the Union it became evident there would be too many stripes. So in 1818 Congress enacted that the number of stripes be reduced and restricted henceforth to thirteen representing the thirteen original states; while a star should be added for each succeeding state. That law is the law of today. The name â€Å"Old Glory† was given to our National Flag August 10, 1831, by Captain William Driver of the brig Charles Doggett. The Flag was first carried in battle at the Brandywine, September 11, 1777. It first flew over foreign territory January 28, 1778, at Nassau, Bahama Islands; Fort Nassau having been captured by the American in the course of the war for independence.

Puerto Rican Cultural And Religion :: essays research papers

Puerto Rican Cultural and Religion I am a member of the Puerto Rican American Families research team. I myself grew up in a Puerto Rican American, or "New Yorican", family. The assignment is a field study. The study is on an observation of the religious community. We visited a Roman Catholic church in Buffalo on the west side, which is a predominantly Hispanic area of the city. I myself am also a Roman Catholic. This is a slightly erred site, because I believe that most Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City. However, we were able to make some interesting observations. The group attended mass at Holy Cross; both an English and Spanish mass. It seemed that the group accepted our presence without any apprehension, however, as I stated before, this probably is a result of I myself being Puerto Rican American. There were some striking differences between the English mass and the Spanish mass. The first noticeable difference was in attendance. The Spanish mass had a considerable higher attendance than did the English mass. Also the appearance of the manner of dress. The attendees of the Spanish mass were more formally dressed than those of the English mass. Another major difference was in the music. The English mass had the "traditional" European "angelica" type singing. The Spanish mass, however, had more upbeat music, along with the use of "traditionally" Carribean instruments like maracas, for example. What does this suggest about the religious community of Puerto Rican Americans? I think that it is a balance between assimilation and preserving the culture. I think it is obvious that Roman Catholicism was not the native religion of Borinquen. Borinquen was the name of the island Puerto Rico before the conquest of the Spanish. So since they had already been forced to assimilate their culture into European culture by the Columbians, they found they could easily assimilate into American culture more readily than other cultures. However, we find in the Spanish mass, the use of Carribean instruments. This suggests an effort by the religious community to maintain the Puerto Rican culture. I personally have experienced the efforts to maintain Puerto Rican culture in the form of Santeria. Santeria is a religion practiced by, I guess, many Puerto Rican Americans. It is practiced in the homes of Puerto Rican Americans when they are not in church. Puerto Rican Cultural And Religion :: essays research papers Puerto Rican Cultural and Religion I am a member of the Puerto Rican American Families research team. I myself grew up in a Puerto Rican American, or "New Yorican", family. The assignment is a field study. The study is on an observation of the religious community. We visited a Roman Catholic church in Buffalo on the west side, which is a predominantly Hispanic area of the city. I myself am also a Roman Catholic. This is a slightly erred site, because I believe that most Puerto Ricans migrated to New York City. However, we were able to make some interesting observations. The group attended mass at Holy Cross; both an English and Spanish mass. It seemed that the group accepted our presence without any apprehension, however, as I stated before, this probably is a result of I myself being Puerto Rican American. There were some striking differences between the English mass and the Spanish mass. The first noticeable difference was in attendance. The Spanish mass had a considerable higher attendance than did the English mass. Also the appearance of the manner of dress. The attendees of the Spanish mass were more formally dressed than those of the English mass. Another major difference was in the music. The English mass had the "traditional" European "angelica" type singing. The Spanish mass, however, had more upbeat music, along with the use of "traditionally" Carribean instruments like maracas, for example. What does this suggest about the religious community of Puerto Rican Americans? I think that it is a balance between assimilation and preserving the culture. I think it is obvious that Roman Catholicism was not the native religion of Borinquen. Borinquen was the name of the island Puerto Rico before the conquest of the Spanish. So since they had already been forced to assimilate their culture into European culture by the Columbians, they found they could easily assimilate into American culture more readily than other cultures. However, we find in the Spanish mass, the use of Carribean instruments. This suggests an effort by the religious community to maintain the Puerto Rican culture. I personally have experienced the efforts to maintain Puerto Rican culture in the form of Santeria. Santeria is a religion practiced by, I guess, many Puerto Rican Americans. It is practiced in the homes of Puerto Rican Americans when they are not in church.

European Settlements and the Decline of Indian Power in America Essay

European Settlements and the Decline of Indian Power in America What today is the state of Virginia used to be Native American lands. The Indians claim that God had given them the right to own and settle those lands. The problem as we have seen in class is the Europeans such as the Spanish and English came and took over the Native American land in the name of the King and /or Queen. They invaded their territory, and destroyed their culture, all in the name of conquest. What I intend to show is how these problems developed for the English from the years of 1607 to 1644. Kirkpatrick Sale in his book Conquest of Paradise says that the English were just carrying out the Columbian legacy with the same brutality toward the Native American population. The main goal of the English as well as the Spanish was to settle large chunks of land and have military control over a backward (as they saw it) society. By 1610 the enemy for the English was the natives, or as they called them savages, and their mission was to take them prisioner and make them slaves. It even says in the charter granted to the colonists in 1607. "Which may by the Providence of Almighty God, hereafter tend to the glory of his divine majesty, in propagfting of the Christian religon to such people as yet live in darkness and miserable ignorance of all true knowledge and worship of God and may in time bring the infidels and savages living in those parts to human civility and to settled and quiet government (Warner 38). Plus if the natives became hostile they felt that it w as their right to ta ke their corn while in return giving them useless things of no pratical value, such as beads, compasses, and looking glasses. The English felt that in time the Indians would com... ...t I want or I will slaughter your population and take you prisioner. Plus the Indians were on English land when it really was their inherited land from their ancestors. It was like what Columbus did on Hispanola; he took over native lands and did what he wanted with the Indian tribes, steling their land putting them in slavery and having them recognize the Spanish as superior people. It was a battle between the Indians and the colonizers and as we can see the colonlists won. It really was a clash of cultures with the latter winning. Bibliography Campell, Charles. History Of The Colony And Acient Domion of Virginia. Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott and Co. 1860. Sale, Kirkpatrick. The Conquest of Paradise Christopher Columbus and the Columbian Legacy. New York 1991 Warner, Charles D. Captain John Smith 1579 - 1631 New York, Harvey Holt and Company. 1881