Madagascar Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Madagascar - Essay Example The population of Madagascar in 2012 was 22,293,914 (â€Å"Madagascar-Population†). Food in Madagascar comprises rice as an essential element. The national dish of Madagascar is Ramazava which is made with mixed greens and beef sautà ©ed with onion, tomato, and ginger. Although Malagasy food is reasonably spicy for the most part, yet Piri-Piri is an extremely spicy pepper paste commonly used in Malagasy food (â€Å"Madagascar: Food†). Ancestors in the Madagascar society remained united and were against segregation. Forming a wonderful amalgamation of language, religion, and tradition, these ancestors set the pattern of modern culture in Madagascar. The contemporary society of Madagascar is a fine blend of modernism and traditionalism. Malagasy is the main language spoken in Madagascar and the origin of this language is linked with Maanyan that is the language of South Eastern Borneo (â€Å"Society and Culture†). Cargo boats are the main transport means on the northeast coast of Madagascar. They are not very safe means of transport particularly when they are overloaded. Boat travel is unsafe on the east coast specially during the rainy season. International Driving Permit (IDP) is required to drive car or motorcycle in Madagascar. MadaBus is a long-distance bus company that operates on Tamatave and Toliar routes (â€Å"Getting around†). Formal education appeared in Madagascar in the modern sense for the first time in 1820 when a school was established in Antananarivo by the missionary David Jones from the London Missionary Society (â€Å"Education in Madagascar†). Madagascar is one of the poorest countries of the world in spite of its cultural and biological richness mainly because of economic colonialism, kleptocractic rule, lack of infrastructure, and lack of adequate educational system (â€Å"Why is

Analysis of Global Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Analysis of Global Governance - Essay Example On the other hand, it has been proved that the decisions of governments on crucial political, social and economic issues may present similarities in countries internationally – a phenomenon observed especially in countries with common social or cultural characteristics. In this way, local political choices may influence the forms of international policies – a trend well developed in areas such as security and governance. The current paper focuses on the critical examination and comparison of two studies focusing on global governance: the study of Held & McGrew (2002) and that of Wilkinson & Hughes (2002); both of these studies refer to the criteria, the characteristics and the implications of global governance. The interpretation of global governance – as given by the above writers – is critically discussed by referring to the actual political and social conditions in the international community. Moreover, the examination of their work led to the assumptio n that global governance can have a long-term impact on various aspects of international political and social framework. In this study, an emphasis is given on the implications of global governance for security – as these implications can be identified in the work of Held et al. (2002) and Wilkinson et al. (2002). It is concluded that the above studies indicate a relationship between global governance and security; however, the level at which this relationship is developed is depended on the grade of acceptance of the relevant schemes by the authorities of each country – which are asked to adopt a specific global governance or security scheme. In order to evaluate the potential differences in the interpretation of global governance as developed by Held et al. (2002) and Wilkinson et al. (2002), it would be necessary to refer primarily to the criteria on which these two studies have been based.  Ã‚  

Confirmation Letter Essay Example for Free

Confirmation Letter Essay The reason why i am seeking the rite of confirmation is because i have followed the catholic religion all of my life and want to be part of the catholic religion for the rest of my life. i would like to raise my children and family as catholics. I believe in jesus christ and all the teachings of the bible. I have been baptized, ive had my first communion and its only natural that i would take the next step to be confirmed. im looking forward to being seen as an adult in the eyes of the catholic church. I will attend church masses on a regular bases. Another reason why i want to be confirmed is because its one of the seven sacrements. Sacrements are signs of Gods life and love. Confirmation is the sign that gods holy spirit will love you and always be with you. The sacrement of confirmation is the strength to be faithful to gods will, to be a strong and perfect catholic. Confirmation is a stage in catholic religion after Baptism, and is completed in the reception of the holy eucharist in communion. One last reason why i would like to get confirmed is to recieve the holy spirit and you become more responsible. When you recieve the holy spirit you are recieving God and it will help you make decisions and it will comfort you and strengthen you. Getting confirmed will also make you become more responsible because if you say you want to be confirmed then you are responsible for coming to church each week, praying more and acting more like jesus.

Understanding Personality In Order To Improve Communication

Understanding Personality In Order To Improve Communication New Britain Oils is a Palm Oil manufacturer who specialises in fully sustainable Palm Oil. The organisation is a subsidiary of New Britain Palm Oil Limited which has been around since the 1980s. The organisation consists of a number of site across the globe with the main plantations growing in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands covering 82,000 hectares and employing over 10,000 workers. There are only two refinery, one in Papua New Guinea and the second is in Liverpool. Liverpool is the only site outside of Australasia and had an opening employment count of 26 in 2010, this number currently stands at 78 in 2016. The Liverpool Refinery opened in 2010 starting with bulk oil supply into 28 tonne road tankers. In 2012 the Packing Facility was opened, this plant converts some of the bulk oil into industrial margarine and other bakery fats. Since opening in 2010 New Britain Oils is now the number one supplier of sustainable Palm Oil in the UK. With the rapid growth of the Liverpool site came an increase in employees and inevitably the dynamic of the working environment changed with it. Some employees left the organisation, who have since been replaced, and new departments have been created to cope with the growth of the business. Consequently this instability has affected the productivity in some areas. This issue couldve been exacerbated by the management teams failure to recognise this variation and react accordingly. Bringing in new workers will bring in differing psychological preferences and according to Jung (1971) preferences influence our choice of careers, ways of thinking, relationships, and work habits. Richard L. Hughes et al. (2015) stated that our preferences play a role in the characteristic and unique ways we behave from day to day. Consequently, could increasing the management awareness of their teams individual preferences promote better relationships, through improved communication, within the organisati on? Mary Uhl-Bien and George B. Graen (1995) discovered that higher quality Leader-Member Exchange relationships have very positive outcomes for leaders, followers, work units, and the organisation in general, the same research also found that the development of Leader-Member Exchange relationships is influenced by characteristics and behaviours of leaders and members. This assignment will first outline what can affect the effectiveness of a leader and why increasing the value of relationships could increase the effectiveness of a leader. Using existing research it will look at why communication is a crucial tool for a leader and how an understanding of how differing personality types interact, prefer to receive information and what drives their decision making,   can enable leaders to communicate more effectively.   A recognised psychological test will be used to gather data about the psychological preferences of some of the employees across different areas of the business with the objective being to identify potential differences in preferences. The overall aim of the research is to increase the management teams awareness of some of the differing personality types within their department and understand the differences between these types. The intention is to educate the management team and give them the opportunity to adapt their leadership s tyle to promote better quality relationships through a better understanding of the individuals within their team. Literature Review Leadership Leadership has been the subject of research for a long time. Burns (1978) stated that due to its importance in human groups, the concept of leadership is one of the organisational topics that have most intrigues researchers for centuries. As a result, attempts to define leadership have proved to be an ambiguous. Leadership as simply a complex form of social problem solving (Miller and Ross 1975), leadership is directing and coordinating the work of group members (McCall Jnr et al. 1988), leadership is creating conditions for a team to be effective (Reason and Mycielska 1982). Powell and Pirsico (rev. ed. 2003) defined leadership as the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. All of the definitions stated have a connection which is the reference to a group or team. This implies that leadership would not exist without individuals to lead. The definitions detailed show the variation in concepts of leadership and this is reflected in the research. Some leadership researchers have focused on the leader-follower relationship and Geoff Thomas et al. (2013) stated that the reason we focus on the leader-follower relationship is because research shows that the quality of this relationship is reliably linked to follower well-being and performance. Other researchers, such as John Adair, looked at how the situation can affect the way leaders act. Adair identified that leadership is affected by three things. The task, the team and the individual and leaders need to balance their time equally between the three areas and at certain times one of the areas will dominate, but over the long run a balance would be achieved (John Adair 1982). Figure 1. shows John Adairs concept of action centred leadership. In different situations the circles will be overlapping different amounts showing which the dominant factor is. Figure 1. John Adair (1982) Researchers have studied the behaviours of the leader and what behaviours are associated with an effective leader. Leadership is earned and it is not granted by role or rite of passage (Lloyd l. Sederer 2012) and through our interactions humans sustain the effect of leadership and we interpret it even though we may not be aware that we do so (Kempster and Parry 2011). This means that leaders could be established by displaying a distinct set of behaviours which followers associate with a leadership role. Research shows that there are behaviours that can be attributed to an effective leader. These are known as The Six Cs of Leadership Credibility (Bamford, 2016) Figure 2. David Bamford (2016) Communication would fall under the Character umbrella and plays a crucial fundamental role in every business. The quality of the communication can be affected by the relationship between two individuals and a key element of the quality of the relationship is the interaction between the personalities. Different personalities and give out information in different ways and how this information is interpreted can affect the quality of the communication.   Leaders who have calm dispositions and do not attack or belittle others for bringing bad news are more likely to get complete and timely information from subordinates than are bosses who have explosive tempers and a reputation for killing the messenger (Hughes et al. 2015). Personality Many theories have been developed to explain what causes individuals to behave the way they behave and why they behave differently to other individuals. The term personality is among the most comprehensive of those in the psychologists vocabulary, clarification of its connotation to the satisfaction of a majority, even of psychologists, is difficult (John K. McCreary 1960). This view begins to explain the range of opinions as to what personality means to people. McCreary goes on to describe some the definitions as experimental, calling for criticism and inviting agreement. This belief is quite ambiguous as all definitions would fall under one of those three categories. Robert Hogan (1991) had a different approach and he stated that the term personality is fairly ambiguous and has at least two quite different meanings rather than a definition. The first meaning implies that personality is the impression a person makes on others. The second meaning is less obvious and focusses more on the unseen processes within a person which explains why we behave the way we behave. These internal processes have been categorized as traits by some researchers. Personality traits as useful concepts for explaining why people act fairly consistently from one situation to the next (Hughes et al. 2015). Traits are characteristics or habits which are specific to an individual. Traits can have one of two outcomes, such as extroversion and introversion however, individuals are not categorized into one these traits but rather they sit on a scale which may show a preference towards one of the two oppositions. If we attempt such scaling, we should remember that we are likely to constrain personalities unnaturally fitting them into one mould (Allport and Odbert 1936) Gordon Allport and Henry Odbert were theorists the idea of traits and trait names. They explored two comprehensive dictionaries and identified 17,953 trait-names in the English language. They reduced the list down to 4500 adjectives. They reported that the unfamiliarity of a large proportion of the trait-names in our list proves that our practical vocabulary is inadequate to the task of representing the complex phenomena of human nature (Allport and Odbert 1936). They arrange the traits into a hierarchy of three: Cardinal Traits the dominant trait Central Traits general characteristics Secondary Traits not obvious, such as attitudes Raymond Cattell further explored the work completed by Allport and Odbert by taking the list of 4500 adjectives and reducing it down to 171 by removing all the synonyms. Cattell was the first to collect data regarding personality traits. The outcome of the data he collected allowed him to come up with 16 personality factors which he used to come up with an assessment called the 16PF. This was one of the first attempts to measure personality. Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Measuring personality is difficult because personality cannot be seen but some psychology researchers have devised tools that can be used to give results owing to an individuals psychological preferences. The most commonly used tool is the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). This tool evolved over a period of 5 decades and was based on the work carried out by Swiss Psychologist Carl Jung who spent a lot of his career researching personalities within individuals. Jung defined two opposing tendencies in personality: introversion and extroversion and while both tendencies are present in all individuals, one tends to dominate the other (Almerinda Forte 2005). Along with the two opposing tendencies for personality, Jung also identified four functions relating to personality which are thinking, feeling, sensing and intuiting. Katharine Briggs and her daughter Isabel Myers both had an interest in individual differences which they brought together, including the work done by Carl Jung, which resulted in the development of the MBTI. The MBTI is a very popular tool used worldwide mainly for psychiatric patients but also the MBTI has been in extensive use in personal and management development since the early 1970s (Leary et al. 2009). The MBTI is based on the principle that the differences in behaviour from one person to another can be expressed in terms of preferences between the polarities (Amel Behaz and Mahieddine 2012) and the MBTI focuses on two primary human activities: how people gather information and how they make decisions (Richard J. Daisley, 2011). However, note that measurement is only possible if we blindly insist that people are comparable in respect to each common trait (Allport and Odbert 1936) Allen et al. (2002) adapted the Four-Part Framework developed by Susan Brock to demonstrate the difference between each of the oppositions. This is shown below: Figure 3. Allen et al. (2002) In completing the MBTI each of the individuals will demonstrate a preference for one of the two oppositions. For example the introvert/extrovert scale is based how the individual get their energy whilst the sensing/intuitive scale considers how people interpret data. The thinking/feeling scale looks at the factors people take into account when making decisions and the judging/perceiving scale considers the amount of information an individual needs before making a decision. Yuval Cohen et al. (2013) described each of the bipolar oppositions in their paper based on personality types of project managers. Figure 4. Yuval Cohen (2013) The first opposition is the most commonly associated when thinking about differing personalities: Introversion or Extroversion. There are three main differences between introversion and extroversion. Energy creation is noted as the most important difference, but the response to stimulation and the approach to knowledge are also different (Heidi Eve-Cahoon 2003). Introverts are energized by the internal world of ideas, impressions, and emotions, whereas extroverts focus outside of themselves and are energized by activities, people, and things of the outside world (Heidi Eve-Cahoon 2003). Extroverts are often seen as possessing the desirable set of personality traits for success in todays fast-paced world, on the other hand, introverts bring a whole host of desirable personality traits to the table, which need to be equally valued, nurtured, and utilized (Shelley J. Schmidt 2016). Samples for the United States suggest that 55 to 60 percent of all people are extroverts (Gardner and Martinko 1996). Fretwell et al. (2013) highlighted some data (Filbeck et al. 2005, Fox-Hines and Bowersoch 1995) relating to each of the four dimensions, which demonstrates the preferences of the U. S. population. This data agrees with other research that a greater percentage of individuals have an extroverted preference. Results of this study will demonstrate any direct correlation to the results of the U. S population. Figure 5. Fretwell et al, (2013) A similar study was documented in Training and Coaching Today (2007) which showed the findings from a recent MBTI study of 1634 individuals in the UK. Figure 6. Training and Coaching Today (2007) As New Britain Oils is situated in the UK, it is predictable that the results from this study will correlate to the results from the study of the UK individuals. As there are four bipolar oppositions for MBTI, this means that there are sixteen possible results which could be given based on the responses to the questions and the scores obtained on the bipolar scale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Figure 7. One downside to having so many possible outcomes and factors involved is that it takes interest and effort to remember ones type (William A. Lynagh 2006). Psychology researchers and advocates of personality preferences maintain that no one type is better than the others because a team benefits from the presence of varied personality types (Cynthia Plonen 2015). The best way to think of it is that neither set of traits is better or more valuable than the other rather, they are different, often complementary, and both are needed to make the world go round, so-to-speak (Shelly J. Schmidt, 2016), however many more leaders are ISTJs, ESTJs, and ENTJs than other types (Hughes et al. 2015). Gathering data from the management team will be able to demonstrate a positive or negative correlation to this statement. Methodology The data collection process involved 25 employees from a number of departments and all of the employees who completed the questionnaire did so voluntarily. Results were obtained from 100% of the employees in two departments along with 50% of employees from another department. Shift patterns limited one department but a representative sample of 65% was obtained to provide data. In addition, 57.14% of the management team were included in the study to determine the range of the personality preferences amongst the management team. Figure 7 shows the structure of the organisation. Figure 7. Despite there being question marks over the integrity of personality measurement instruments, they are still widely used in organisations. A Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test, based on the MBTI, will be used to gather the data for this study. The questionnaire consists of 64 multiple choice questions which will result in a four letter type based on the Myers-Briggs 16 types. The Humanmetrics Jung Typology Test was selected because the results will correlate directly to the MBTI theory and also this method is more accessible for employees and allows for more data to be collected. The purpose of the questionnaire is to begin to develop an understanding of the personality types that exist within some departments of the organisation because personality questionnaires are ideal for describing personality (Luke D. Smillie 2008). The MBTI has been used widely across a number of business sectors for decades. The instrument has been extensively tested for reliability and validity (James C. Lampe 2004) and the extensive research on the instrument since its development supports its reliability and validity (Moore et al. 2004). Over 2 million copies of the instrument are sold each year (Pittenger 1993) and the MBTI is the most widely used instrument for non-psychiatric populations (A. J. DeVito 1985). Despite its depth of validation there are still many sceptics of the MBTI itself as a viable instrument and future research must use more rigorous designs before greater confidence can be placed in the results (Gardner and Martinko 1996). It has been speculated that subjects of the instrument can falsify their responses in an attempt to achieve different results. This wary approach, when questioning the validity of the responses, could be considered when the instrument is used as part of an organisations recruitment process as subjects could change their responses in an attempt to become more appealing to an employer. The organisation has 78 employees and a sample of 32% were included in the study but statistical generalisation is difficult owing to the low number of cases (Bamford et al. 2003). Some correlations can be made between the existing literature and the results of the MBTI used in the organisation but this cannot be reflective of the organisation as a whole. Findings Key Findings The key findings from the research showed that there are a range of personality types present within the organisation and out of the 16 possible personality types the individuals from the organisation fell into 9 of those types. Over 50% of the results from the individuals who took part in the study fell into 3 of the possible 16 personality types. All 3 of the common personality types included a preference for thinking rather than feeling and judging rather than perceiving. This means that 68% of the individuals included in the study prefer to be analytical, critical and make decisions objectively but those individuals only require a minimal amount of information to make decisions and as a result they can make poor decisions. ISTP ISFP ISTJ ISFJ 7 ESTP ESFP ESTJ ESFJ 1 5 3 INTP INFP INTJ INFJ 1 ENTP ENFP ENTJ ENFJ 1 1 4 2 Figure 8. Introvert/Extrovert Preference As mentioned previously, one of the dimensions that then MBTI specifically looks at is where individuals prefers to focus their energy. This dimension has two bipolar oppositions, introversion and extroversion. The data gathered shows that 68% of the individuals who took part in the research had a greater preference for extroversion. This means that more than half of the employees at the organisation prefer to work in larger groups, get their energy from people and activities. The management team could use this data to adapt their leadership style to suit some of the personality preferences within their team and using a collective approach to problem solving may prove to be more effective. Customer Service Team Personality Types 75% of the customer service team have a preference for extroversion and this would fit well with their role and responsibilities as they obtain their energy from interacting with people. Having this preference could help them to build better relationships with customers and suppliers. 100% of the customer service team had a preference for thinking which means they are more concerned with operational considerations and are able to detach themselves from the decisions they make which is a good characteristic to have relative to their role. Engineering Team Personality Types          50% of the engineering department contributed to the research and 100% of the employees who contributed showed a preference to extroversion so using team meetings when tackling engineering issues would give the extroverts the forum to think out loud, share ideas with each other and has the potential to be very effective. The Engineering Manager showed a preference to introversion and so he would prefer to take the information gathered from the team meeting and spend some time thinking about in order to come up with the most effective solution. This approach to engineering issues has the potential to be very productive by considering the individuals preferences in order to maximise their input and provide the Engineering Manager with lots of information before making decisions. Shift Workers Personality Types The responses from the shift workers presented a large amount of variation, however, 69.23% of the shift workers, who completed the questionnaire, showed a preference for extroversion. This outcome is reasonably foreseeable in having a higher number of extroverts in this department as all of the individuals work on a shift consisting of four employees. Individuals with a preference for introversion would be less attracted to work which would include them working within shifts, although only having four employees on a shift would be more attractive than organisations with high numbers of employees on each shift. 92.3% of the shift workers showed a preference for judging rather than perceiving and individuals with this preference only require a minimal amount of information before making a decision. Shift workers operate on a 24 hour rotation system therefore they work outside of normal hours and so they are expected to make quick decisions independently. Individuals who have a preference for perceiving like to intake as much information as possible before making a decision and so too many perceivers on one shift could delay decisions and corrective action which could result in reduced output from that shift. Management Team Personality Types 57.14% of the organisations management team took part on the study. The data shows that the management team fall into three different personality types: ISTJ, ESTJ and INTJ. The results showed that 50% of the individuals who contributed had a personality type of ISTJ which displays characteristics which would typically be associated with someone who is in a senior position, such as being serious, practical and realistic. 75% of the management team, which would equate to 42.8% of the total management team, demonstrated a preference for introversion rather than extroversion and these members of the management team are responsible for technical, engineering and the safety department. All of these departments are smaller, in team size, than all of the other departments and each of these members of the management team have their own individual office and so it is foreseeable that they would have a preference for introversion. The extroverted individual from the management team is responsible for a large team consisting of 20 shift workers and their workspace is located in the production area and so having the extroverted preference is advantageous to their ro le. All of the members of the management team showed preferences for thinking and judging rather than feeling or perceiving respectively. This again is a predictable outcome given their position within the organisation as this indicates that they prefer to be analytical, approach decisions objectively and pay careful attention to any potential operational impacts. Discussion The first of the four dimensions provides data on the individuals preferences towards introversion or extroversion. Samples from the United States suggest that 55 to 60 percent of all people are extroverts (Gardner and Martinko, 1996). The data obtained from this study appear to validate this statement as 68% of the individuals showed a preference for extroversion. The data in the study by Fretwell et al. (2013) noted that 70 75% of individuals in the U. S. have a preference towards extroversion and that data would correlate more closely with the data obtained in this study. The study of the U. K. showed only 52.6% of the individuals have a preference towards extroversion which is contradictory to the results of this study. Consequently more than half of the employees, involved at the organisation have a personality focused on the outside world, get motivation from interaction with other people and by doing things (Yuval Cohen, 2013). The data could be used by the management team in order to improve productivity by using groups sessions allowing the individuals share ideas. Comparison to Existing Research The data previously mentioned in the study by Fretwell et al. (2013) and the data shown in Training and Coaching Today (2007) showed results for individuals in U. S. and U. K respectively and some of those results are closely correlated to the results of this study. Dimension U.S. U.K. New Britain Oils Extrovert 70-75% 52.6% 68% Introvert 25-30% 47.4% 32% Sensing 70-75% 76.5% 60% Intuition 35-30% 23.5% 40% Thinking 60% males 40% females 45.9% 68% males 36.6% females Feeling 40% males 60% females 54.1% 32% males 33.3% females Judging 55% 58.3% 88% Perceiving 45% 41.7% 12% The similarity of results for the extrovert and introvert dimension has already been discussed but there are similarities with results for the other dimensions. The sensing and intuition dimension results are similar to the results from the studies of the U. S and U. K. albeit closer to the results from the U. S study, as there is a greater preference towards sensing. This means that the individuals prefer concrete details of a situation and rely on the five senses to observe facts or happenings (Fretwell et al. 2013)This also means that they tend to be practical, orderly, and down-to-earth decision makers (Hughes et al. 2015). When comparing the thinking and feeling dimension, the results are more closely correlated with the results for the study of the U. S. population. 72% of the individuals, in this organisation, showed a preference to thinking, however in the study of the U. K. the majority of the individuals showed a preference to feeling. This means that individual from this organisation prefer to assume a more objective approach to decisions and show more consideration to operational factors. Individuals who show a greater preference towards thinking are associated with careers such as consultants, lawyers, executives and engineers. (www.similarminds.com). The results for the final dimension show that overall the individuals from the organisation have a much greater preference for judging rather than perceiving. These results compare with the studies from the U. S. and U. K., in terms of the majority of the individuals showing a greater preference towards judging, however nearly 90% of this organisation shares this preference as were the other studies show just over 50%. This could impact the organisation because individuals with this preference tend to make up their minds quickly and as a result can make poor decisions (Hughes et al. 2015). The management team in the organisation presented results which partially correlated with the work done by Hughes et al. (2015), who stated that more leaders are ISTJs, ESTJs, and ENTJs than other types. In this organisation, the management team demonstrated personality types matching ISTJ and ESTJ however there were no ENTJ personality types from the results collected. 50% of the management team showed a personality type of ISTJ and this preference would be associated with behavioural characteristics such as being responsible, organised and punctu

crab stuffed cod :: essays research papers

Can you reading this now†¦ Good. Well here I am again in the kitchen I just can’t seem to get out of it. But today I will be telling you about one of my favorite dishes Gumbo, along with this I’ll be giving you a little history of the Cajun or Creole culture. I’ve had the honor of working with a few true Creole chefs along with the honor of meting Emerald Lagassi. So before we get into going to the store to buy the ingredients lets look at the Creole culture a bit. The French introduced a soup called bouillabaisse that served as a major influence in the creation of gumbo, a New Orleans signature dish. Combining butter and flour over heat formed their thickening agent, the roux. This classic French technique was later modified and expanded by various cultures to create numerous colors and tastes. This is what Big John called the mother of the Gumbo universe. It’s the sun that heats all the other planets around it. The Spanish spiced everything up by adding tomatoes and peppers in sauces and meat dishes. For instance, Shrimp Creole derives from the combination of a roux with tomatoes. Spanish paella traditionally a seafood and rice dish evolved into the Creole staple jambalaya, simply by adding ham or other seasonal ingredients. The Germans brought the knowledge and skills of sausage making. They arrived with a wide assortment of meat and dairy products as well. The Germans provided access to delicacies previously unavailable in South Louisiana. Italians brought to the New World their famous red gravies, garlic and bread crumbs. These primary ingredients were assimilated into local cooking staples to create stuffed artichokes, eggplant and mirliton (a type of squash). The foods characteristic of Native Americans included corn-based breads and cereals, squash (particularly mirlitons), bay leaves, and dried beans. They used persimmons in syrups and chokecherries to season smoked meats. Their largest contribution, however, was powdered sassafras leaves. Now referred to as filà © powder, this spice acts as a thickening agent in stews and soups. The people from the West Indies introduced rare vegetables and cooking styles, which also transformed Creole cuisine. They favored a slow cooking technique called braising, which allowed the ingredients to co-mingle into a richly layered flavor. This method was later imitated for gumbo African Americans in New Orleans were farmers and sophisticated cooks that united regional crops such as rice, beans and green leafy vegetables with traditional African ingredients like okra, yams, onions and garlic.

Principles of Leadership in American Military History Essay -- essays

What is the description of a leader? Honor, respect, dignity, self-confidence, kindness, etc.? Moreover, what is the portrait of a leader? Is it the man who is able to stand in front of a crowd of thousands? Or the man who sits in his office, addressing the public through a TV screen? Is it the man who struggles for the rights he was born with, that people refuse to hand to him? Or is it the man who goes to jail after fighting for liberty and justice? These are all fine examples of leaders. It does not matter what their claim is. They all eventually die with honor, gain respect, and had the self-confidence to go public and go the extremes in order to obtain righteousness. There is nothing wrong with a leader failing, but future leaders should learn to not repeat the past, for better and for worst. There are â€Å"crossroads of our history† that are very similar to the recent news we are presented with, which defies not making the past’s mistakes. Whether they succeed fail, or fall back into the same hole the past has fallen into, these men display different qualities of a leader, positive or negatively. Both Patrick Henry and Barack Obama gave powerful speeches and shined a new light among many in their crowds with one major leadership skill: unity. In his speech at the Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry’s most persuasive qualities lay in his rhetorical questions. Beginning with â€Å"They tell us, sir, that we are weak—unable to cope with so formidable an adversary,† Henry jumps straight into his repetition of questions, hitting his audience with his words so continuously, they seem ultimately unanswerable. Following when the country will be stronger, he asks â€Å"Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall b... ... minds, our opinions, our words, our strength and our will belong to the individual, and that is the most powerful weapon. There is no sign of an end to war, only the destruction of humanity. The timeline of history is repeating. Is our government looking at the errors of the past? Comparing our current crisis to Kennedy’s situation, is today’s enemy willing to compromise? Understandably, the precautions we have taken and the steps put forth these passed few years is due to the unpredictable behavior of our adversary. Perhaps we have really fallen into the same hole as our ancestors many years before, and our options really are limited and aiming in the same eventual fate. Maybe soon, every American, and others across the globe, will hold the same belief President Bush claims to own when he once said, â€Å"Out of this long political darkness, a brighter day will come.†

Frank Too Big Too Ignore Essay

â€Å"Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore† Summary Robert Frank, a professer at Cornell University, published an article for the New York Times on October 16, 2010. The title of the article was â€Å"Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore†. In â€Å"Income Inequality: Too Big to Ignore†, Frank argues that there are differences in the social classes of the American people and that it is having a negative effect on our economy’s growth. Frank explains that middle class citizens are in a struggle to maintain a good financial position. Meanwhile, the upper class citizens are spending copious amounts of money which makes it increasingly more difficult for the middle class to meet their basic needs. He says that the middle class are looking toward upper class citizens, comparing their posesions as well as their financial positions which makes the middle class feel financially unstable. Frank explains that the income gap between the classes are causing distress on marriages of American citizens. He states that divorce rates rise when people are in financial distress. in conjunction with finincial uneasyness, Frank explains that the willingness to ignore infrastructure is an effect as well as the relocation of lower class families to places that are further away from their places of employment. Frank concludes by how the income gap is not only unfair, but that it would be unwise to continue on the current path of income inequality. Connections Frank has a very bleak view of the economic status of America in which he shares with Herbert. One of the main evidence’s of this point is the comparison of Frank’s quote in which he states â€Å"By contrast, during the last three decades, the economy has grown much more slowly, and our infrastructure has fallen into grave disrepair.† (580) with Herbert’s quote â€Å"It will likely take many years, perhaps a decade or more, to get employment back to a level at which one could fairly say the economy is thriving.† (564) In comparison between Frank and Thomas, each author believes that there is something wrong with the system and that the American people need to do something about it. This can be justified within Thomas’ and Frank’s articles. Frank states â€Å"No one dares to argue that rising inequality is required in the name of fairness. So maybe we should just agree that it’s a bad thing – and try to do something about it.†(584). Thomas explains â€Å"We must also understand what got us here and the path that leads upward.† (570) Frank can also agree with Brandon King in the fact that America is still repairable. King states â€Å"If the Great Recession has taught us anything, it is that planning for the future by saving more and enacting policies that sustain economic growth are what will keep the American Dream alive.† In comparison, Frank believes that we need to consult the problem in order to repair it.