Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Blake Chapman Essays (525 words) - Cinema Of The United States

Blake Chapman Period 1 3/5/17 The Help Welcome to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1963, a place where African-American maids work in the homes of white women cleaning, cooking, and raising the children. Most of them are treated shamefully and are forced to listen to nasty comments on their failings and derogatory remarks about their race, including charges that colored people carry disease. What is forgotten is the patience, loyalty, and tender loving care the maids give to the often neglected children of their employers. The (2011) film "The Help", based on a novel by Kathryn Stockett, Starring Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Octavia Spencer, takes place in the world of Southern women. The white men may rule the world but not their own households so they are deliberately shut out here. The prejudice they display toward their wives or girlfriends sets up a chain reaction where the white women take their own insecurities and inadequacies out on the black help. The book tells the story of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s, starting in 1962 and ending in 1964. These are turbulent times for the entire country but especially turbulent for the people in Jackson, who are being forced to face up to their old ways - ways that are no longer acceptable to many. For the most part those ways revolve around segregation and the mistreatment of the blacks that live and work in a white man's town. Skeeter plans to write a book to change white people's minds. Aibileen and minny are the oppressed maids searching for acceptance. Hilly is the white woman that mistreats blacks and doesn't want equality for blacks. Stone is one of our very best young actresses and she acquits herself well in this role. She makes you imagine that this might be how Scout from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird might have turned out had she become a journalist: Too inquisitive, sensitive and empathetic not to brush aside the common wisdom of the day to see eternal truths about human beings. There are small moments in the film though that make you long for a movie that is not so deep-dish serious and self-conscious, a contemporary movie that could take advantage of the viewpoint of a half century to look at the past with a kind of cock-eyed grace such as the TV ser ies Mad Men . These moments come when you see a maid absurdly vacuuming a large stuffed bear. The Help is a serious drama that also has plenty of comic moments. You will care for all these characters. You will find yourself trying to figure out what makes them tick and the larger social context in which they live. You will worry with them, laugh with them, and, best of all, celebrate with them. This film has all the qualities of an engaging and heart-affecting movie. It was one of the Best Films of 2011 and even resulted in an Academy Award nomina tion for Viola Davis and a win for Octavia Spencer as Best Supporting Actress.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Compare and contrast the two worlds of Venice and Belmont depicted in Shakespears The Merchant of Venice Essays

Compare and contrast the two worlds of Venice and Belmont depicted in Shakespears The Merchant of Venice Essays Compare and contrast the two worlds of Venice and Belmont depicted in Shakespears The Merchant of Venice Paper Compare and contrast the two worlds of Venice and Belmont depicted in Shakespears The Merchant of Venice Paper Essay Topic: Back in the World Stories Merchant Of Venice Play The Lord Of the Rings the Fellowship Of the Ring The Merchant of Venice is a play written by Shakespeare. It corresponds two very contrasting stories and settings. One of these stories takes place in 16th century Venice and the other from Shakespeares imagination, Belmont. Both the stories have such different settings in them, which Shakespeare deliberately does. Theres The Bond Story, which takes place in Venice and then theres The Casket Story which takes place in Belmont. Both have totally different atmospheres and conflicting stories. Each setting forms the backdrop to two very different stories. The two settings have very dissimilar natures. Venice is a trading city with a thriving community. Venice is the centre of International trade making it a wealthy city. Shakespeare makes passing references to the citys features; Signor Antonio, many a time and oft In the Rialto you have rated me About my monies and my usances He continues; Since that the trade and profit of the city Consisteth of all nations. Therefore go. Belmont on the other hand comes from Shakespears imagination. Belmont is very femininely dominated. Its a wealthy city like Venice. Belmont is a fairy tale world of love and romance, which Shakespeare imagines it to be. It is a harmonious and tranquil city. Although we are not told if it is an island or not, we get passing references that give us a hint it is an island as it is described as a beautiful, opulent mansion; The watery kingdom, whose ambitious head Spits in the face of heaven, is no bar To stop the foreign spirits, but they come This shows the reader that the house must be a luxurious mansion. The phrase the watery kingdom shows it is Neptunes realm. Portia also shows the reader that her house is great; when Bassanio picks the right casket describes her house as this fair mansion. Belmont is the home of the rich Portia. Portia lives in a beautiful great mansion; But now I was the lord Of this fair mansion, master of my servants This shows that Belmont is magnificent, peaceful and tension free. The complete opposite to Venice. There are two main stories The Bond Story and The Casket Story. The bond story takes place in Venice and the casket story takes place in Belmont. Venice is a wealthy, trading city where much business man live. It consists of dramatic, tense events and is a place full of unhappy and unkind people, however it could be said that it also has a vibrant street life. The scenes in Venice mostly take place on the streets. It is very masculine. It is a mercantile risk-taking city. This is where the serious side of the play takes place. On the other hand Belmont is a city, which reflects tranquil, harmonious comedy. The main character of the bond story is the rich Jew, Shylock. He is the moneylender. The other characters in the casket story are Bassanio, an Italian lord who is a suitor to Portia, Antonio, a merchant of Venice. The main plot of the story is, that Bassanio wants to go to Belmont to marry Portia, however doesnt have enough money, so his good friend Antonio wishes to borrow money from Shylock to give to Bassanio to go to Belmont. Yet Shylock and Antonio hate one another; You call me misbeliever, cut throat dog, And spit upon my Jewish gaberdine This shows that Antonio has such hatred of Shylock. However Shylock lends Antonio three thousand ducats, but for a very harsh price; let the forfeit Be nominated for an equal pound Of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken In what part of your body pleaseth me As you can see Shylock is asking for exactly a pound of fair flesh from Antonio, from whatever part of the body he chooses. This makes the bond a murderous one especially between Shylock and Antonio. Shylock wants revenge for the many times he as a Jew has been hurt. This side of the play is dominated by hate. The main themes that take place in Venice are hatred, religious intolerance, revenge, greed and prejudice. This reflects upon the city as being murderous, dramatic and tense. Whereas Belmont on the other hand is a city of Love, marriage, romance and comedy. Belmont is an aspect of the play, which brings the comedy, fairytale romance into perspective. It changes the play from tense and murderous to fun and comedic. It breaks up the dark, horrid features of Shylock and adds gentle, beautiful features of Portia and Bassanio and Lorenzo and Jessica; an equal pound of your fair flesh, to be cut off and taken to How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! This also shows that Belmont is a peaceful, moonlit and calm place to be whereas Venice is masculine and tense. The casket story is set in Belmont; it mainly captures Portia, and her great beauty; In Belmont is a lady richly left, And she is fair, and fairer than that word- Of wondrous virtues. Sometimes from her eyes I did receive fair speechless messages The prince of Morocco repeatedly calls Portia as fair Portia. This shows her beauty. He also says all the world desires her. The comedic features take place in Belmont, when the suitors arrive. Before Portias father died he wanted to make sure she would marry the perfect man so he planed a test. He made three caskets; one gold, one silver and one lead. First came the prince of Morocco, he choose the Gold casket which was incorrect, then came the prince of Aragon, he choose the Silver casket which too was incorrect then finally came Bassanio he choose the casket that was made from lead and that was correct. Bassanio and Portia rejoice, Gratiano marries Nerissa and Lorenzo marries Jessica. The main themes here are love, marriage, romance and comedy. The societies represented in the two settings are very different. The Venetian society is energetic, opulent, full of wealthy confident young men for example; Bassanio, Lorenzo, Gratiano, Salarino and Salanio. They enjoy good fellowship and help each other through life for example when Gratiano and Salarino help Lorenzo elope with Jessica. Another example is when Antonio helps Bassanio court Portia. However they make life intolerable for those outside their group; Fair say, you spat on me on Wednesday last, You spurnd me such a day, another time You calld me dog: and for these courtesies Ill lend you thus much monies This shows that Antonio makes life intolerable for Shylock. This shows that Antonio has been so cruel to him simply because hes a Jew. Venice is a city full of dramatic tensions, especially racial tension; between the Christians and Jews. Shylock says; I hate him for he is a Christian This shows his hatred towards Christians, especially Antonio. They both hate each other simply for the fact that they are different religions; Antonio being Christian and Shylock being Jewish. Belmont is very different to the Venetian society. Belmont is a place of wealth and luxury. Portia lives in a mansion and when the prince of Morocco arrives there, he enters to a flourish of cornets. This shows Belmont is a place of harmony and ease free from the commercial bustle of Venice, and the racial tension. Both Belmont and Venice have different atmospheres, Venice being energetic and exciting. A city full of dramatic tensions for example racial tension, mercantile risk taking, when Antonio borrows money from Shylock in the hope that several ambitious business ventures will produce large profits; Why, fear not, man, I will not forfeit it. Within these two months, thats a month before This bond expires, I do expect return Of thrice three times the value of this bond This shows there is a lot of competition and rivalry, especially between two of the plays central figures Antonio and Shylock. Belmonts atmosphere on the other hand is calm, peaceful, and free from the tensions of Venice; How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank! Here will we sit, and let the sounds of music Creep in our ears; soft stillness and the night Become the touches of sweet harmony Shakespeare has chosen to set The Merchant of Venice in two very different settings because the play has two very different stories in it. One reason could be to provide a sharp and dramatically effective contrast. Another reason maybe The Venetian setting provides us with the serious side of tension. Conversely Belmont gives us the Casket story, which lightens the mood throughout the whole play, because Shakespeare has chosen to go back and forth from Belmont to Venice. For example the great drama of the court scene just before the plays end is immediately followed by the romance and gentle comedy of the plays final scene, the coming together of the three lovers, Bassanio and Portia, Gratiano and Nerissa and Lorenzo and Jessica. The play finishes in Belmont on a note of love and harmony rather than in Venice on a note of hatred, vengeance and betrayal.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Jane Addams and the Hull House Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Jane Addams and the Hull House - Term Paper Example As a small child, Jane wanted to be a doctor but there were only two fields that were acceptable at the time for women: getting married and having children or becoming a schoolteacher. When Jane was eight, her father re-married. Her stepmother had a big influence on the Addam's girls in the area of arts. Jane received a lot of attention from her father and because of this she realized that her potential as a woman was not as limited as she thought. She entered into the Rockville Female Seminary in 1877. She was very popular among her classmates because of her ability to write and speak.1 Soon after she graduated, she became ill and depressed, but wasn't sure how to deal with it. In 1881, her father suddenly became ill and died. She enrolled in medical school, but after the first semester, she became ill again and was put in the hospital for an extended period of time. Her brother also took a turn for the worse and had a mental breakdown, which in turn was an emotional setback for her . After Jane and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr opened the Hull House; they started to realize how bad conditions were in Chicago. They would take care of children so mothers could work; children were made to work long hours, and many other things that opened their eyes. Because of how many people they helped, Addams went around to many different women's clubs, church groups, and college students to talk about settlement houses, social reform and the ways that these people could help Chicago and the nation.2 Addams gave up a lot, considering her background; to live in the slums of Chicago and to help people the way she did was amazing. During the 1890's, settlement houses became more and more popular.3 She was a leader in this movement because of her writings and her lectures. Addams became more involved in national concerns. The US was declaring war on Spain and because of that, violent crime rates went up in Chicago. Because of her works, her protests eventually reached Charles R. Crane, a close friend of President Woodrow Wilson. These are meant to try to help people get back on their feet. These houses provide a way for parents to get jobs and not have to worry bout their kids. Once they get a steady job and keep it, then they can try to work and take care of their kids. One example of this concept would be a foster home. A foster home takes kids into the home for as long as is needed. Sometimes the kids go to another home and sometimes they stay and are adopted. After Jane and her friend, Ellen Gates Starr opened the Hull House, they started to realize how bad conditions were in Chicago. They would take care of children so mothers could work; children were made to work long hours, and many other things that opened their eyes. Because of how many people they helped, Addams went around to many different women's clubs, church groups, and college students to talk about settlement houses, social reform and the ways that these people could help Chicago and the n ation.4 Addams gave up a lot, considering her background; to live in the slums of Chicago and to help people the way she did was amazing. During the 1890's, settlement houses became more and more popular. She was a leader in this movement because of her writings and her lectures. 5 Addams became mor

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

What are the characteristics of the Mediterranean welfare state and Essay

What are the characteristics of the Mediterranean welfare state and what particular challenges do they face (Politics) - Essay Example Such a model of governance has been applied in varying degrees and forms throughout the world; however, the largest concentration of these has been noted within the continent of Europe. As a function of the horrors of the Second World War and a long history of social activism, many nations within the European model is the most developed form of the welfare state in existence in the world today. Although it may be simple and concise to simply lump all of these welfare states in together as a means of better understanding their core components and the ways in which they interact within the lives of their citizens, such an approach would necessarily miss many of the nuances that different cultures that and economic realities have with respect to the way the welfare state itself is exhibited. As a function of this, the following brief analysis will seek to consider the ways in which the so-called â€Å"Mediterranean Welfare states† differ from those that are in place throughout mu ch of the rest of Europe and indeed throughout the rest of the world. In this way, it is the hope of this author that such a level of analysis will help the reader to come to a better understanding of the social and economic externalities that define the way that these respective governments interact with their shareholders (Bover, 2011). Moreover, as a function of this level of critique and review, the author will also seek to provide a level of critique with regards to the challenges that such systems face as a function of the policies and actions that define them. Accordingly, such a report will include a high degree of economic analysis and consideration as a means of trying to understand the ways in which the central governments of these nations seek to divide and redistribute wealth while at the same time balancing job creation, FDI, and labour demands that define the

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Barriers to International Trade in the Current Economic Climate Essay

Barriers to International Trade in the Current Economic Climate - Essay Example The administrative cost of trade are not negligible in costs and are thus making businesses across countries appears expensive and leads to minimized profits (Farole & Akinci, 2011). A good example of an administrative trade barrier can be seen in the trade between the United States of America and Spain. Administrative costs of doing business between these two countries can be captured in where the cost of trade documentation and customs procedures is so numerous and inhibits trade. The administrative cost barrier can be solved by proper negotiations between the business community with the government of various states so that they can find a way of minimizing documentation and customs procedures (Daniels, Radebauch & Sullivan, 2011). Trading countries should also find a way of harmonizing their administrative means so that they avoid being prohibitive to trade between countries. Cultural differences Different places on earth are associated with different cultures that dictate the kin d of consumer lifestyle and behaviours with respect to different goods and services. The biggest the cultural difference, the increased economic distance between traders of that comes from different parts of the world. Cultures also bring in different norms and values that implicate the ease in which businesses are done between cultural diverse groups of people. Cultural familiarity increases decreases with an increase in cultural familiarity and this is also proportional to the ease with which trade can be conducted between those countries (Adekola & Sergi, 2007). An Indian doing business in Germany should also be similarly be ready to adapt to the local cultural... This paper offers a comprehensive theoretic analysis of the impacts of numerous economic factors, that hamper growth of the international trade. There have been many liberalization efforts that have been put in place to solve the barriers that affect international trade but they are still available. This has resulted in a scenario whereby trade between countries is smaller than trade within the country. The speed at which trade can take place between countries is a very important component of trade especially when it involves more than one country. Time affect the trade of perishable commodities like agricultural goods. The speed at which trade can take place between countries is a very important component of trade especially when it involves more than one country. Time affect the trade of perishable commodities like agricultural goods. Different places on earth are associated with different cultures that dictate the kind of consumer lifestyle and behaviours with respect to different goods and services. The biggest the cultural difference, the increased economic distance between traders of that comes from different parts of the world. Transporting goods between one place to another acts as a natural barrier due to high prohibitive costs needed to move some kind of goods. Tariffs are tax imposed by local government on goods and services that operate within their country to generate incomes for their country government. Safety regulations are sometimes a big barrier to the way in which businesses are done in most countries

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Relationship Between Nature and Architecture

The Relationship Between Nature and Architecture What has landscape architecture and industrialized society to learn from indigenous cultures and their symbiotic relationships with nature? ‘Despite nature’s many earlier warnings, the pollution and destruction of the natural environment has gone on, intensively and extensively, without awakening a sufficient reaction; it is only during the last century that any systematic effort has been made to determine what constitutes a balanced and self-renewing environment, containing all the ingredient’s necessary for man’s biological prosperity, social cooperation and spiritual stimulation.’ (Ian McHarg, Design With Nature) At the dawn of the twenty-first century it becomes clearer and clearer daily to scientists, environmentalists, and landscape architects alike, what massive climatic and ecological devastation has been caused by one-hundred-and-fifty years of human industrial activity. Mankind can no longer avert its eyes from environmental catastrophe by pretending that the science behind such doom-full asseverations is unsound, that the results are ambiguous, that the evidence is dubious. As these delusions are blown away by ever more certain evidence, there appear in their place the horrific spectre of rivers and oceans sated with pollution and filth, rainforests ravaged by deforestation, deserts extending at unnatural speeds, and   the atmosphere a toxic and noxious fog filled by the vast emissions of our industrial societies. In less than two centuries, man’s industrial and technological acceleration has brought him to the brink of environmental collapse. It is now evident to all but the most blinkered or obstinate governments that comprehensive action is needed urgently to prevent our follies from going past the environmental ‘tipping-point’ that we have neared and whereafter we risk permanent and irreparable devastation. There have been   myriad suggestions from environmentalists as to which solutions must be implemented to reverse this damage of the past two centuries; there have likewise been many summits, conferences and treaties convened to discuss these issues – the most recent major one being the Kyoto Agreement ratified by all countries except the United States. This essay however examines what landscape architects and conservationists may learn from the relationship with nature and the environment known by indigenous peoples for tens of thousands of years. It looks, in particular, at what may be understood from the ‘ways of life’ of the Bushmen of the Kalahari in Botswana and Namibia in particular, and also the aborigine peoples of Australia, the indigenous Indians of the Brazilian rainforest and the nomads of the Mongolian steppes. These peoples have lived in many instances, in a near perfectly harmonious and undisturbed relationship with nature for thousands of years in the case of the Kalahari Bushmen for over ten thousand years! The philosophies and mythologies of these peoples reveal how they understand and rejoice in the benevolence and fecundity of nature and the profound generosity of the gifts that she has continually bestowed upon them. Universally amongst these peoples there is an intense respect and gratefulness for nature and for what, in McHarg’s phrase, is the ‘glorious bounty’ that she provides. It seems almost too simple and too obvious to say that modern man, who has wreaked enormous damage in fifteen decades, might have a great deal to learn from peoples who lived without any such damage for more than one thousand decades!   In this essay’s analysis the term ‘symbiotic’ will be a key criteria of investigation; the notion of two organisms (man and nature) feeding from each other and using each other for mutual benefit. After a section of historical reflection where it glances at the seminal and pioneering ideas of Ian McHarg and J.B. Jackson, this essay goes on to explore how the knowledge of indigenous cultures about the environment might be fused with modern technology to create an ideal, sustainable and environmentally-friendly form of landscape design and city-planning. Moreover, the essay studies the notion of ‘collective consciousness’ amongst society as to the planet we inhabit and our collective responsibilities towards it. Throughout these last sections references are made to modern examples of the themes under discussion, as well as contemporary designers such as James Corner, Mark Treib and Sebastian Marot.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is vital for students of landscape architecture to know something of the genesis of the theory and practice of landscape architecture; this historical orientation informs the student as to how landscape architecture can be a medium through which the understanding of nature by indigenous peoples may be fused with the technological advances of our own societies to form and develop environmentally friendly and sustainable sites for the future. Within this history, perhaps no one’s ideas are more seminal than those of the father of the discipline: Ian McHarg.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Before the 1970’s mankind did not possess a comprehensive or total understanding of his relationship with nature and his environment; his knowledge was splinted and fragmented and so unification of environmental theories and ideas was a very rare event. Moreover, no detailed and systematic philosophy of environmental design had yet been conceived. The creation of this philosophy fell, above all, to Ian McHarg. Lewis Mumford’s eloquently tells us of the significance of McHarg’s, the ‘inspired ecologist’, for environmental studies and landscape architecture. Mumford says:   ‘. . . his is a mind that not only looks at all nature and human activity from the external vantage point of ecology, but likewise sees the world from within, and a participant and as an actor, bringing to the cold dry colourless world of science the special contribution that differentiates the higher mammals, above all human beings, from all other animate things: vivid colo ur and passion, insatiable curiosity, and a genius for creativity’. McHarg’s work was vital because he showed that man must conceive of his environment as a totality and respond to that totality with a dedication and awakened consciousness yet unparalleled in human history. McHarg opened man’s eyes to the destructive capabilities and tendencies of man with respect to his environment; he showed ‘. . . the way in which modern technology, through its hasty and unthinking application of scientific knowledge or technical facility, has been defacing the environment and lowering its habitability.’ McHarg nurtured a nascent consciousness amongst environmentalists and academics as to the threat of pesticides, herbicides, green-house gases etc; and his epoch-making book Design With Nature established the fundamental principles of a philosophy of landscape architecture and city-design that is harmonious with nature and seeks to benefit from nature’s gen erous fruits without consuming them exhaustively. McHarg’s philosophy had and has a practical aspect and a tremendous efficacy upon environmental renewal if people are willing to implement its advice. This knowledge must ‘. . . be applied to actual environments, to caring for natural areas, like swamps, lakes and rivers, to choosing sites for further urban settlements, to re-establishing human norms and life-furthering in metropolitan conurbations’. McHarg imbued landscape design and city-planning with a distinctive and previously all-together lacking moral and ethical dimension, and swung round the aesthetic sensibilities of these disciplines to exalt and revere the principle of harmonious inter-action and inter-dependence with the environment. In Mumford’s words, again: ‘McHarg’s emphasis is not on either design or nature herself, but upon the preposition with, which implies human cooperation and biological partnership’. By this philo sophy a design is not imposed upon nature and does not therefore run the risk of being unsuccessful due to its incompatibility with the environment; but instead a design emerges out of the natural features of the landscape. By this approach, the meeting of design upon environment will be a natural and harmonious fit. To use a medical metaphor: the landscape will not reject the organ that is transplanted within it: the two are intimately joined. Perhaps, at bottom, there emerges out of the work and philosophy of McHarg, Jackson, Rachel Carson and all who have come after them, the conviction, that if done in the correct way and with the correct attitude, man can even ‘improve or ‘perfect’ nature by adding the element of himself to it.   For more than ten thousand years the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, a vast 500,000 kilometre square area of southern Africa, have lived a lifestyle that has changed nearly nothing for this entire period. The Kalahari Desert appears to the softened Western observer as a barren, inhospitable and intolerably difficult place to survive – yet alone live continually! But the Bushmen have not only lived here amongst the dunes, plains and brush for countless millennia, but they have prospered also. At the heart of this ancient way of living is the harmonious and balanced relationship that the tribes of the Kalahari share with the environment that supports them. This is a ‘symbiotic’ relationship where man takes what he needs from nature, but only enough, so that nature in return profits by being treated respectfully. A useful analogy is the one Courtlander makes between the shark and the little fish that clean it: the shark is cleaned by these fish as they remove its parasites and in return the fish are fed by the parasites of the shark. The relationship between the Bushmen and nature is similar: the Bushmen feed from nature’s bounty and then nature benefits also to the extent that she is treated respectfully. This relationship is symbolised in the abodes and dwelling places of the Bushmen: their huts are made of materials taken from the immediate environment: grass, wood, animal skin, earth. These products are all used with maximum efficiency so that nothing is wasted and nothing in nature is harmed; these features are elaborated in the sacred places of worship of the Bushmen (mounds, mountains, watering-holes) where these materials are used more extensively. Klaus has shown in his three-volume work The Sacred Rituals and Magical Practices of the Bushmen of the Kalahari the Bushmen’s celebration of nature by way of numerous religious rituals and magical practices. Other cultures that share an such an intimate and delicate relatio nship, and such a direct reflection of this the style of their dwelling places, include the aborigine peoples of Australia who live a very similar lifestyle to the bushmen and venerate Ayres rock as the acme of nature’s munificence – as has been well documented by Kama’eleiwiha in Native Land and Foreign Desires; also, the myriad indigenous tribes of the Amazon basin in South America as recorded by Davies in his Indigenous Tribes of Brazil; and the nomadic peoples of the Mongolian steppes. What then has the modern landscape architect to learn from the symbiotic relationship of indigenous peoples with nature? Landscape architects of 2005, often working on sites at the derelict fringes of society, on industrial waste-grounds, the edges of motorways, close to airports and so on are often forced to work with sites that are sated with pollution, toxins, scrap materials and waste products. The rejuvenation of sites as these by landscape architects must be in accordance with principles of sustainability and environmental balance. The Bushmen of the Kalahari, the aborigines of Australia and so on have, above all, a certain ‘control’ about the way they occupy and use their environment. The Bushmen will only kill as many animals as suffice to satisfy their hunger; by not hunting to excess the Bushmen ensure the stability of the livestock populations and the other species that depend upon them. The aborigines of Australia and the nomads of Mongolia are intimately awa re of the maximum amount that they can take from nature without forcing deprivation upon her; there is a ‘collective consciousness amongst these peoples as to their responsibility towards nature and as to what the relationship is between nature and society. For an aborigine or South American Indian to do damage to or pollute his environment is tantamount to an act of self-harm and self-destruction; and as such acts of mass pollution are undocumented amongst such peoples. Landscape architects must adopt a similar collective consciousness and try to emit this through their designs so that their audiences and users come to take up a similar consciousness. Landscape architects must also learn something of the ‘control’ exhibited by indigenous peoples towards the environments, and do this by building their landscape creations with the same centrality of control. This has been shown particularly by the work of Martha Schwartz in the United State and the Schouwburgplein in Rotterdam.   Instead of vast landfill sites that forever plant more toxins and pollutants in the soil, designs must embrace the technologies of recycling, bioengineering and so on. Notable examples of attempts as such design include the, the Evergreen Estate in Chicago, USA, the BMW building in Berlin, and, less well-known but perhaps most persuasively of all, in the Plaza de Paz in Bogota, Colombia. In each of these designs the materials used for construction are environmentally friendly and were produced in an environmentally friendly manner; the energy used by these places is clean and comes from renewable sources. Every aspect of these designs is intended to foster harmony and equilibrium between man and his environment, and to promote amongst users of these sites a deeper environmental consciousness that they might then extend to their families and colleagues and thus, eventually, force the governments who represent them to take up similar attitudes also. It is almost need less to say, that future opportunities for such design are endless.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the final analysis, landscape architects of the twenty-first find that they have an immense amount to learn about their discipline from the ways of life and symbiotic relationship with nature that have been known and practised by indigenous and nomadic peoples for several millennia. A landscape architect might indeed conclude that buried within this intimate and intricate relationship with nature are the ideal principles with which to compensate the rapacious appetite for and consumption of the environment by modern industrial society. At the heart of the indigenous and nomadic attitude to nature are the concepts of ‘balance’ and ‘equilibrium’: it is by these principles that mankind may continue to enjoy the bountiful fruits of nature without exhausting her ability to produce them. It is this exhaustive, relentless and apparently inexorable ‘taking from nature’ by our economies and cultures without returning anything to nature that has distur bed the delicate balance cherished by indigenous and nomadic peoples. Nonetheless, it is impossible for our age to dispense with the sophisticated technologies and industries that we have developed and to return to a state of indigenous lifestyle; what is needed is to create an architectural philosophy of design that fuses the simplicity and balance of the indigenous relationship with nature, with the technological advances of our own age. The duty and responsibility of the twenty-first century landscape architect is to produce designs and structures that bring these two philosophies together. It is therefore essential that landscape architects work intimately with scientists, ecologists, botanists, businessmen and others so as to bring the greatest amount of environmental consideration and reflection to the development of a particular site or project. By convening all of the particular parties interested in a site in this way, a dialogue may be opened between them and therefore the greatest hope arises that action will be implemented to guarantee the environmental health of a site. It must always be in his mind that as the world races towards the environmental ‘tipping-point’ of no return, that this responsibility upon the landscape architect is a heavy one. The realization of such ambitious landscape architecture has begun with the works of James Corner, Sebastian Marot and Mark Treib. BIBLIOGRAPHY Academic Books, Journals Articles Bachelard, Gaston (1994) The Poetics of Space; Beacon Press, Boston. Casey, Edward (1993) Getting back into place towards a new understanding ofthe place world; Indiana University Press Courtlander, H. (1996). A Treasure of African Folklore. Marlowe Company, New York. Ed: Corney, James (1999) Recovering Landscape; Princetown Davies, P. (1971). The Indigenous Tribes of Brazil. Farenheit Press, Preston.   Heidegger, Martin (1977) Building/Dwelling/Thinking; New York, ed: Krell   Heizer, Michael (1999) Effigy Tumuli; New York, Harry N. Abrams Heizer, Michael (1997) Cities Natural Process; London New York, Routledge. Jackson. J.B. (1994) A Sense of Place, a Sense of Time; Yale. Kame’eleiwiha, L. (1992). Native Land and Foreign Desires. Frontham Books, Sydney London. Klaus, Walter. (1951). The Sacred Rituals and Magical Practices of the Bushmen of the Kalahari. Ford Books, Edinburgh. Ford Books. Mathur, Anuradha, da Cunha, Dilip (2001) Mississippi Floods: Designing aShifting Landscape; Yale Univ. Press McHarg, Ian L. (1971) Design with Nature; Doubleday/ Natural History Press Mumford,L. ‘Introduction’ in McHarg, M.L. (1971). Design With Nature. Doubleday, Natural History Press. Roy, Arundhati (1999) The Cost of Living; Flamingo Smithson, Robert (1996) The Collected Writings; California Press Ed: Swaffield, Simon (2002) Theory in Landscape Architecture A Reader; Univ. of Penn Press Weilacher, Udo (1996) Between Landscape, Architecture Land Art; Birkhaà ¼ser

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Globalization: A Closer Look at the Ford Company

A Closer Look at the Ford Company Ford Motor Company multinational cooperation that uses outsourcing to lower costs and boost productivity. Until the sass's Ford had a supply chain that allowed them to control every aspect of the making and distributing of their automobiles. From the steel and rubber plants that make the parts, to building the vehicles, storage and shipping. Though this was a good way for the companies to promote local made in America vehicles it was not however time or cost effective.As a result of competition from other automotive companies Ford made the drastic changes of outsourcing the making of parts and manufacturing to other countries to speed productivity and lower costs. The advantages to the local communities as a result of outsourcing is that there are Jobs added to the community. The local communities that may have been struggling were given the opportunities to work for a company that produces good quality parts and manufacturing vehicles more quickly. The negative effects that this may have on a community is that more people would want to work for the outsourced company which leaves more local Jobs open.Also if the cost of living may increase because of the growth from the industry, which would ultimately make living harder in those countries for the people that do not work for the outsourced company. Global stratification affects the United States positively because it decreases the cost of manufacturing as well as the cost to pay the employees. This helps the companies to save more money than to keep the business in the United States. By outsourcing the company can save more money to pay the people higher p employees in the companies.At the same time global stratification has a negative effect on the United States because it takes Jobs away from the local people. If more companies kept their businesses in the United States it would create more jobs for the people that live here instead of adding to the employment of other count ries. The outsourcing of manufacturing Jobs may be contributing to the increasing unemployment rates that the United States is experiencing. The big winner in the companies that use outsourcing is the company that does the outsourcing, in this case it is the Ford Company.Ford was able to decrease their production time from 45 to 60 days per vehicle to only 15 days with the outsourced jobs. Ford was able to keep more finished vehicles ready to be shipped to waiting customers. Ford was also able to decrease the costs of manufacturing to make a higher profit off each vehicle sold. Though the countries that are fortunate enough to be chosen to be a part of the outsourced company gains Jobs and an increase in their economy but they are still on the short end of the stick.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Filipino Customs and Traits Essay

Every nationality has its own customs, traits, characteristics, values, attitudes, and beliefs that were inherited from their great ancestors. They have the possessions of uniqueness as a nation. Filipino people are one of the sole nations in the world. They have their own norms and manners. Until now, those traits are still alive and most of it is continuously transferring to the next generations. Filipinos are best well-known for being hospitable. One good example is whenever there is a visitor, it may be expected or unexpected, they really take such good care, give their full attention, and even serve foods for their visitors. Filipinos are also prominent for their close family ties. Filipinos are close to their families and relatives. They value a big family and they surely help a relative that is someone in need or who needs help. They always have a shoulder that can lean on especially during the hard times. In other countries, once an individual turns 18, it’s their responsibility to be independent and to stand on their own. On the other hand, Filipinos are totally opposite with them because of the close family ties. One concrete example is, almost the third generation of the family still lives on the same house together with the first and second generation. Another instance is, in every occasion, specifically Christmas, new year, birthdays, wedding celebrations, christening, anniversaries, etc. , almost all the members of the family, or even the extended families and relatives are present on those occasions. And also, the parents work hard and sacrifice much for their children, in return, the children love and respect them and take good care of them in their old age. That’s how Filipino families are commonly defined. It is said to be that the Filipinos are clever, with retentive memory, rapid insight, and talents for arts and sciences. They are also known for being jolly. The Filipino nation loves to laugh. In every problems and disturbances, still, the Filipino people are smiling and they still find way to laugh. They do believe in the saying: â€Å"Laughter is the best medicine. † Filipinos are not only known for being jolly but also being friendly and chatty. They can stand talking for an hour or more just to chat and talk with their friends. Gratitude is another authentic attribute of the Filipinos. They are appreciative to those who have settled them favors or who are good to them. Their high sense of gratitude is expressed in the phrase â€Å"Utang na loob† or the debt of honor. Another one is being courteous. They always show respect especially to the elders. â€Å"Pagmamano† is one of the things to show respect. Saying â€Å"po† and â€Å"opo† is attached to a sentence addressing someone in the third person are signs of respect. Filipinos owing to their beautiful country, liberty-loving and courageous are ardently idealistic. They are enthusiastic in love as they are violent in battle. An example is, they bravely opposed the Spanish, American and Japanese conqueror of their native country. They are one of bravest people of the world. Filipino courage has been proven in the Battle of Mactan, Tirad Pass, Bataan, Corregidor, World War II, and in many other battlefields. Filipinos are helpful, supportive, cooperative and accommodative. They give importance to the asset of helping one another. They treasure the inherited trait of â€Å"bayanihan†. One concrete example, in cleaning a barangay, all the members of the barangay are present just to help in cleaning their community. And another one is, whenever there is calamities, they help one another to surpass the different kinds of disasters. All the Filipinos in the different regions in our country believe in â€Å"Gaba† or karma which is one of the universal concepts among them. It may happen to those who deserted other people in the time of their needs. It may also happen to those who do injustice, unfairness, inequality, and discrimination to other people. The â€Å"bahala na† attitude or fatalism is also one of the common traits of Filipinos. If they don’t know what to do and no options in a situation, most probably, that’s the point wherein the Filipinos says â€Å"bahala na†. The other one is the â€Å"Maya na† habit. It is an attitude wherein they will do the things later or tomorrow that should be done right now. And the last one is the â€Å"Ningas Kugon† habit. It is a manner of doing things good at first only, as it goes along it is getting worse. this habit is expressed in the phrase â€Å"Sa una lang magaling. † The belief on â€Å"Kapalaran† (fortune) provides self-assurance and audacity to the Filipino. But even if kapalaran is not the way they want it to be, he/she can search for defense or guard and improved fortune by having â€Å"anting-anting†(amulet) that keeps him/her from bad luck. The amulet makes the Filipino that’s someone who is not a risk taker. Now, here are some common Filipino customs. A refusal to make an eye contact implies dishonesty, the eyebrows raised in recognition and to answer â€Å"yes†, the lips are used to point things, nod upwards to greet someone, scratching one’s head when one does not know the answer. â€Å"Psst! † is use to get an attention of someone in the workplace but not as social function. Filipinos are renowned for their toughness and flexibility. Through the ages, Filipino people have met all kinds of catastrophes and calamities – revolutions, wars, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and epidemics. They can incorporate any culture and prosper in any climate. Against the hardships of life, they simply bend, but never break. Just like a bamboo tree, it merely let go with the wind, follows where the direction of the wind would go but in never breaks. Just like a narra tree, it is tough and strong. Whatever disasters it suffers, it can surpass it but it never breaks. They go with the flow of life. That’s Juan Dela Cruz is. That’s how Filipino is.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Free Essays on Bergamot Station Arts Center

The Bergamot Station Arts Center at Santa Monica constantly displays art works to those who wishes to be exposed to art. This makes Bergamot Station a perfect place for art students to gain a slice of the contemporary art scene. The collective works by the artist Laura Lasworth titled, â€Å"The Gray†, was on display in the Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art Gallery on March 25th. The gallery is located at one of the corners of the plaza and seems rather distant and alienated to the rest of the displays. Interestingly, this alienation and perhaps loneliness was echoed by Lasworth’s works inside the gallery. The Hunsaker/Schlesinger gallery itself, even compared to other galleries in the plaza, is rather small, and the display area conveys a sense of closeness. The size of the displaying area made the personal touch in the works even more pronounced. The gallery was quiet, with few audiences, perhaps a result of being distant to the main cluster. The gallerists worked quietly in the back room leaving the viewing area undisturbed. The main entrance to the gallery remained closed after each guest entered, thus separates the gallery from the rest of the world. Perhaps this is intentional as to create an overall artistic experience. In the gallery, the viewers emerge themselves to the surreal world that Lasworth created. The works exhibited by Lasworth were mostly paintings consist of very dull and desaturated colors. Black, white and gray, were used heavily, and worked fittingly to the winter sceneries found in many of the paintings. Some of the works were almost grayscale. The painterly bush strokes and the use of few, but soft colors reflected a feminine impression on all of the works. The subject matters were presented through a surrealistic manner and mostly consist of large areas of emptiness. With the exception of a few, most of the works are small, easel-sized paintings, bordered in simple, black framings. The dimens... Free Essays on Bergamot Station Arts Center Free Essays on Bergamot Station Arts Center The Bergamot Station Arts Center at Santa Monica constantly displays art works to those who wishes to be exposed to art. This makes Bergamot Station a perfect place for art students to gain a slice of the contemporary art scene. The collective works by the artist Laura Lasworth titled, â€Å"The Gray†, was on display in the Hunsaker/Schlesinger Fine Art Gallery on March 25th. The gallery is located at one of the corners of the plaza and seems rather distant and alienated to the rest of the displays. Interestingly, this alienation and perhaps loneliness was echoed by Lasworth’s works inside the gallery. The Hunsaker/Schlesinger gallery itself, even compared to other galleries in the plaza, is rather small, and the display area conveys a sense of closeness. The size of the displaying area made the personal touch in the works even more pronounced. The gallery was quiet, with few audiences, perhaps a result of being distant to the main cluster. The gallerists worked quietly in the back room leaving the viewing area undisturbed. The main entrance to the gallery remained closed after each guest entered, thus separates the gallery from the rest of the world. Perhaps this is intentional as to create an overall artistic experience. In the gallery, the viewers emerge themselves to the surreal world that Lasworth created. The works exhibited by Lasworth were mostly paintings consist of very dull and desaturated colors. Black, white and gray, were used heavily, and worked fittingly to the winter sceneries found in many of the paintings. Some of the works were almost grayscale. The painterly bush strokes and the use of few, but soft colors reflected a feminine impression on all of the works. The subject matters were presented through a surrealistic manner and mostly consist of large areas of emptiness. With the exception of a few, most of the works are small, easel-sized paintings, bordered in simple, black framings. The dimens...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Summary and Analysis of Platos Euthyphro

Summary and Analysis of Plato's 'Euthyphro' The Euthyphro is one of Platos most interesting and important early dialogues. Its focus is on the question: What is piety?  Euthyphro, a priest of sorts, claims to know the answer, but Socrates shoots down each definition he proposes. After five failed attempts to define piety Euthyphro hurries off leaving the question unanswered. The Dramatic Context It is 399 BCE.  Socrates and Euthyphro meet by chance outside the court in Athens where Socrates is about to be tried on charges of corrupting the youth and impiety (or more specifically, not believing in the citys gods and introducing false gods). At his trial, as all of Platos readers would know,  Socrates was found guilty and condemned to death. This circumstance casts a shadow over the discussion.  For as Socrates says, the  question hes asking on this occasion is  hardly  a  trivial, abstract issue that doesnt concern him.  As it will turn it will turn out, his life is on the line. Euthyphro is there  because he is prosecuting his father for murder. One of  their servants had killed a slave, and Euthyphros father had tied the servant  up and left him in a ditch while he sought advice about what to do.  When he returned, the servant had died.  Ã‚  Most people would consider it impious for a son to bring charges against his father, but Euthyphro claims to know better.  He was probably a kind of priest in a somewhat unorthodox religious sect.  His purpose in prosecuting his father is not to get him punished but to cleanse the household of blood guilt.  This is the kind of thing he understands, and the ordinary Athenian does not. The Concept of Piety The English tern piety or the pious translates the Greek word hosion.  This word might also be translated as holiness or religious correctness.  Piety has two senses: A narrow sense: knowing and doing what is correct in religious rituals. For example, knowing what prayers should be said on any specific occasion, or knowing how to perform a sacrifice.A broad sense: righteousness; being a good person. Euthyphro begins with the first, narrower sense of piety in mind.  But Socrates, true to his general outlook, tends to stress the broader sense.  He  is less interested in correct ritual than in living morally. (Jesus attitude toward Judaism is rather similar.)   Euthyphros 5 Definitions Socrates says, tongue in cheek, as usual, that hes delighted to find someone whos an expert on piety.  Just what he needs in his present situation. So he asks Euthyphro to explain to him what piety is.  Euthyphro tries to do this five times, and each time Socrates argues that the definition is inadequate. 1st Definition: Piety is what is Euthyphro is doing now, namely prosecuting wrongdoers. Impiety is failing to do this. Socrates Objection:  Thats just an example of piety, not a general definition of the concept. 2nd Definition:  Piety is what is loved by the gods (dear to the gods in some translations). Impiety is what is hated by the gods. Socrates Objection:  According to Euthyphro, the gods sometimes disagree among themselves about questions of justice.  So some things are loved by some gods and hated by others.  On this definition, these things will be both pious and impious, which makes no sense. 3rd Definition: Piety is what is loved by all the gods. Impiety is what all the gods hate. Socrates Objection:  The argument Socrates uses to criticize this definition is the heart of the dialogue. His criticism is subtle but powerful.  He poses this question: Do the gods love piety because it is pious, or is it pious because the gods love it?  To grasp the point of the question, consider this analogous question:  Is  a film funny because people laugh at it, do people laugh at it because its funny?  If we say its funny because people laugh at it, were saying something rather strange. Were saying that the film only has the property of being funny because certain people have a certain attitude towards it.  But Socrates argues that this gets things the wrong way round.  People laugh at a film because it has a certain intrinsic property, the  property of being funny.  This is what makes them laugh. Similarly, things arent pious because the gods view them in a certain way.  Rather, the gods love pious actions such as helping a stranger in need, because such actions have a certain intrinsic property, the property of being pious. 4th definition: Piety is that part of justice concerned with caring for the gods. Socrates Objection: The notion of care involved here is unclear. It cant be the sort of care a dog owner gives to its dog since that aims at improving the dog, but we cant improve the gods. If its like the care a slave gives his master, it must aim at some definite shared goal.  But Euthyphro cant say what that goal is. 5th Definition: Piety is saying and doing what is pleasing to the gods at prayer and sacrifice.   Socrates Objection: When pressed, this definition turns out to be just the third definition in disguise. After Socrates shows how this is so, Euthyphro says in effect, Oh dear, is that the time?  Sorry, Socrates, I have to go. General Points About the Dialogue The Euthyphro  is typical of Platos early dialogues: short; concerned with defining an ethical concept; ending without a definition being agreed upon. The question: Do the gods love piety because it is pious, or is it pious because the gods love it? is one of the great questions posed in the history of philosophy.  It suggests a distinction between an essentialist perspective and a conventionalist  perspective.  Essentialists apply labels to things because they possess certain essential qualities which make them what they are.  The conventionalist view is that how we regard things determines what they are.  Consider this question, for instance: Are works of art in museums because they are works of art, or  do we call them works of art because they are in museums?   Essentialists assert the first position, conventionalists the second. Although Socrates generally gets the better of Euthyphro, some of what Euthyphro says makes a certain amount of sense.  For instance, when asked what human beings  can give  the gods, he replies that we give them honor, reverence, and gratitude.  The British philosopher Peter Geach has argued that this is a pretty good answer.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Philosophy - Essay Example Wisdom about origin, therefore, can be said to have come from traditional religious practices, from people who are thought to have supernatural powers as declared by â€Å"God†. These are very religious by nature. However, by 6 BC there are non-religious thinkers in Greece that were called the Milesians. Unlike the traditional, supernatural people, these people are thought to have conducted their thinking through reason and observation, not by tradition or by a right from the Gods. These people are the first philosophers. Although their view is quite simple, the basic thought of thinking (which is secular inquiry) is considered philosophy. However, there are many forms of secular inquiry these days, so what makes philosophy different from, say, science? Before, at the beginning, there was no distinction but as time went by, they went and formed new disciplines. First, it was mathematics then it was natural philosophy (or science, as it is called now). Now, whenever a question cannot be answered by these two fields, it is then referred to modern philosophy. Questions like â€Å"What is the meaning of life?†. But of course, philosophy is best known for asking the most difficult and most basic of questions, like if Gods do exist or not, or what is good or evil. Philosophy is also defined by its methods. Although not as conceptual as science, philosophy is governed by logic. Like scientists, though, they formulate hypothesis that would answer the question by reason. Unlike religion, which is usually found on mysticism. There are four branches of philosophy: logic, epistemology, metaphysics and axiology. II. The Milesians The earliest known philosophers are from Miletus, hence they are called the Milesians. They are Thales, Anaximander and Anaximenes. They are also called Presocratic Philosophers – basically philosophers before Socrates. Thales is most famous for his three beliefs: everything is made up of water, magnets have souls and everythin g is full of gods. Now back then, everyone thought that matter is made up of four distinct elements: water, air, fire and earth. These elements, with different combinations, can transform into different objects. Now, Thales argued that these elements are actually just other forms of water. Thales probably observed that water has three forms and phases: solid, liquid and gas – leading him to say that. Perhaps, he thought, that water in the solid state could become metal; it would be vapor at some point and it may form fire. There is also this theory that Thales observed that when you water the plant, the plant becomes healthy – as if water is transformed from its liquid state and into a plant. Magnets have souls – magnets seem to have life as they behave like living things. They move. Thales took this as evidence that magnets have souls. Ancient Greeks have this distinction between living and nonliving things. Things with souls are alive and anything with a soul would be active. For him, the soul is not something that is added onto an object that can be separated, but rather, it is an inseparable part of an object. For the third belief about â€Å"everything is full of gods†, then maybe Thales is insinuating that maybe everything is also full of souls as in souls = gods. If that is the case, then Thales would be insinuating that all things are living things but they may not move actively like the magnets that only move at certain times and situations. Anaximander claims that everything is mad

Friday, November 1, 2019

Comparing Traditional Catholicism to Catholicism in Africa Essay

Comparing Traditional Catholicism to Catholicism in Africa - Essay Example For the Africans, man is not just homo religiosus in the classical sense. He eats, drinks, sleeps, works and does practically every thing religiously. The Catholic presence in Africa was re-shaped by the twin events of decolonization and Vatican Council 2 between 1962-65 (Hastings, 1989). In Vatican's aim to evangelize, priests and missionaries were encouraged to use the vernacular in worship called vernacular liturgy as well as the development of African hymnody and instrumentation "...The most important single effect in Africa in popular terms of the Council has been the change in singing, in hymns, in music, in the use of musical instruments," (Hastings, 1989). It was also noted that Vatican II also encouraged African Catholics to read Protestant vernacular translations of the Bible. But the "westernization" of Catholicism, particularly reduction of approval on healing shrines, holy water, statues and candles, resisted by African Catholics. Likewise, by 1994, ninety percent (90%) of the hierarchy was African as symbolized by the African Synod. Catechists mostly married lay men also became instrumental in the spread of Catholicism in the 20th century. In the African Synod led by the late pope John Paul II, emphasized marriage to be in-cultured for it had been a problem within the African Catholic community having irregular marriages. Since traditional African marriage was not recognized, African priests were encouraged to incorporate the sacramental blessings of the church to the traditional marriage ceremony. Problems arose when traditional African marriages is not finalized until a woman proved her fertility through childbirth, which did not fit into Catholic practices. Intermarriages of religions, with Protestants, likewise, banned children from committing communion and this further widen the gap. One particular incident in Rwanda was the inciting of racial hatred and genocidal violence between Tutsis and Hutu between both Catholics and the church was not able to contain nor control the violence, although today, confession, repentance and reconciliation are being worked out (Lettinga, 2000). By the time the Pope John Paul II died, there were already about 100 million Catholics in Africa and nearly 30 million are Congolese (Quist-Arcton, 2005). Interestingly, Lamin Sanneh reported that Senegal, a Muslim majority with about 90 percent of its population as Islam believers, include Catholic holidays as national holiday (Suarez, 2005) that include the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. Cardinal Thiandoum, the Relator-General for the African Synod remarked (qtd, Isizoh (1996): Many Christians, at "breaking points of life", have recourse to practices of the traditional religion, or to prayer houses, healing homes, "prophets", witchcraft or fortune-tellers. Some turn to African Independent Churches (sometimes considered a syncretistic Christian cum African Traditional Religion) where they feel that certain elements of their culture are more respected. Few of them return to African Traditional Religion. All these movements indicate that the spiritual yearning of these people for an authentic expression of the African spirituality