African Cultural Practices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

African Cultural Practices - Essay Example The case in point is how Oduduwa ceremony is presided over by priests and priestess in Yoruba land found in Nigeria. Although Africa is rich in ceremonies, the sacred ceremony for the Oduduwa the first king of the Yoruba community is one of kind. In this festival, drumming is prohibited and instead a percussive instrument known as eganira is used (Olupona 83). Notably, the instrument is particularly used by priests and priestess who have learned how to effectively produce the desired sound. Sound from drums and chanting from priests usually communicate to the spirits and ancestors thus they are evoked to answer the needs of the society. The ceremony was of great importance especially for those that believe in the power of traditional beliefs. Chanting from the priests and priestess has enabled Yoruba community to engage deity forces with courage as they try to inspire them through chanting. The Oduduwa ceremony was first conducted in Nigeria; it specifically started at Yoruba land a region that was formally dominated by the Yoruba community. The ceremony initially started as a move to engage forces from the evil. Because of their rich cultural practices, the Yoruba community has since continued to enjoy high profit made from the sales of beads and objects. This has really boosted Nigerian economy because of high income obtained from the tourism sector. Interestingly, Yoruba community has practiced the ceremony up-to-date despite challenging influence from modern way of life especially targeting the young generation. Priests and priestess take the center stage of the ceremony; they are the ones in charge of presiding over the ceremony. Priests are perceived as being mystical since they obtain powerful spirit during their initiation. They relentlessly learn how to tune their voices like an instrument in order to contend the supernatural powers.

Snow White and the Huntsman Essay Example for Free

Snow White and the Huntsman Essay Snow white and the huntsman is the battle between beauty and innocence for fairest blood. This is a four star dark twist to the traditional fairy tale of the orphaned princess, Snow White (Kristen Stewart), and her escape from her step mother and evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron). From the producers of Alice and the Wonderland, An Evil Queen, Ravenna, tricks, seduces, and kills the king; she takes the kingdom and rules with intimidation and magic. She draws her life force and youth from magic which is fuelled by the draining of other beautiful young hearts and souls. Her life is to be the fairest in all of the land yet another has come of age to surpass even the strongest magic. â€Å"She is life itself† Snow White, the late king’s daughter, was kept alive for many years in a tower in the castle since she was a little girl. Now she is what stands between Ravenna and immortality. â€Å"Be warned, her innocence and purity is all that can destroy you but she is also your salvation†. In a flurry of lust and luck, as well as her connection with Mother Nature, she escapes into the dark forest. The adventure begins as the Queen hires the Huntsman who knows the dangerous dark forest, to bring the princess back to her. The pursuit of Snow White, on an evil Queen’s quest for immortality – the princesses snow white heart. The pursuit of the princesses’ heart starts†¦ and ends with the flawless acting of Oscar winner Charlize Theron. The South African born Theron, known for her blonde hair and revengeful roles in Monster (Alieen Wuornos), and The Italian Job (Stella Bridger), graces the screen in a five star performance. She shows her versatility as a lead actress in her not revengeful but narcissistic character of Ravenna. This is portrayed in the second Mirror scene. Ravenna asks the Mirror â€Å"Mirror Mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?† The mirror tells her† My queen, you have defied nature and robbed it of its fairest root. But on this day there is one more beautiful than you.† She becomes angry as she longs to be the most beautiful in all the land. Ravenna’s last words to the king before she murdered him were â€Å"Men use women. They ruin us and when they are finished with us they toss us to the dogs like scraps†. Her conviction as an actress is authentic but what triumphs over that are her powerful actions that can convey an entire conversation in a simple movement. This is best seen where she is dragging herself out of the black goop after killing Snow White. She uses one hand and reaches, in vain, out to the Mirror as if to beg it to tell her she is most beautiful now the princess is dead. Even during her own near death moment her narcissistic personality shows though a very basic need for power and prestige. Allot of power and prestige of Ravenna comes to this movie through the main soundtrack ‘Breath of life’ by Florence and the Machine. After a drum beat beginning that sets the medieval mood, a choir and rhythmic beats adds a flare to the unique voice of Florence. Jon Dolan of the Rolling Stone reviews comments that it was â€Å"All doom-drum rush and endless-midnight orchestral sweep† Ravenna looking for her breath of life (I was looking for a breath of life, A little touch of heavenly light), but the world that had once turned on itself now turned on her and cried no (But all the choirs in my head sang, No oh oh). You can hear in the beat that she is fighting life itself. The casting of this movie was a mix of brilliance and flawed choices. Where Theron’s casting was no doubt the brilliance, Kristen Stewart as Snow White was the major flaw. Stuart, known to her fans as new girl Bella, from the Twilight saga, showed her incapability of holding a lead actress role. Unlike the role she played in twilight, she has no other main characters to hold her up. She drains the personality from Snow White in addition to the lack of importance felt in her character. This is predominantly seen in the â€Å"fight to the death† scene with Snow White and Ravenna. While Theron oozes fire and elegance, Stuart can’t seem to capture a believable character. Snow White is supposed to be innocence and humility in contrast to the Queens magic and pride. Her sharp angled face, greasy voice, and empty facial expressions she was a flawed choice by the directors. Drunk, bitter and half dead. The gorgeous Chris Hemsworth plays the in between of life and death as the Huntsman. Once being a small point in the original brothers Grimm fairy tale, Hemsworth’s huntsman has created a new take on the contrast between the two main roles. This is greatly shown when he is pulled out of a dirty tub of water with a hangover and a debt and he is brought to the queen’s throne. When the queen’s guards draw spears against him he says â€Å"Do me the favour, I beg of you.† He can’t stand to be alive because the Queens magic killed his wife for her youth. Finn tells the Huntsman â€Å"She screamed your name but you werent there. Now you can beg her forgiveness in the other world.† Now as Snow White lay dead the Huntsman begs for forgiveness from her â€Å"Im so sorry I failed you. Im so sorry. But youll be a queen in Heaven now and sit among the angels.† It’s his kiss and sorrow which awakens her from death itself. Colleen Atwood is a name that is very familiar in the movie designer world and with a BAFTA and OSCAR nomination is certainly one of the very important people in the makings of this movie. Some of the best designing seen this decade has come from Atwood who is known for her dark works in Dark Shadows (2012), Alice in the Wonderland (2010), Edward Scissorhands (1990) and The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Her epic fantasy costumes bring the film to a whole new gene of evil allure. From the Huntsman ancient clothes to the modern flare of Snow Whites traditional dress, Atwood’s best work has to be Ravenna’s wardrobe. A beautiful wedding dress fit for a Queen to an evil black cape fit for a Witch empress, the skilful dress of this movie would be the floor length silver dress. Worn in the scene in which she is stabbed with a dagger, this piece of art is exquisite, with the flared sleeves, fitted body, and square neck brings the vintage era setting to life. This dress would not be complete without being coupled with a fabulous collection of accessories including a black and silver choker with matching earrings, a purple pendant encrusted with silver on a beaded chain and a crown that mimics the one on the statue of liberty. The most powerful accessory would have to be the claws on her right hand. This simple yet vicious prop is used in small roles throughout the movie but the best example is when she uses her index claw to eat a raven heart. This will in no doubt send a delicate shiver of disgust down your spine. This dark, evil and beautiful movie is worth all its four stars. Even though Kristen Stewart’s performances as Snow White was not nearly up to par, if looked upon as the story of Ravenna’s demise, Theron more than makes up for what Stuart lacks. A story of Beauty, lust, pride and a quest for fairest blood, this is the must see the movie of 2012. â€Å"Lips red as blood, Hair dark as night, bring me your heart, my dear, dear Snow White.†

Restoring Mind-Brain Supervenience: A Proposal :: Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Restoring Mind-Brain Supervenience: A Proposal ABSTRACT: In this paper I examine the claim that mental causation — at least for cases involving the production of purposive behavior — is possible only if ‘mind/brain supervenience’ obtains, and suggest that in spite of all the bad press it has received in recent years, mind/brain supervenience is still the best way for a physicalist to solve the ‘exclusion problem’ that plagues many accounts of mental causation. In section 3, I introduce a form of mind/brain supervenience that depends crucially on the idea that some brain state-types-namely, those involved in the production of purposive behavior-are nonlocally sensitive, where by ‘nonlocal sensitivity’ I mean cases where relevant causal histories and environmental circumstances effect a difference in some of an organism’s brain state-types intrinsic, causal properties. I will argue that such a mode of sensitivity of brain state-types offers the best way out of the exclusio n problem for anyone convinced that mental state-types should be relationally individuated. I In what follows, I examine the claim that mental causation—at least for cases involving the production of purposive behavior—is possible only if ‘mind/brain supervenience’ obtains, and suggest that in spite of all the bad press it has received in recent years, mind/brain supervenience still is the best way for a physicalist to solve the ‘exclusion problem’ that plagues many accounts of mental causation. In section III, I introduce a form of mind/brain supervenience that depends crucially on the idea that some brain state-types—namely, those involved in the production of purposive behavior—are nonlocally sensitive, where by ‘nonlocal sensitivity’ I understand cases where relevant causal histories and environmental circumstances effect a difference in some of an organism’s brain state-types’ intrinsic, causal properties, and argue that such a mode of sensitivity of brain state-types offers the best way out of the exclusion problem for anyone convinced that mental state-types should be relationally individuated. (1) It is important to notice from the outset that nonlocal sensitivity, as I understand it, is not equivalent to relational individuation. Indeed, I am not claiming that a change in a brain state-type’s relational properties effects a difference in its intrinsic, causal properties. I agree that brain state-types should be individuated nonrelationally, but introduce ‘local’ and ‘nonlocal’ sensitivity as modes of nonrelational individuation of brain state-types, and argue that nonlocally sensitive brain state-types make up the proper subvenient base for mental state-types. If my view is correct, strong mind/brain supervenience is restored, and the exclusion problem solved.

Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance Essay

Leonard Peltier’s Prison Writings: My Life Is My Sun Dance takes into account the disgusting of righteousness in the American justice system and the longings of the Native Americans for evenhandedness, equality and fairplay. Peltier postulate in the story that American socio-cultural life still suffers from the dilemma of racial disparity against many claims that the long tradition of racism in the United States ended with the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.This phenomenon still haunts the American society at various levels. But its prevalence in the criminal justice system is more troubling as it harms the cherished ideals off equality, fraternity and freedom of American democracy. So he opines that oppression of American Indians is not unconscious but institutional. The gross foulness in the Justice System is skillfully described in a single line; â€Å"This is the twenty-third year of my imprisonment for a crime I didn’t commit.† On the surface level, it describe the story of killing of two CIA’s agent but on a deeper level Peltier’s has described certain preplanned events that undermine the unalienable human rights clause of the American Constitution. For example he said that Government â€Å"†¦had been gathering in the area for a preplanned paramilitary assault on the Pine Ridge reservation,† (p.129) in 1975. His views are neither a subjective description of personal pathos and miseries, nor it is distortion of the facts but he takes into consideration the national dilemma of treatment of Native Indians and provides verified and verifiable documented proof in favor of his arguments. Another Theme of these personal memoirs is the sun dance that implies the spiritual attainment he had from unbearable agonizing experience in prison. From a warrior to a spiritual leader, the journey is wonderful but is littered with horrible memories of sufferings.

Management of technology Essay

Explain the term â€Å"Technofact. † How can it be used to define Technology, and Management of Technology? Explain the value and advantage of the term Technofact, compared to other definitions and common agreement about technology. Explain the weaknesses, missing elements, and contradictions in this term. Technofact is a reproducible object created by humans. By reproducible I refer to any product (tangible or virtual) of which the intention of its human creator was to make more of exactly the same, using the same methodology. Once we’ve defined technofact, we are able to focus the term technology around this entity, and to define it as the capability of creating technofacts (or the human capability of creating reproducible objects). Technology is not the technical object itself but rather the capability of creating it over on over again. Other fields of science concentrate on understanding and gathering knowledge around the entity that is in the center of the science in question while the technology â€Å"science† is a capability, which is more than merely an understanding. On top of the knowledge gathered, the term encapsulates the creation itself, the know-how. The different aspects of the means to establish that capability ought to be coordinated and managed, thus, management of technology can only be defined if we separate the term technology from the objects, the technofacts, as one can not manage objects. Most of the traditional definitions of the term technology are either inaccurate or too broad. Inaccurate when the definition refer to objects (tools, products) as the technology itself. Too broad when the definition refer to any human activity (van Wyk), which might include forms of art that can not be considered as a technology. Another broad approach can be found in definitions that consider any nature manipulation as a technology (is navigation by stars a technology? ). There are three cases in which I find difficulty with the term technofact as the central entity that technology deals with: 1. When the product has an inherited random element: Consider a computer program that creates random melodies (or drawings) pleasant to the human ear (or eye), based on some mathematical rules. The program itself is obviously a virtual technofact, but are the new melodies or drawings created by it can also be considered technofacts? Obviously, they are being created over and over again using the same technology, but each time the program produces something different. 2. When the product is a natural object or resource: For example in agriculture. Carrots cannot be considered technofacts, but there is obviously a technology to grow carrots. The tools which are used in the process (a plow or a combine) are technofacts, which farmers use to produce the crop itself, but they are not the reproducible product the technology deals with. Another examples can be mining technologies. The end product is the extracted material, which can not be considered a technofact. 3. When the product is an action: For example, the capability to lift heavy weights. A crane is a technofact, but it is not the reproducible object this specific technology enable to reproduce. The reproducible object in this case is not an object but rather an action. What is a â€Å"Technology-Based Organization†? Give an example for a TBO and non-TBO. Can a company be a TBO for a limited time? Explain and give an example. A technology based organization is an organization that uses technology to create economic value or to create a competitive business advantage over other competing organizations. The organization can be continuously pursuing technological improvements, manufacturing technofacts or both. This kind of an organization will be perpetually considered a TBO. On the other hand a non-TBO organization can become one for a limited time, if it incorporates a new technology to improve its processes, thus creating an advantage over its competitors. During the process of assimilating the technology and the time that takes other players to use the same technology, a non-TBO organization can be considered a TBO, as it creates economic value using technology. Consider an imaginary traditional dairy that used to produce milk in the old milking fashion, using the farmer’s hands and a big nice bucket. At some point the farmer decided to acquire a milking machine from his engineer friend that had recently established a milking equipment factory using his own inventions. The farmer installed the machine in his farm and taught his kid how to use it, so he can peacefully retire. During the next couple of years, the farmer’s kid gained an advantage over his neighbor farmers, bought more cows, made a small fortune and established a new dairy company (which he called after his dad). Few years later, after all the other farmers had done the same, the farmer’s kid decided to install digital thermometers in the dairy (acquired from the very same milking equipment factory), and became the leading milk provider to the entire region, with the reputation of having the freshest milk around. Again, achieving an economic advantage using new technology. This dairy had become a TBO for short periods of time during its existence, while the milking equipment factory that had invented and manufactured the machinery was a TBO throughout the years. Explain the term â€Å"White Spaces† in the context of technological innovation. How could this term be used in an organization to help planning and decision making about innovation? White spaces are the two optional gaps between technologies and applications. The first gap exists when there is a need in the market but no solution to match it. The second gap takes place when there is a technology out there that has the capability to produce a technofact that no one knows what to do with. A technofact that did not yet find the â€Å"ultimate product† it enables (where there’s a way but there is no â€Å"will†). Innovative organization can either fill up the first gap by pursuing new technologies to match the unanswered market needs, or they can focus their efforts around understanding the potential of existing technologies and to use them to develop new groundbreaking applications. Outlines the dangers and risks associated with rapid technological development to society and individuals. Are you pessimistic or optimistic about it? What can and should we do as a society and as individuals to benefit from technology and avoid the risks. The dangers and risks that rapid emerging technologies incorporate can come in many ways, shapes and forms according to the technology domain. From the lose of privacy through health jeopardizing, moral issues and mass destruction weapons, they all have one thing in common – the rate of the technology adoption and development has become faster than the rate of the ability to comprehensively understanding its implications. Successful technologies are spreading swiftly, acquiring life of their own and â€Å"forcing† people to use them in order to survive in the modern society. Even if a certain individual decides to rebel and not to use a specific technology directly, it still might change the environment this person lives in, to affect and endanger im just the same (e. g. cellular phones). The lose of freedom inflicted by some technologies is a big price of its own that society and individuals have to pay. History tells us that panic from new technologies had always existed, and we are probably experiencing the same unjustified fear of the unknown that the car inflicted on society a hundred years ago. But the problem with history is that it can only explain the past, while the present is unlike anything humanity imagined before. I don’t believe that governmental regulations aiming to restrain technology can work in the long run, but in order to control at least some of the risks, governments should cooperate globally on some issues to regulate technologies similar to the way new medicines and drugs are treated. As individuals, we must take responsibility for our health and moral values, to deal with it at all times among ourselves, to be aware of the risks we are taking and not to become blind addicts for anything new. Still, I’m pessimistic as for the capability of mankind to do that and overcome its basic selfish nature.