Jackson Pollock and Modern Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jackson Pollock and Modern Art - Essay Example The essay "Jackson Pollock and Modern Art" explores the art of Jackson Pollock and his impact in the context of Modern Art. He was â€Å"a roughshod, ill-mannered, prodigiously ambitious, aggressive, alcoholic, tormented artist .† This image is important to an interpretation of the apparently chaotic nature of much of Pollock’s works, and the technique that led to them. However, as is often the case with creative artists of all sorts, and particularly painters such as Pollock, there was a method to his madness. As Toynton has pointed out, films of Pollock creating his paintings clearly show that even the most abstract of them start as figurative works and only move into the abstract as they develop.Pollock moved his canvas from the easel to the floor, thus enabling him to work on much larger canvases with greater ease than before, and also to see them from multiple points of view. In one revealing statement he talked about his technique and why he used it: My painting d oes not come from the easel. I hardly ever stretch the canvas before painting. I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. I need the resistance of a hard surface. On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting. It is interesting to note that Pollock takes an intense and yet casual approach to his painting. Thus the fact that he does not go through the often laborious process. of stretching the canvas before painting on it, but rather merely tacking it to a wall or floor illustrates the casual, almost primitive method of preparation. At the same time Pollock becomes more intensely involved with the painting, as if he were actually a part of it: I continue to get further away from the usual painter's tools such as easel, palette, brushes, etc. I prefer sticks, trowels, knives and dripping fluid paint or a heavy impasto with sand, broken glass or other foreign matter added. When I am in my painting, I'm not aware of what I'm doing. It is only after a sort of 'get acquainted' period that I see what I have been about. I have no fear of making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through. It is only when I lose contact with the painting that the result is a mess. Otherwise there is pure harmony, an easy give and take, and the painting comes out well. (Varnedoe, 23) The idea of being "in" the painting is of course hardly new to Pollock, but the fact that his technique apparently fitted into his emotional and intellectual attachment to the painting is. His physical technique: standing on and thus within the painting, had a profound effect both upon his creations and upon generations of creative artists in general and painters in particular, for years both during and after his lifetime. Pollock hinted, although never explicitly stated, that he was influenced by Native American sand paintings, which are made by trickling thin lines of colored sand onto a flat surface. After WWII, in 1947 Pollock began what he called his "action paintings", which were at least partially informed by the surrealist ideas of "psychic automatism". This automatism was meant to be a direct expression of the unconscious. A direct expression of something which is, by definition, unknowable to the conscious mind might seem a

National Identtiy Essay Example for Free

National Identtiy Essay National identity refers to the set of attributes and beliefs shared by those who belong to the same nation, the legitimate form of a political organization. Our independence and the way the achieve liberty is through self-rule. According to Anthony Smith a nation is a self-identifying group or community based on such factors as a common culture, history, language, ethnicity and religion. (Power Point Lecture) Nations can adopt a degree of common culture and belief, a set of common understandings such as language and ambitions to promote a cohesive unit. National identity is multi-dimensional and there are 5 fundamental features: historic territory or homeland, common myths and historical memories, a common mass public culture, common legal rights and duties for all members, and common economy with territorial mobility for members. The first feature is historic territory or homeland. Without territory that we call our own we can’t have national identity. One example is the singing of the National Anthem. This is clearly a well-respected song of praise about the land that brings us freedom which we view as our beautiful country. Territory is land that is claimed and called their own, yet there are nations in the past that have had their state and now became nations without states like Catalonia and Scotland. The United States is an example of a nation that doesn’t have a dominant group and a multi-cultural society as a civic nation. An example from the lecture was how we cannot particularly identify an â€Å"American† here in America, but if we were to fly to Japan, an American can be identified very quickly because of their dominant groups. Second, are the common myths and historical memories which are told. This pertains to national identity of people and about their origins. Historic memories refer to illustrations and historical events that become a part of the national story. An example in the lecture is the topic of 9/11. We put aside time to remember 9/11, often events associated with war and how identity is created. Also in national identity we pay taxes to people with never meet, because we have common bonds of obligations to each other, we care about strangers that are part of our nation. We start seeing each other as human in which we outline ourselves in contra distinction to others. The third fundamental feature is the common mass public culture. This is the requirement that we have institutions that reach out and forge a sense of belonging to national identity. Schools and educational institutions are associated in this feature. An example is The Pledge of Allegiance, origins of nations are illustrations of why we learn is since kindergarten and how we must put our right hand over our heart and face the flag as we recite The Pledge of Allegiance. Also, our calendar reminds us we are American and what it means to be American. For Americans the 4th of July is an example and for Mexicans the celebration of Cinco de Mayo is another example of national recognition to those living in Mexico. On Thanksgiving we give thanks because this is the day in which we merit the discovery of our country. In addition, the singing of the National Anthem that starts off the Super bowl also emphasizes the point that we participate in a common mass public culture. All of these examples symbolize that we are a multi-cultural society. The fourth feature explains how common legal right and duties for all members speak to the coherence between nationalism and equality. Each one of us belongs to a different sub group, meaning our citizenship. The fifth and final feature is the common economy with territorial mobility, meaning getting rid of barriers for commerce for common trade. Keeping the same concurrent of currency and standards of measurements in the United States means you know your part of the same nation. The ability to travel freely from one place to another is what we acknowledge as a national identity. For instance, if I were to travel to Ensenada, B. C I would most likely trade in my currency for pesos. A different currency system means a different nation. This also explains a part of what it means to have a national identity. In conclusion, national identity is formed from our interpretation of our nation. Citizens learn to identify with their nation in several ways from singing anthems, honoring calendar holidays such as Memorial Day and 4th of July which in all illustrate to us how to love our beautiful country even to the point of willing to kill for a nation.

Engineers Without Borders: Water Supply Work in Thailand

Engineers Without Borders: Water Supply Work in Thailand Jeremy Frisone Background Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization established to support community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects. EWB-USA was founded in April 2000 when a representative of the Belize Ministry of Agriculture invited Dr. Bernard Amadei, Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, to visit a community in San Pablo, Belize, to assess the communitys water supply. When Dr. Amadei visited the community, he learned that they lacked clean water and sanitation infrastructure. Though the community had the resources to fix the problem, they lacked the engineering expertise to complete the work and Amadei decided to send his engineering students there to create a mutually beneficial partnership within the community (Engineers Without Borders USA, 2015). Today, there are over 12,000 members of EWB-USA, and the members are mainly composed of professional and student engineers. They work with local communities and NGOs in 47 countries and 5 continents around the world on water supply, sanitation, civil works, structures, energy, agriculture, and information system projects that comprehensively address the needs of a given community (Engineers Without Borders USA, 2015). Engineers Without Borders USA follows ten principles of development when completing international projects. These principles require that the projects be engineering-related, safety and quality-oriented, and performed within the scope of the engineers’ expertise. Also, the principles place a high focus on the importance of the community in which the project takes place. Since all EWB-USA projects are community-based, each project must be evaluated for appropriateness in the region and must develop a partnership with the impacted community that lasts at least five years. EWB also works closely with in-country partners (usually other in-country NGOs) to acquire the cultural experience that is required for the completion of the project. Finally, the EWB maintains that education of the partnering community and education of the active members is key to the success of the project infrastructure (Principles of Development, 2013). These principles of development show that EWB-USA main tains a high level of cultural awareness and works to develop projects which are specific to the needs, resources, and constraints of the region in which the projects are occurring. Mapping Engineers Without Borders USA has a highly specific method of mapping out regions to plan projects that places a substantial amount of focus on collaborating with the region’s community to improve quality of life. EWB begins the process of mapping out a region when they receive applications from villages for help on solving engineering problems. Once an application goes into the review process, the community receives a decision in four to six weeks. If the application is approved, the program will be posted on the EWB website, where it becomes available for acceptance by one of the student or professional chapters. According to the EWB website, â€Å"after a program is officially adopted, the community and chapter will coordinate the first assessment trip, which can occur anywhere between three months to one year after the date of adoption. The purpose of the first assessment trip is for the chapter to acquaint themselves with the community and to gather sufficient informatio n to assess the economic, social, environmental and technical viability and sustainability of the project. The assessment trip also allows the chapter to collect important data for both future project designs and the monitoring and evaluation phase. The highly participatory assessment trip typically lasts one to four weeks and allows the chapter and community to discuss whether or not the project should move forward† (Engineers Without Borders USA, 2015). Once the decision is made that the project should move forward, EWB enters a pre-specified partnership agreement with the community and a local partner organization such as a local NGO, municipality, or city government. Each of these entities has its own set of responsibilities that allows for the engineering experts to involve the community and organization leaders during each step of the project. For example, the community members and community based organizations are responsible for contributing to the project design, handling permits, permissions, and feedback, and helping to select and implement the final design (Project Partners Roles and Responsibilities, 2012). This involvement of the community members ensures that the project is completed in a way that suits the region’s specific needs and best improves the current situation. When the partnership is established with the impacted community, EWB-USA follows its specified framework that they refer to as â€Å"Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning† or PMEL. According to the official terms of reference, the PMEL framework â€Å"helps EWB -USA to better understand and account for the extent to which our efforts are going in the right direction, whether progress and success can be claimed, whether we are making the changes we hoped to make, and how future efforts might be improved† (Martindale, 2014). The first phase of the PMEL framework, â€Å"Planning,† is essentially EWB-USA’s method of mapping out the region of interest. It includes â€Å"conducting a situation analysis in the community, identifying program and project goals and strategies, collaborating with partner organizations and developing a plan for monitoring and evaluation† (Martindale, 2014). It is clear that in this phase EWB places a strong emphasis on working closely with the region’s community through situation analysis and cooperation with partner organizations. EWB relies on collaboration with the community members and partner organizations in every step of the â€Å"Planning† phase, including the project design, data collection, and preparing the site for work (Project Partners Roles and Responsibilities, 2012). By including the community members and local stakeholders in every step of the planning and implementation process, EWB-USA creates an exceptional level of communication that allows the project to adequately suit the needs of the specific region. The last three phases of the PMEL process are used in the actual application of the engineering project. In the â€Å"Monitoring† phase, EWB places focus on making sure that the project is going according to plan and noticing if adjustments need to be made. The â€Å"Monitoring† phase also works as a â€Å"communication system designed to improve management and policy decisions for different stakeholders† (Martindale, 2014). This emphasis on improving decisions for the â€Å"stakeholders,† or members of the impacted community, shows EWB’s commitment to involving the community members in every step of the project. Similarly, the â€Å"Evaluation† phase â€Å"measures progress the program or project has made, not only in completing activities but also in achieving its objectives and overall goal† within the community (Martindale, 2014). Finally, the â€Å"Learning† or â€Å"Impact Reviews and Assessment† phase is â€Å"des igned to determine if the completed program work did or did not have any direct influence on the changes experienced by the community members† by analyzing the significant and lasting change that has occurred in the lives of the target group (Martindale, 2014). Like the first three phases, the â€Å"Learning† phase also clearly places its focus on improving the lives of community members through collaboration. Region The focus of this paper lies in the region of Thailand and will look specifically at a case study that shows how Engineers Without Borders USA implemented its mapping and action strategies to complete an extensive water supply project in the village of Nong Bua. Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia that was first established in the mid-fourteenth century and is the only Southeast Asian country to never have been colonized by a European power. A constitutional monarchy has been in place in Thailand since 1932, and in 1954 Thailand became a U.S. treaty ally after sending troops to Korea and fighting alongside the U.S.in the war against Vietnam. Since then, Thailand’s political history has suffered through turmoil, political uprisings, and coups. In May of 2014, the Royal Thai Army staged a coup against the government and placed the head of the Royal Thai Army in charge as the prime minister. The government has since created temporary drafts of constitutional reforms that will be voted on in 2016 elections (East and Southeast Asia: Thailand, 2014). Currently Thailand is divided into 76 provinces and one municipality. Each province varies slightly in religion, average income, industry, and cultural norms depending on the location within the country, but the majority of the population speaks Thai and practices the Buddhist religion (East and Southeast Asia: Thailand, 2014). The geography of the country plays a strong role in shaping the economy and the culture of Thailand. The climate is tropical, warm, and rainy, and the most prevalent natural resources are tin, rubber, natural gas, and tungsten. The recent increase in industrial practices and combined with the naturally tropical climate has caused an increase in both air and water pollution (East and Southeast Asia: Thailand, 2014). In fact, water pollution is one of the most serious concerns facing Thailand today. There is a high level of pollution due to substances that include household chemicals, such as surfactants, pharmaceuticals and insect repellents, agricultural chemi cals, such as pesticides as well as industrial chemicals, inorganics and heavy metals. Since these substances have a high level of tenacity, â€Å"these pollutants can cause contamination of surface water and groundwater which are the main water resources for drinking water production in Thailand† (Kruawal, et. al, 2004). This is a major issue for the health and safety of the residents of Thailand. This is particularly because â€Å"a considerable part of the Thai population lacks an access to health insurance, with the poor disproportionately unprotected† (Suraratdecha, et. al, 2004). Being that the water supply contamination is a major concern for the provinces of Thailand, Engineers Without Borders USA has been asked multiple times to assist in the development of clean water harvesting methods. Case Study The EWB-USA case study focuses on a water supply project that Engineers Without Borders USA Rutgers University Student Chapter completed in the Thai village of Nong Bua in 2009. The project formulated due to the lack of clean drinking water in the village of Nong Bua. Although the people in the community had made numerous attempts to drill wells to provide clean, inexpensive water, their efforts failed and the impoverished residents were forced to purchase bottled water. Luckily, Carole Ketnourath, D. Michael Shafer and Chatree Saokaew from the NGO Warm Heart heard about the situation and decided to act by contacting the Rutgers chapter of EWB-USA to help solve the problem. (Silagi, et. al, 2012). Since the Rutgers chapter of EWB was specifically asked to take on the project, the village was able to bypass the typical application process. Once the Rutgers chapter reviewed the information and decided to accept the project, they began the process of mapping out the region. EWB started the mapping process by conducting a situation analysis in the community and collecting general information on the specific region. They found that Nong Bua, a village in the sub-district of Phraro, is predominantly a farming village with 143 households. They found that the income per household is ~40,000 Baht (US$ 1,270) per year, with 68% of their income spent on purchasing sources of clean water. More importantly, it was discovered that the government constructed a water filtration and distribution system for an 88m well. However, the continuing poor water quality forced the community to purchase costly bottled water for drinking, or dig personal, shallow wells that do not provide clean water (Silagi, et. al, 2012). Once the EWB team had sufficient general knowledge on the situation, they conducted actual testing on the chemical composition of the water wells in the village and found that the water had a high level of contamination including unsafe levels of iron and ma nganese. They used this information to establish the general goal of improving the accessibility and affordability of clean drinking water in the village. The team then continued the mapping or â€Å"Planning† phase of the project by collaborating with Warm Heart, a local partner organization. Warm Heart is a grassroots organization that helps villagers in mountainous rural northern Thailand. They organize community projects that improve access to education and basic health services, create jobs and sustainable incomes for the poorest in the community, and restore the environment to sustain future generations (Warm Heart Worldwide, 2015). With the help of Warm Heart, the EWB Rutgers students were able to collaborate closely with the community members and local university students to assess the baseline health of the community and to brainstorm possible effective solutions to the water supply problem. After extensive planning that involved the engineers and the community members, the team began installation of a water system that had backwashing capabilities and a maintenance schedule that was designed to reduce the amount of iron and manganese to acceptable levels. Following the aforementioned PMEL framework, the team monitored and evaluated the project by continuously testing the system and relying on the community members for constructive feedback. Using this information, the EWB team â€Å"implemented various changes to combat the remaining fecal coliform contamination, the entire system was shock- chlorinated, and a hypo-chlorinator was installed to deliver a constant chlorine injection to the water system† in order to ensure that the water remained clean and safe for drinking (Silagi, et. al, 2012). After the project was completed, the EWB team began the â€Å"Learning† or â€Å"Impact Reviews and Assessment† phase of the project. They created a communication plan with the lead partner organization, Warm Heart, and agreed to stay in close contact to address problems in the future. They also made sure that the community was equipped with the proper coliform testing kits and operations and maintenance manuals so that they could ensure the future upkeep of the system. According to the official document, â€Å"the EWB-USA Rutgers team is confident about the future of Nong Bua after the final implementation trip during which educational programs were conducted and multiple meetings were held with the communities and local government to ensure that the project will be sustainable† (Silagi, et. al, 2012). Since the EWB Rutgers team made such a strong effort to educate and work with the local community members, government, and partner organization, it is clear that they highly valued collaboration with the affected region of interest. Throughout the mapping and completion phases of the project, the EWB team continually placed emphasis on the needs and feedback of the community in order to best achieve their goal of improving the water quality and access in the region. Conclusion Engineers Without Borders USA is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that uses a highly specific planning process to â€Å"map out† and complete engineering projects in over 47 countries around the world. One region in which EWB-USA has completed quality of life improvement projects is Thailand. Due to recent growth of industry, one of the biggest issues that is facing Thailand today is the abundance of pollution specifically water pollution that causes negative health effects for the general population. As a result of this issue, Engineers Without Borders USA has been asked to help mitigate the water supply issues in multiple villages across Thailand. One of the most prominent examples of EWB’s work in Thailand was the water supply project that the Rutgers chapter of EWB completed in the village of Nong Bua in 2009. To complete the project, the EWB team began their process of â€Å"mapping† the region by conducting site visits, gathering village-specific infor mation, and communicating with the members of the community and a local partner organization. They maintained this high level of communication with the community members throughout the project implementation by including the residents in the planning, designing, and upkeep of the new water supply system. As shown in the Nong Bua case study, it is clear that EWB-USA places a very high amount of focus on collaboration with the community during the mapping of a region and completion of a project within that region in order to ensure that the solution best fits the needs of the community. References East and Southeast Asia: Thailand. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/th.html Engineers Without Borders USA. (2012). Project Partner Roles and Responsibilities [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ewbgeneral/511 Project Partner Roles and Responsibilities.pdf Engineers Without Borders USA. (2013). Principles of Development [Brochure]. Author. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ewbgeneral/EWB-USA_Principles-of-Development.pdf Engineers WIthout Borders USA. (2015, April 30). Retrieved May 01, 2015, from http://ewb-usa.org/ Kruawal, K., Sacher, F., Werner, A. (2004). Chemical water quality in Thailand and its impacts on the drinking water production in Thailand. Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Fac.els-cdn.com%2FS004896970400614X%2F1-s2.0-S004896970400614X-main.pdf%3F_tid%3D8162c9a2-f367-11e4-a079-00000aacb362%26acdnat%3D1430858840_a616e75e376e38244de835b5426bfe6e Martindale, T., P.E. (2014). Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Program Program Description. Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/ewbgeneral/COMPILED PMEL Program Description.pdf Silagi, E., Kretch, J. (2012). Thailand Project (Issue brief). Retrieved http://ewb.rutgers.edu/projects/thailand.html Suraratdecha, C., Saithanu, S., Tangcharoensathien, V. (2004). Is universal coverage a solution for disparities in health care? Findings from three low-income provinces of Thailand. Retrieved from http%3A%2F%2Fac.els-cdn.com%2FS0168851004002672%2F1-s2.0-S0168851004002672-main.pdf%3F_tid%3D716c58c4-f4f2-11e4-b27d-00000aab0f6c%26acdnat%3D1431028465_6547fe9d9e83439cb473ec48c34fc224 Warm Heart Worldwide. (2015). Retrieved from http://warmheartworldwide.org/ Chartism: A Failed Success Chartism: A Failed Success British children born into farming families in the early nineteenth century stood little chance of remaining in agriculture their entire life. The society in which they lived was changing in large ways. Industrialization was slowly creeping into the countryside as men implemented new technology alongside the old. The domestic market grew markedly as income per head of population expanded and a consumer revolution percolated down from the richer classes to the middle ranks and artisans. People began moving to the city. It remains debatable as to whether individuals and families were compelled to move searching for work or if they were compelled to move due to enclosure. Villages such as Styal and Cromford were constructed to house some of the workers moving to factory towns. A quick journey down these village streets today provides some glimpse of the crowded conditions people endured. The rear alleyway below bedroom windows reserved for swine and human refuse reminds visitors of the intimacy working class people had with their animals and waste. Today birds singing from the chimneys are a far cry from the high volume of soot once produced by the coal burning within. No matter the motivation for moving, migrants found life in the industrial English city or town in the 1800s quite grim. Westminster played little role in the regulation of cities. England was still a country with very little government from the center, and almost all the local responsibilities, health, housing, education, police, that are now subject to strict inspection and control, were left to the unchecked discretion and pleasure of magistrates and borough rulers. Unfortunately for members of the working class many of the magistrates and rulers were sympathetic to factory owners or were owners themselves. It was an incredibly unjust system of governance presided over by men such as Cromford industrialist Joseph Arkwright. Therefore the Chartist movement was likely to fail. This is a vital reminder that those with power rarely surrender it to those without unless they feel compelled by the threat of physical harm or superior moral authority. Chartists arose from Britains working class determined to gain a voice in their destiny through democratic participation. Their goals were admirable but their strategy weak. The working class lived in squalid conditions and was used repeatedly as political leverage by the merchant class. The Reform Bill of 1832 was one such example. Harold Faulkner wrote of the event: When the smoke of the struggle cleared away, the great class disfranchised discovered that not only had they reaped no benefit from the reform they had so largely helped to win, but that their lot under a reformed Parliament dominated by the doctrines of the Manchester School seemed to be worse than ever. Economic thought of Manchester School politicians was that of laissez faire capitalism. Clearly their policies were not designed to aid the abused workers of Britain. However, determined Chartists planned to overcome the lockout workingmen had long endured in the political arena. Unfortunately, time would prove they were not the well-organized army the working class so desperately needed. The movement functioned far better as a social, emotional, and even religious agent than one of political change. Chartists failed to achieve their stated goals due to their nature as an emotionally fuelled reactionary coalition bound only by their six simple objectives articulated in the Peoples Charter of 1838. Life was absolutely miserable for the working class. The idea of the town as a focus for civilization, a center where the emancipating and enlightening influence of the time can act rapidly and with effect, the school of social arts, the nursery of social enterprise, the witness to the beauty and order and freedom that men can bring into their lives, had vanished from all minds. Industrial change allowed powerful capitalists to dominate life in small towns across England. Discontent was not unique to Chartism. Social angst in the period existed in several forms. Eric Hobsbawm identifies unhappy segments of the population including: Luddite and Radical, trade unionist and utopian-socialist, Democratic and Chartist. The largest class of people was unhappy with life and increasingly conscious of their group identity. It could have been caused by the changes slowly eliminating traditional trades, shift in power from landed nobility to the capitalist class, or movement of people from the soil to the city. Nevertheless the sheer number of protest movements demonstrates a clear unhappiness in nineteenth century Britain. All that was needed to turn consciousness into conflict was an economic or political crisis. For the working class that outrage first occurred on the moors at St. Peters Fields and combined with the knowledge of revolutionary France. The so-called 1819 massacre at Peterloo in which eleven were killed struck an emotional chord among the working class. They had rehearsed the event repeatedly. Men, women, and children donned their Sunday best and marched in columns to show their non-violent nature. The working class intended to prove it too could be an orderly component of society. However the government feared anarchic results akin to those in France at the Bastille. The local military contingent was intimidated by the workers discipline and a magistrate became alarmed and ordered the march on the field outside Manchester be stopped. The event turned bloody! The cartoon in Appendix A reveals the attitude often attributed to the middle class of the day. Hefty cavalry members sit atop sturdy steeds with swords raised to mutilate men, women, and even children. The caption reads, in part: remember the more you kill the less poor rates youll have to payà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The viewer cannot help but sympathize with the skinny-likely hungry-mother whose baby clings to her breast as she stares at a sword raised to strike them by a man who has had far too much for dinner. The cartoonist does an excellent job portraying wealth and power through weight and garb. State-condoned murder on St. Peters Fields near Manchester by those in positions of authority contributed to the sense of class-consciousness Kenneth Morgan identifies in The Birth of Industrial Britain. The Peterloo tragedy further energized by the pang of unhappiness deep within the workingmans gut finally pushed a number of radical groups to join forces as the Chartists. They offered a simple-albeit difficult to enact-political solution to mend Englands social and political ills. They rallied around a platform of six reforms, which they published as the Peoples Charter on 8 May 1838. The resolution called for: universal suffrage, no property qualifications for the electorate, annual parliaments, equal representation, salary for MPs, and implementation of the secret ballot. A number of historians argue that this was a major peak of the movement. D.G. Wright argued that the movement was not unilinear but had three peaks, one being 1839-40, the others included 1842 and 1848. Coincidentally, each of the identified peaks in the movement closely mirrors low points economically for Britain when poverty was greatest. The unmistakable correlation reminds us that Chartism was fuelled by passions of the impoverished. Most participants of Chartist events were neither intellectual nor bourgeois. Politically the movement never firmly gelled; it remained a movement of regional organizations guided by a single unifying document and no clear agreement among leaders. The Chartist paper called The Northern Star published accounts from numerous leaders. The best known was Feargus OConnor. The Chartist movement required leadership. Vocal leaders traveling throughout England took turns masking and exacerbating the divisions within Chartism. The leading men did not always concur on political issues, social goals, or Chartist strategy. Leader George Julian Harney exemplified this in a mid-1840s letter to his friend Friedrich Engels. Harney a national leader of Chartism thrice imprisoned for disobeying the stamp laws wrote: As to what OC [onnor] has been saying lately about physical force, I think nothing of it. The English people will not adopt [Thomas] Coopers slavish notions about peace and non-resistance but neither would they act upon the opposite doctrine. They applaud it at public meetings, but that is all. The absence of unified strategy allowed politicians to employ a divide and conquer strategy. This proved fatal to the underdog movement. Feargus OConnor was the most virulent of Chartist leaders. He was quite self-absorbed, a pompous self-promoter. His charisma captivated the working classes in a way few other movement leaders could. What OConnor did do was to link the various aspects of Chartism, and while dividing the leadership he united the movement. The unstable nature of the working class coalition united behind the Peoples Charter needed strong leadership in order to be successful. OConnor derived authority from his physical appearance and charismatic character. Historian R.G. Gammage described OConnor in his 1854 account of Chartism. There he wrote: Upwards of six feet in height, stout and athletic, and in spite of his opinions invested with a sort of aristocratic bearing, the sight of his person was calculated to inspire the masses with a solemn awe. So true is it that despite the march of civilization, and the increase of respect for mental superiority, men are generally impressed with a veneration for superior physical power. The Irishmans physical presence alone demanded some confidence from the crowd. Unfortunately for Chartism physical dominance of one charismatic man could not carry the agenda of an entire class of people. The average working class individual did not spend every waking hour attempting to make Chartism successful. Nor did the workingman await every word or message spewed from the fractured leadership. Chartist rallies were spectacles during which the working class nodded and applauded. That was the strongest action most Chartist men and women took! One imagines tired men and women attending a great open-air speech by OConnor much like those of Methodisms John Wesley. It was an uplifting experience, but there was limited ongoing dedication to the crusade. It was a periodic commitment with robust bursts of energy during times of severe hunger and unemployment. Many of the regional units-such as London Working Mens Association and the Birmingham Political Union-associated with Chartism sought to satisfy peoples needs for community, especially through entertainment. There was a need to engage the imagination in order to raise important questions of the day. Men and women were engaged socially through events sponsored by working class groups. The camaraderie built by the work environment and common belief that they were fundamentally mistreated went a long way in maintaining the loose confederation of regional movements that had differing interests outside the Chartist platform. Religion also found its place as an energy source for the Chartist movement. The established Church of England was of little use to the working class. High church was not the place for the working class. After all, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the typical Chartist was a horny-handed son of toil. Anglicanism made no attempt to appeal to men with fustian jackets, unshorn chins, and blistered hands. The Wesleyan Methodists were more accommodating than the established church. However, during the nineteenth century Methodism was dominated by a forbidding clerical autocracy-Chartists wanted democracy! Therefore many Chartists made their Christianity personal. The favorite scriptural teaching of Chartist Christians is found in the Gospel of Matthew. The verses are quite elementary and committed to memory by Christians worldwide: Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hand on these two commandments. Jesus conveys basic teachings in only a few lines, which the workers could easily interpret. By this Biblical standard they knew they were being wrongly treated. On this issue Chartists could claim the moral high ground. The religious experience was part of a much larger Chartist movement. Chartist branches at the local level, like those of the Owenites, provided a substantial menu of recreational, educational, and religious activities which amounted to an alternative culture, within which members could move freely during their leisure hours. This further reinforced the ideas promoted by the Peoples Charter. And, it gave the middling class supporters a place of refuge. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Being a Chartist was a risky business that invited abuse and threatened career, reputation, and liberty. However the support offered by the working class to members of the intelligentsia or bourgeoisie supporting Chartism on moral grounds was minimal given the non-existent social influence of the laborin g class. The six-point Peoples Charter faced an intense battle from its inception. The platform would have been difficult to enact even if all conditions were stellar. Had Chartists been the ideal protest movement of outraged, politically astute, impoverished masses, guided by unified leadership and common interests across regions, motivated by a deep sense of moral justice, supported by the middle class, and determined at all costs their demands-or should we say requests-would have had a better chance of parliamentary ratification. In addition, the failure of the 1832 Reform Act to address working class needs was a demoralizing shock to its labor advocates. The Whigs used labor to gain a greater say in British government my using, then marginalizing, the working class. Hindsight reveals the situation was far from ideal for Chartists. The 1849 Punch cartoon by John Leech found in Appendix B is far more indicative of reality. The cartoonist is likely poking fun at the Chartist failures of 1848 which included London riots, a Day of Protest, a failed Irish rising, and a planned British uprising all in the month of June. Not to mention the failed petition submitted to Westminster in April 1848, which a parliamentary committee found rife with fraudulent signatures. Leech drew an unidentified Chartist leader with before and after frames juxtaposed. When confronted by a constable, the ragged leader who had called for a march on the palace suddenly cowers changing his tune to God Save the Queen. This is an accurate depiction of Chartist fervor. It was lukewarm at best! Chartists failed to achieve their six goals due to their nature as an emotionally fuelled reactionary coalition of regional labor groups dedicated to different social agendas. Divided and sometimes self-absorbed leaders who failed to meld the various labor organizations of the north and south into a truly unified movement compounded the difficulty of their task. The issues for laborers in the various regions of England remained quite diverse due to varying stages of industrialization. It is unlikely they could have ever formed a strong unified bloc. Chartism was forced to remain an uneasy coalition of regional interests with a leadership of diverse opinion advocating peaceful and militant tactics simultaneously. The movement further lacked the motivation to sustain itself consistently. There was little talk of reform when the economy was doing well. The masses were mollified when there was plenty of bread in their bellies and a stable government at Britannias helm. Chartism began in the 1830s, an era that experienced no fewer than five national elections. And Wright reminds readers that the movement peaked with public disorder and petitioning on three occasions when the economy ebbed. Workers were motivated by the desperate situation in which they and their families were stuck. Contemporary scholars should resist temptation and refrain from being overly critical of Chartists. There is a need to overlook the megalomania of OConnor and the mediocre dedication to the charter by the exhausted working class. The Peoples Charter articulated six issues on which its adherents could agree. As it turned out those were the only six items about which they could agree. James Epstein and Dorothy Thompson expressed this perfectly in The Chartist Experience. According to these authors: For all its failings, the mass platform [Peoples Charter] had given shape and protection to working-class radicalism rendering it impervious to any diluting. Following the abandonment of the mass platform, Chartism was permeated by a miscellany of reform groups all of whom repudiated confrontation, intimidation, and exclusive nature of working-class protest. The charter established a common cause for the working class. However the movement stood little chance no matter how unified it became. Chartists faced a powerful national government of aristocrats and capitalists with a well-equipped military at its command. The Chartist movement had ceased to exist by 1858. But its ideas live on in various splinter reform groups. Universal suffrage, no property qualifications for the electorate, annual parliaments, equal representation, pay for MPs, and the secret ballot all exist in todays Britain and most of its former possessions. The historian of Chartism might dwell on the dark side, and select those aspects of working-class life which prompted political concern and social protest, but these need to be set against the broader canvas of what urban life could be. Chartists successfully shaped the political conversation of their day. Try as they might, leading politicians in the government could not eradicate the ideas of Chartism. The legacy of beliefs enshrined in the Peoples Charter lived long after Chartism ceased to exist. Appendix A Cartoon. Text in upper right: Down with em! Chop em down my brave boys: give them no quarter they want to take our Beef Pudding from us! - remember the more you kill the less poor rates youll have to pay so go at it Lads show your courage your Loyalty Available at: 31 Jul 2006. Appendix B John Leech. Great Chartist Demonstration 9 from Punch, 1849. Available at: 31 Jul 2006.

Company Law problem question: Running a business

Company Law problem question: Running a business Company Law problem question Question 1(a) Tom, Dick and Harry are in business together in the form of a legal partnership. The business having developed somewhat, they are now keen to incorporate their business into a limited company. This will undoubtedly have benefits for the traders, although there are of course certain ramifications of which they should be aware which will be dealt with after a discussion of the benefits of incorporating. The correct choice of business medium is a crucial decision for any business. It will affect how the business trades, the liability of those running the business (in their guise of partners or directors) and the liabilities of the business itself for taxation, for example, in the case of a company. Perhaps the most significant concern for Tom, Dick and Harry, is the risk of capital that is associated with any business. The overwhelming benefit in this context of forming a limited company over remaining as a partnership is that a company will carry only limited liability. This means that the owners of the company (that is, Tom, Dick and Harry, assuming they remain as directors and become shareholders) will only be liable for the amount of unpaid shares in the company if the company were to become insolvent or even bankrupt. In other words, they can choose the amount which they are willing to pay into the company (which does not have to be paid up front), and this is the total amount f or which they would be liable should the company ever be wound up. This can be contrasted with the situation under a partnership where the partners would be both jointly and severally liable for the entire value of their trading losses. This means a partner could lose any property that he owns. The beneficial effects of this arrangement would be limited, however, in a number of situations. If Tom Dick and Harry were to risk everything in the business, that is, if they invest all there assets in the business, then they would still lose it all if the company were to become insolvent. Secondly, it is often the case that when a company comes to borrow money for business development, and particularly where the company is relatively new and unknown to the banks, that the lenders will demand personal guarantees for the value of the loan on top of the normal contractual and security relations with the company. These would, obviously, override the limited liability associated with the company. As business is good for Tom, Dick and Harry at the moment, however, this would not appear to be an immediate problem. A further issue to be considered when deciding whether to incorporate as a company is the expense involved. While these are not extortionate, they are, at least, significant, and should be duly considered by Tom, Dick and Harry. Unlike a partnership, a company needs to be registered, which incurs fees itself. There will be legal fees payable to the solicitor who draws up the new company’s memorandum and articles of association (together, the constitutional documents of the company), which are essential, and outline the aims, methods, and rules of the company’s business life. A similar issue of expense and complexity that will be incurred by a company as opposed to a partnership relates to the accounts of the company. While all businesses, including partnerships, obviously wish to keep accounts, the requirements for accounting for companies are more particular and complicated. The accounts need to be more detailed, and show certain information in a particular way. Furthermore, because companies are subject to more rigorous regulation, the accounts of a company will need to be audited annually by an independent qualified accountant. This, of course, will incur higher accountancy costs that would be expected for a partnership. The company will also be required to complete an annual return and pay a fee on filing it with the Registrar. A company is subject to certain rules and regulations relating to its operation and management, which are statutorily set out in the Companies Act 1985 (subject to be overhauled when the current Company Reform Bill makes it through Parliament). An example of this is the requirement that a company must have at least one director and one secretary. It is usual for the first owners (Tom, Dick and Harry) to become the first directors and / or secretary. These officials will have certain obligations relating to duties owed to the company, and in respect of items that need to be completed and filed with the Registrar of companies at Companies House. An important consideration to take into account is the flexibility of a company to change its internal structure if and when circumstances require it. Such a change would normally involve and require an alteration to the company’s articles of association. This would require, under the Companies Act, a so-called ‘special resolution’, which equates to 75% of the shareholders. In the case of Tom, Dick and Harry, if they were to remain the only shareholders, any such decision would, of course, have to be unanimous. If any conflict is predicted, this will have to be a consideration for the parties. It is worth noting that this requirement is no more stringent than that required for altering a partnership agreement, which requires the approval of all partners. If a conflict were to arise between the directors of the company, the other shareholders would be able to remove the troublesome director by way of an ordinary resolution. Finally, the legal status of a company differs significantly from that of a partnership. A company is seen as a separate legal person, which means it can contract and be held liable in its own name. This has ramifications for the liability of the directors, and is generally seen as a benefit of a company. Only a company (and not a partnership) can create floating charges over their assets. This is significant when it comes to raising finance by way of granting security. It will probably be easier for a company to raise the requisite finance than for a partnership to do so. It is also significant (or may be) that an unlimited number of people can become members of a company, whereas a partnership is limited to twenty partners. If and when the company grows and develops, it will be in its interests to be unlimited in the number of new members it can obtain. Question 1(b) In this scenario, there are a number of developments which will impact on the running and management of the business. Each development will be taken in turn. Firstly, the sale of the company’s property to Dick’s sister, Fanny in 2006 will be problematic. There are three principal areas of concern. Firstly, the company’s articles of association expressly prohibit the sale of company property without a special resolution of the members. As was mentioned above, a special resolution requires a 75% majority, or in this case, as there are only three members, a unanimous vote. There is a course of action that the directors can take, however, after the event, that could ratify the sale of the company property. They will simply need to call an extraordinary general meeting, following the correct procedure of course, and pass a special resolution either to ratify the sale of the company property to Fanny, or else to alter the articles of association to allow for such sales in a more general context. The value and size of the property that is sold to Fanny will be significant in the second area of concern for the company. Under section 320 of the CA, ‘a company shall not enter into an arrangement whereby a director of the company or its holding company, or a person connected with such a director, acquires or is to acquire one or more non-cash assets of the requisite value from the company†¦unless the arrangement is first approved by a resolution of the company in general meeting.’ The reason the value of the property that is transferred to Fanny is significant is because of the existence of the concept of ‘requisite value’, which is set down in section 320(2). This states that the requisite value for a non-cash asset is  £100,000 or 10% of the company’s asset value. If the property is of this value or greater, then, it will be of the requisite value, and will contravene section 320. The fact that Fanny (the purchaser) is the sister of a dir ector classes her as a ‘connected person’. As such, she breaches the section 320 prohibition. Finally, the gross undervaluing of the property in the company’s sale of it to Fanny will be a problem, as it is likely that this will breach section 339 CA in the case of the company becoming insolvent. Were this to happen, the insolvency practitioner would likely deem the transaction to be voidable, and the asset would be brought back into the pool of the company’s assets in order to satisfy the creditors. This would occur if the transaction occurred within 5 years of the presentation of the petition for winding up (because Fanny, again, is an ‘associate’ of the transferor). Under section 238 defines a transaction at an undervalue as one where a company makes a gift to any person and receives either no consideration for it or consideration worth significantly less than the consideration provided by the company. This transaction clearly qualifies as such. It will be deemed to be set aside if insolvency proceedings commence within two years of the transacti on. Each of the directors’ decisions will now be addressed. They decide, firstly, to enter a contract with Oui Ltd. This is not, of course, a problem in itself, apart from the fact that Tom is a director of Oui Ltd. Firstly, if entry into the contract was ratified by an ordinary resolution in the company, Tom would not have been able to vote on it under section 94, because he has an interest in it. If Dry Ltd have adopted Table A articles of association, this would be confirmed by article 94. The company should have kept a register of its directors, which lists the interests and other directorships of all its directors (under section 288 CA), which would have detailed Tom’s directorship of Oui Ltd. Furthermore, section 317 CA requires Tom to have declared his interest in the proposed contract with Oui Ltd at a board meeting of Dry Ltd. He should have given general notice of his directorship. The company issues a further 10,000 unpaid shares to a third party to fight off a takeover bid. This should not create a problem so long as the company’s articles of association give the directors power to issue shares. This in turn is dependent on the company having a sufficient amount of unissued authorised share capital. If it does not, a special resolution will need to be passed to increase this authorised share capital, before passing a further resolution allowing the issue. The powers of the directors in this instance are regulated by section 80 CA. Furthermore, the company must, under section 89, give consideration to rights of pre-emption to existing shareholders. As the directors are the only three shareholders, this should not be a problem, but it would mean they had to wait 21 days before issuing the new shares. The resignation of David and his formation of Whip Ltd, which obtains the contract from Pop Ltd might breach his director’s service contract with Dry Ltd. It is usual for such contracts to contain a clause prohibiting former directors using their business contacts within a certain time of leaving the former directorship; a non-solicitation clause. This would protect Dry Ltd’s business links. Given Harry’s age and his mental deterioration, the company will be able, if it has the heart, to remove him from office following the procedure for removal of directors set down in section 303 CA, which requires an ordinary resolution to be passed. Harry may be able to claim damages for his removal from office under this procedure.

growaw Chopins The Awakening as a Tragic Bildingsroman :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Awakening as a Tragic Bildingsroman  Ã‚  Ã‚   I have always considered this a tragic bildingsroman A professor suggested that this was a love story. If it is its love of self or finding it. It is no more of a love story than Call of the Wild. I guess because it has a woman and love it constitutes a love story. I agree that Reiz symbolized romantic art and ideals and Mme. Ratignolle. However Edna was less romantic because her confinement was real. Betty Freudian has this same sort of problem in the Feminist Mystique. A physical independence as symbolized by the birds seems to be the best analogy for her needs through out the book. I didn’t think the hypertext guide quite covered this. Birds were present throughout the novel, in dreams and in her life (more than just that parrot). The fact that she was not able to be confined by anything which demanded her caged, her children, her husband. She did not enjoy these people or their cages because they used her for their own gain. A guy suggested in another class that she should have thought about that before she was married and had kids. I guess that would be easy for someone to say who will never bear children or held accountable for their existence, or dependence on him. (NO, not all men are this bad!) Her sorrow over Mme. Ratignolle’s child birth represented a birth in herself. An awakening that she had been reborn. By the way, the hypertext did not explain all the awakenings she under went or parallel them with the times she woke up and went to sleep. She tells her husband that marriage is a â€Å"lamentable spectacle†. At the cottage with Robert, she was not Sleeping Beauty but a Rip Van Winkle. Sleeping Beauty was passive, Edna certainly was not that. The cottage I felt represented indulgence almost gluttony without the negative connotation. She is finally enjoying herself- HER- Self. The church was another oppressive cage in her life. Every mention of it in the book was a negative one although Edna says that she is religious. It just happens that her encounters with it in the book are miserable. In addition, I felt the rings were not explained. There are at least five separate mentions of rings throughout the novel, each at critical times.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury :: Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 4511 In the futuristic novel Fahrenheit 451, the author, Ray Bradbury, expresses several problems that influence the story. Many of these problems have to do with the behavior of the people in the twenty- fourth century society. One major problem is that firemen have been given the job of burning books in order to stop the spreading of ideas, and to cause all of society to reform and therefore be happy. Many people do not agree with this and they try hard to keep books alive, even though they may be killed for it. Guy Montag, who in the beginning of the story is a proud fireman, later doubts his job and joins those who preserve books. One person who teaches him about books is an old man named Faber who is a retired English professor. During a conversation between Montag and Faber, Montag states, â€Å"That’s the good part of dying; when you’ve nothing to lose, you run any risk you want†(pg.85). What he means by this is that he is willing to risk his l ife to help save books for others to read and enjoy. However, Montag’s wife, Mildred, does not care for books as much as Montag because she knows books are illegal and she fears for her life. Mildred tells Montag how afraid she is by saying, â€Å"They might come and burn the house and the family. Why should I read? What for?(pg.73)† Montag is upset when he hears this because he sees that there is a problem with burning books. Indeed there is a problem because books allow people to express themselves, learn, dream, and have fun. In a society such as the one found in Fahrenheit 451, people are not allowed to experience any of these things and they are less individual. Another problem found in Bradbury’s future is that some schools and businesses have been shut down simply because they encourage and promote reading and books. In the novel, books are made to be thought of as evil and are no longer produced. Book companies along with some schools and publishing agencies have been closed due to the ban of books. On page 75 Bradbury tells of the closing of schools by writing, â€Å"The old man admitted to being a retired English Professor who had been thrown out upon the world forty years ago when the last liberal arts college shut for lack of students and patronage.

A Society Without Culture Is As Good As Dead Essay

This essay attempts to discuss, with examples, the topic which says, ‘a society without culture is as good as dead’. Carefully evaluated, the subject entails that culture is of great relevance and value to society. In this vein, the essay shall first examine the meaning of the term ‘culture’, and then outline the significance of culture to any given society. A conclusion shall be presented at last. In the first place, there is no universally acceptable meaning of the word culture. Different people from different lifestyles have advocated for various theoretical interpretations. Anthropologists hold the view that culture has something to do with the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in specific social groups learn, create, and share. Experts have categorized these as customs and beliefs, art, way of life and social organization of a particular country or group of people. However, many experts agree that in its totality, a people’s culture encompasses their beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art and technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, political and economic systems. All in all, these can be broken into two major groups namely the material culture and the non-material culture. However, a common practice is to divide all of culture into four broad categories: material, social, and ideological with the fourth category, the arts, sharing characteristics of both material and non-material culture. The material culture includes products of human manufacture, such as technology. The non-material culture pertains to  people’s forms of social organization – how people interact and organize themselves in groups. According to Anchor (1990), the non-material culture includes people’s perceptions on value, beliefs, and commonly held ideals. Both the material and non-material culture may contain some aspects of the art culture including some activities and areas of interest such as music, sculpture, painting, pottery, theatre, cooking, writing, and fashion. The economic system is a very important notion in societies made of material cultures. All societies produce and exchange material goods so that people can feed, clothe, shelter, and otherwise provide for themselves basic needs. In most material cultures, anything that can be attached to the means of production is prioritized. Thus, when carrying out studies on the material culture of a particular society, Anthropologists look at several aspects of people’s material culture including the pattern of subsistence; the ways in which people exchange goods and services; the kinds of technologies and other objects people make and use; and effects of people’s economy on the natural environment. The aforementioned four are the major tenets of a material culture as defined in modern social groups. How advanced one material culture is determines even its levels of development. This is evidenced by itself in that the culture of any given social group defines the level of development that has been attained by that social group. Another value of the material culture is that it provides the form of exchange. Generally, it is a tradition in any society whether big or not to exchange goods and services with each other through appropriate exchange systems. In Luapula Province for example, money is not the only form of exchange, but people can use other valuable products including food stuffs, clothes, and fishing equipment to exchange with fish. On the other hand, contemporary industrial societies have organized markets for land, labor, and money, and virtually everything is a commodity. People buy and sell goods and services using money. This form of economy, known as capitalism, is typical of the pre-modern Zambian culture. As shown above, a material culture of every society or social group has a system of exchanging goods and services. Pre-historical man developed a system of exchanging goods and services quite different from the present. Today people from different regions are able to exchange goods and services through the exchange aspects of their cultures. However, it is important to note that the culture plays a  very important role in shaping the exchange system of any social group and that the nature of the exchange system determines the rate of development of that cultural group. Apart from the afore-mentioned, material culture also has a hand in the development of the use of a particular type of technology. In most primarily agricultural societies in Zambia, people build sturdy houses of sun-dried mud bricks and grass-thatched roofs, wooden beams, or quarried stone. In large industrial and commerce-based societies, most people live in wood-frame or brick houses and apartment buildings with plumbing, supplies of electricity and natural gas, and telephone services. Much of the material culture in these societies consists of mass-produced goods created through industrial production, Sowell, (1996). A great deal of food and clothing are produced in this way. The variety of common household technologies includes televisions, stereos, microwave ovens, electric kettles and irons, computers, etc. Apart from the material culture, the non-material culture also has a great role to play in the development of a given people, social group or society. Focusing on those aspects of the non-material culture that help people of any given society to get organized, the non-material culture varies from simple to complex societies. People commonly organize themselves according to bonds by kinship and marriage. Important factors in family, work, and political relations include age and gender. The other factor that makes the non-material culture different from material culture is the notion on ideologies. In every society, culturally unique ways of thinking about the world unite people in their behavior. Ideology can be broken down into at least three specific categories: beliefs, values, and ideals. Many people rely on religion, systems of belief in the supernatural (things beyond the natural world), to shape their values and ideals and to influence their behavior. Beliefs, values, and ideals also come from observations of the natural world, a practice anthropologists commonly refer to as secularism. In Zambia, since the pronouncement that Zambia is a Christian nation, religion is becoming a very important aspect of the non-material culture. Religion allows people to know about and communicate with supernatural beings – such as animal spirits, gods, and spirits of the dead. Religion often serves to help people cope with the death of relatives and friends, and it figures prominently in most funeral ceremonies. In the same way, visionaries and healers known as shamans  receive stories from supernatural beings and later recite them to others or act them out in dramatic rituals, Taylor (1996). Culture plays a very important role in the development of any given social group. As a way of life for a given social group, culture shapes the development of any given social aspect. One such an area is communication by symbols. According to Archer, (1996), humans are of a nature in many ways to use symbolic communication. The ability to communicate with and understand symbols is one aspect that qualifies people to have a culture. Moreover, communication is a vital component in the development of a particular country. For example, in Zambia just like in many other countries, colours on the national flag instill a spirit of patriotism among citizens. Similarly, language allows people to develop complex thoughts and to exchange those thoughts with others. Language and other forms of symbolic communication, such as art, enable people to create, explain, and record new ideas and information. In this day and age a great deal of arithmetic is expressed or communicated through symbols, enabling a flexible way for people to communicate even very complex thoughts with each other, for instance in the construction industry. Among several benefits that come with the starting of culture is self-identity. Self-identity usually depends on culture to such a great extent that immersion in a very different culture – with which a person does not share common ways of life or beliefs – can cause a feeling of confusion and disorientation or culture shock. Sharing culture enables people to cultivate a spir it of unity. Members of a society who share culture often also share some feelings of ethnocentrism, the notion that one’s culture is more sensible than or superior to that of other societies. Ethnocentrism contributes to the integrity of culture because it affirms people’s shared beliefs and values in the face of other, often contradictory, beliefs and values held by people of other cultural backgrounds. Cultural exchange can provide many benefits for all societies. Different societies can exchange ideas, people, manufactured goods, and natural resources. Such exchanges can also have drawbacks however. Often, the introduction of aspects of another society’s culture can disrupt the cohesive life of a people, Archer (1996). For example, the introduction of consumerism into many small societies has led to what anthropologists refer to as cargo cults. In cargo cults, people focus much of their religious energy and time on trying to magically acquire  commercial goods. Accordin g to a good number of experts, education has been a vital component of human civilizations. Today, policy makers and other concerned parties have woken up to the fact that education is crucial to the development of any nation. People are not born with culture; they have to learn it. For instance, people must learn to speak and understand a language and to abide by rules of a society. In many societies, all people must learn to produce and prepare food and to construct shelters. In other societies, people must learn a skill to earn money, which they then use to provide for themselves. Culture helps human societies survive in changing natural environments, Sowell, (1996). By enabling people to develop new technologies and learn how to subsist on new environmental conditions, people are empowered to survive. As a matter of fact, cultural adaptation has made humans one of the most successful species on the planet. Through history, major developments in technology, medicine, and nutrition have allowed people to reproduce and survive in ever-increasing numbers. The global population has risen from eight million during the Ice Age to almost six billion, Hall (1999:45). In conclusion, I remain of the opinion that culture depicts the way of life for any given social group. It covers all aspects of the human life including symbolic aspects, art, technology, ideologies among others. However, it is common tradition for experts today to categorize culture in terms of material and non-material culture. The material culture can be much closely linked to the means of production or earning a living or livelihood that has been adopted by a given people. The non-material culture has something to do with the beliefs, customs, norms, and other important non-material aspects of a people’s culture the society has adopted to ease the process of communication or cooperation. Culture is important for the development of any nation. It is common among anthropologists today to distinguish between developed and developing nations just by studying some aspects of the culture to that nation. Culture defines the means of production, type of technology and innovation among others. Culture is important if a given society should uphold those aspects of culture it considers to be working even for future generations. The shared aspect of culture enables people in the same society to share among other things, skills, norms, customs, and beliefs. Furthermore, while people biologically inherit many physical traits and behavioral instincts, culture is socially  inherited. A person must learn culture from other people in a society. Culture is also adaptive. People use culture to flexibly and quickly adjust to changes in the world around them. Indeed, as can be noted from the above discussion, a society without culture is as good as dead. REFERENCES Anchor, J. (1990), An Examination of Cultural Influences on Behavior and nonverbal Communication. Gold, Tie Cooperations. Archer, M. (1996), Culture and Agency: The Place of Culture in Social Theory. Rev. ed. Cambridge University Press. Hall, E. (1959), The Silent Language. Doubleday, New York: Wiley & Sons. Sowell, T. (1996), Migrations and Cultures: A World View, London: Basic Books. Taylor, G. (1996), Cultural Selection, London: Basic Books.